<P> Abundant forests attracted both the lumbering and shipbuilding industries to the Middle Colonies . These industries, along with the presence of deep river estuaries, led to the appearance of important ports like New York and Philadelphia . While the Middle Colonies had far more industry than the Southern Colonies, it still did not rival the industry of New England . In Pennsylvania, sawmills and gristmills were abundant, and the textile industry grew quickly . The colony also became a major producer of pig iron and its products, including the Pennsylvania long rifle and the Conestoga wagon . Other important industries included printing, publishing, and the related industry of papermaking . </P> <P> The Middle Colonies' political groups began as small groups with narrowly focused goals . These coalitions eventually grew into diverse and large political organizations, evolving especially during the French and Indian War . </P> <P> The Middle Colonies were generally run by Royal or Proprietary Governors and elected Colonial Assemblies . Many Middle Colony constitutions guaranteed freedom of religion and forbade taxation without representation . Royal governors were arrested or overthrown on more than one occasion, most notably when New Jersey arrested its governor and during Leisler's Rebellion in New York . Growing unrest in the Middle Colonies eventually led the region to become the meeting place for the Continental Congress, and a center for revolution . However, there were numerous pockets of neutrals and Loyalists . </P> <P> The Middle Colonies tended to mix aspects of the New England and Southern Colonies . Landholdings were generally farms of 40 to 160 acres (16--65 hectares), owned by the family that worked it . In New York's Hudson Valley, however, the Dutch patroons operated very large landed estates and rented land to tenant farmers . </P>

Who settled in the middle colonies and why