Macroeconomic development of a divided East Coast

The OTL outcome of the American East Coast was, of course, a single state - first a British colony, then an independent English-speaking country - over the entire region, covering a massive geographic and economic distance. But how might the economics of the East Coast have differed if the North-South divide were split by two colonial powers? Say, New Netherlands in the north down to Maryland and Virginia/Carolina in the south down to the Florida border. How does this impact the colonial and later independent economies of the region?

Of course, there are important natural features to consider; cotton and tobacco were probably always going to be grown in the Carolinas, and the Appalachian coal fields were always going to be vital. But with the one not shackled to the other, what might we expect from the two states in economic terms going into the nineteenth century?

I think some good discussion on this question might help with colonial-era TL's (not least my own, which I'm considering reviving...), which often result in just this scenario.
 

Skallagrim

Banned
It depends on whether the colonising powers (and/or their potential independent successors) are relatively friendly or relatively hostile. The more hostile, the less trade. The less trade, the less profit for the northern region. The southern region is likely to be treated as a plantation economy no matter what. In OTL, the northern colonies/states took the raw product from the south, and turned it into manufactured goods. If these two regions are trading far less due to hostility, the south will instead send its goods to Europe. The north will therefore be far less profitable as a colony, and will likely be poor and under-populated compared to OTL. Its industry, which ultimately gave it a leg up in OTL, will not get funded so easily.

So... the economic prospects aren't looking that good, really. At the very least, the tariffs and duties between foreign powers will be a burden no matter what. In the worst case, north and south don't trade at all, and asre mutually hostile-- to both their detriment (but comparatively speaking, especially to the detriment of the north).
 
I also wonder what'd happen to the "Manufacturing Belt" if it was divided between several states. "Decades of Darkness" has this...
 
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