What was the New England colonies main goal?
The New England colonies were founded to escape religious persecution in England. The Middle colonies, like Delaware, New York, and New Jersey, were founded as trade centers, while Pennsylvania was founded as a safe haven for Quakers.
The dominant religion practiced in New England was Puritanism, except for in Rhode Island were many colonists were Quakers. The Puritans were a sect of Protestant religious dissidents who felt the Church of England was too closely associated with the Catholic religion and needed to be reformed.
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded by the Puritans, a religious group in England. They founded their colony to escape religious persecution and hoped to build a model religious community in the Americas.
The New England colonies developed an economy based on shipbuilding, fishing, lumbering, small- scale subsistence farming, and eventually, manufacturing. The colonies prospered, reflecting the Puritans' strong belief in the values of hard work and thrift.