US Colonial Cities
New York City, did not become New York City until 1664 when New Amsterdam was taken over by the British from the Dutch. Up to this point New York (which consisted of Manhattan), was a Dutch fur trading city, and wasn’t exactly the most economically important city. It had a deep harbor and it was a growing city, which interested the British to take it.
By the time New York City had become a British colonial city, it had diverse and had grown past the population of Boston. The city became quickly the largest city in the colonies under British rule ( now New York City also exported grain and lumber), and has ever since held that title. Yet the modern New York City wouldn’t come about until after the completion of Eerie Canal in 1825.
As for the other cities;
Philly was known for its shipbuilding industry, and was in general a manufacturing center. It also had/has a diverse population.
Boston, was one of the older British cities, and it was generally a bit wealthier. It was/is the economic center for New England. Some economic activities included shipbuilding, rope making, and logging.
Charleston, was a large Southern port city that mostly focused on exporting agricultural goods from the surrounding area.
OC Credit:
Boston belongs to @bay-state
Philly belongs to @ask-aph-pennsylvania-cities
Charleston belongs to @centralpowershetalia
Manhattan belongs to this blog
Further Reading:
https://www.history.com/topics/us-states/new-york-city
http://web3.unt.edu/cdl/course_projects/HIST2610/content/01_Unit_One/04_lesson_four/07_colonial_cities.htm
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/becomingamer/growth/text2/text2read.htm