How were the middle colonies different than the new England colonies in terms of ethnic or religious background?

The New England colonies had a great number of Puritans who were extremely pious people. These Puritans were a Protestant group from England who wished to reform the Anglican Church. The Puritans formed their own churches and called themselves Separatists. The Anglican Church began to punish separatists. The Pilgrims left England in the 1600's to escape Persecution, and made their way to America.

New Netherland, what is today New York, was a middle colony founded by Peter Stuyvesant. The colony was founded by the Dutch as a trading post to exchange furs with the neighboring Native American tribes. Soon, Jews, French Huguenots, Puritans and others settled in New Netherland. William Penn, a Quaker, founded Pennsylvania. The Quakers dressed plainly, believed in the equality of the genders, and supported nonviolence and religious tolerance.