According to the United States Census Bureau, the Mid-Atlantic, or Middle Atlantic, is a subdivision of the Northeast Region of the country and comprised of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. North and east of the Mid-Atlantic states is the division referred to as New England, while below it are the South Atlantic states.
Each of the Mid-Atlantic states became a colony under the British empire right around the same time of 1664. The government of the Netherlands ceded control of New York to the British that year, establishing it as the second-biggest port in the empire, behind Boston. England assumed control of New Jersey in March of that same year, when King Charles II granted the land to James, Duke of York. Although the Swedes expanded into the area now known as Pennsylvania in the early 1600s, only to be conquered by the Dutch, the land quickly traded hands again in 1664, when it too was surrendered to the Duke of York, brother of King Charles II.
New York is the largest of the Mid-Atlantic states, with over 49,000 square miles of land and an estimated population of near 19 million. Pennsylvania is the second largest of the three, at around 45,000 square miles, and New Jersey is the smallest, ranking 46th in size among all states with just over 7,500 square miles. The three states are similar in their geography in that they all contain several distinctive regions, with plains, coastline and mountains, including the Catskills and Appalachian highlands.
New York state led the country in economic output from the Civil War on through to the 1950s. In 2010, it had a gross state product (GSP) of $1.1 trillion, which is the nation's third highest. New Jersey's economy has historically been agricultural, but today the real estate sector accounts for the highest GSP contribution toward the $493 billion total. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania's economy is led by steel and coal, with the manufacturing sector comprising approximately 14 percent of the state's $571 billion GSP in 2010.
While the state of New York -- or more specifically, New York City -- is most renowned among the Mid-Atlantic states for its cultural contributions ranging from Manhattan's Broadway theaters, to the Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center and the Greenwich Village art scene, New Jersey has long been known for its support of classical music, including playing host to William Dunlap's "The Archers," the first commercially produced American opera. Historically, Pennsylvania was known as the cultural capital of the British colonies, with five resident theaters.
