The Colonies
- Colony managed by a proprietor appointed by the king (in exchange the man would give the king financial favors) , who had complete control over the government
- These colonies were self-governing in the first place, unlike the other types which had to fight for self-governance
- Most proprietary colonies were in the South
What type of government did the original 13 colonies have?
Colonial Governments of the Original 13 Colonies. These colonies belonged to the British Empire and were founded during the 17th and 18th centuries. By the 1700s, the British government controlled its colonies under mercantilism, a system that regulated the balance of trade in favor of Britain.
How did the Thirteen Colonies resist British rule?
The Thirteen Colonies had a high degree of self-governance and active local elections, and they resisted London's demands for more control. The French and Indian War (1754–1763) against France and its Indian allies led to growing tensions between Britain and the Thirteen Colonies.
When did the colonies become independent from each other?
The colonies were independent of one other long before 1774; indeed, all the colonies began as separate and unique settlements or plantations. Further, efforts had failed to form a colonial union through the Albany Congress of 1754 led by Benjamin Franklin.
What was the role of the colonists in the colonies?
In the British and French colonies, most colonists arrived after 1700. They cleared land, built houses and outbuildings, and worked on the large plantations that dominated export agriculture. Many were involved in the labor-intensive cultivation of tobacco, the first cash crop of Virginia.
What country controlled the American colonies?
BritainThe 13 colonies were in America but were controlled by Britain. Colonies are typically settled by people from the home country. In order to expand the British Empire against the Spanish rival, Queen Elizabeth of England established colonies in North America. Each colony was founded under different circumstances.
Who was the leader of colonies?
The Continental Congress commissioned George Washington as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army on June 19, 1775. Washington was selected over other candidates such as John Hancock based on his previous military experience and the hope that a leader from Virginia could help unite the colonies.
How did Britain control the colonies?
Each colony had its own government, but the British king controlled these governments. By the 1770s, many colonists were angry because they did not have self-government. This meant that they could not govern themselves and make their own laws. They had to pay high taxes to the king.
Who ruled America?
The American colonies were the British colonies that were established during the 17th and early 18th centuries in what is now a part of the eastern United States.
Who led the 13 colonies?
Thirteen ColoniesThe Thirteen ColoniesMonarch• 1607–1625James I & VI (first)• 1760–1776George III (last)History30 more rows
Who was the leader of the middle colonies?
Middle ColoniesMiddle Colonies ChartDateName of Colony or SettlementFamous People1626New York ColonyPeter Minuit Peter Stuyvesant1638Delaware ColonyPeter Minuit1664New Jersey ColonyLord Berkeley George Carteret2 more rows
Who were the leaders of the Southern colonies?
James Oglethorpe controlled the colonists in Georgia for 20 years. He made every decision until the British king made the land a royal colony. From that point on, the king named the leaders and council members.
Who were the main leaders of the American Revolution?
During the American Revolution, a number of men and women rose to prominence: George Washington, Abigail Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and countless others distinguished themselves by their courage, patriotism, wisdom and talent.
What are the American colonies?
The American colonies were the British colonies that were established during the 17th and early 18th centuries in what is now a part of the eastern...
Who established the American colonies?
In 1606 King James I of England granted a charter to the Virginia Company of London to colonize the American coast anywhere between parallels 34° a...
What pushed the American colonies toward independence?
After the French and Indian War the British government determined that the colonies should help pay for the cost of the war and the postwar garriso...
When did the American colonies declare independence?
On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, “unanimously” by the votes of 12 colonies (with New York abstaining) res...
Where were the colonies located?
The American colonies were the British colonies that were established during the 17th and early 18th centuries in what is now a part of the eastern United States . The colonies grew both geographically along the Atlantic coast and westward and numerically to 13 from the time of their founding to the American Revolution. Their settlements extended from what is now Maine in the north to the Altamaha River in Georgia when the Revolution began.
How many colonies did the British have?
Within a century and a half the British had 13 flourishing colonies on the Atlantic coast: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content.
What did the British government do after the French and Indian War?
After the French and Indian War the British government determined that the colonies should help pay for the cost of the war and the postwar garrisoning of troops. It also began imposing tighter control on colonial governments. Taxes, such as the Sugar Act (1764) and the Stamp Act (1765), aimed at raising revenue from the colonies outraged the colonists and catalyzed a reaction that eventually led to a revolt.
How many colonies were there in the United States?
Alternative Titles: colonial America, thirteen colonies. American colonies, also called thirteen colonies or colonial America, the 13 British colonies that were established during the 17th and early 18th centuries in what is now a part of the eastern United States. The colonies grew both geographically along the Atlantic coast and westward ...
What tax was introduced to the colonies to raise revenue?
It also began imposing tighter control on colonial governments. Taxes, such as the Sugar Act (1764) and the Stamp Act (1765), aimed at raising revenue from the colonies outraged the colonists and catalyzed a reaction that eventually led to a revolt.
How did the colonists increase their numbers?
Their numbers were also greatly increased by continuing immigration from Great Britain and from Europe west of the Elbe River. In Britain and continental Europe the colonies were looked upon as a land of promise.
What was the impact of the Declaration of Independence on the colonies?
The colonists were remarkably prolific. Economic opportunity, especially in the form of readily available land, encouraged early marriages and large families.
How many people were in the 13 colonies?
By 1775, the thirteen colonies had a population of roughly 2.5 million people. Many of them had been born in the colonies and considered themselves “American.” After some failed colonies, such as those at Roanoke Island, and the split of Carolina into the colonies of North Carolina and South Carolina, there were at this point 13 colonies. It was these 13 colonies that rebelled against Great Britain and eventually founded the United States of America (see the final section for more information on how this happened).
How many colonies were there in the world?
Below are the original thirteen colonies, separated into three groups based on location: New England Colonies, Middle Colonies, and Southern Colonies. For each colony, we include its official name, the year it first became a colony of England, and the year it became a crown colony (which meant it was officially controlled by the British government, unlike regular colonies which sometimes had more ability to self-rule). There’s also additional information on how each colony was founded and the role it played during the Revolutionary War.
What was the first colony in Massachusetts?
Plymouth Colony, the first establishment along the shores of Massachusetts Bay, was founded in 1620, and the number of settlers in the area continued to grow steadily after its founding. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded in 1628 and developed a large merchant fleet. Both of these colonies became part of the Providence of Massachusetts Bay when it became a crown colony in 1692. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, as well as during it, Massachusetts was a key colony, and many major events occurred there, including the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and the battles of Bunker Hill, Concord, and Lexington.
What color are the 13 colonies?
The states that were part of the 13 original colonies are colored red on this 13 colonies map. Source: Wikimedia commons.
Why was South Carolina the wealthiest colony in North America?
After being split from the Province of Carolina in 1712, South Carolina became one of the wealthiest colonies in North America, due in part to its large cotton plantations and rice cultivation, so South Carolinian colonists were especially offended by the taxes Great Britain imposed on them.
What were the Southern colonies based on?
Located in what is now considered the Southern United States, the Southern Colonies had economies based heavily on the cash crops of cotton, rice, and tobacco. They also had significantly higher numbers of slaves than most of the other colonies.
Why did Britain want colonies in North America?
Britain had an extensive history of colonization, and it wanted colonies in North America for multiple reasons, including to increase their trading opportunities, create new jobs, and bring in revenue from colonial workers and goods.
What was the role of the colony in the 1700s?
Each colony was set up in a way such that by the mid-1700s, they had a strong capacity for self-government and held local elections. Some early colonial governments foreshadowed elements that would be found in the U.S. government after independence.
How was the colonial government created?
The colonial government was created through the Fundamental Constitution of Carolina. It favored large land ownership, eventually leading to the plantation system. The colony was known for having religious freedom.
Why was the Pennsylvania colony founded?
Penn set up the colony to allow for religious freedom.
Why was the Connecticut colony founded?
The Connecticut colony was founded in 1636 when the Dutch established the first trading post on the Connecticut River, part of a movement of people who left the Massachusetts Bay Colony to find better land. Thomas Hooker organized the colony to have a means of defense against the local Pequots.
What was the British government's system of control in the 1700s?
By the 1700s, the British government controlled its colonies under mercantilism, a system that regulated the balance of trade in favor of Britain. Over time, colonists became frustrated with this unfair economic system and with Britain's administration of taxation of the colonies without any accompanying representation in Britain.
What was the purpose of James' death in 1625?
This helped to set a model and precedent for representative government in the other colonies.
Which colony was the first to be settled?
Virginia was the first permanently settled English colony, with the 1607 founding of Jamestown. The Virginia Company, a joint stock company which had been given the charter by King James I to found the colony, set up a General Assembly.
What are the Middle Colonies?
(Present U.S. states in gray.) The English colonies of New York (NY), New Jersey (NJ), Pennsylvania (PA) and Delaware (DE) are referred to as the 'middle colonies'.
When were the 13 colonies established?
The Thirteen Colonies were complete with the establishment of the Province of Georgia in 1732, although the term "Thirteen Colonies" became current only in the context of the American Revolution.
How many people were in the colonies in the 18th century?
The colonial population grew from about 2,000 to 2.4 million between 1625 and 1775, displacing Native Americans. This population included people subject to a system of slavery which was legal in all of the colonies prior to the American Revolutionary War. In the 18th century, the British government operated its colonies under a policy of mercantilism, in which the central government administered its possessions for the economic benefit of the mother country.
How many colonies were there in the New World?
All thirteen colonies were part of Britain's possessions in the New World, which also included territory in Canada, Florida, and the Caribbean . The colonial population grew from about 2,000 to 2.4 million between 1625 and 1775, displacing Native Americans.
What is the name of the group of colonies that formed the United States?
Thirteen Colonies. The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies or the Thirteen American Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centuries, they declared independence in 1776 and together formed the United States of America .
How many Puritans settled in Massachusetts?
More Puritans immigrated in 1629 and established the Massachusetts Bay Colony with 400 settlers. They sought to reform the Church of England by creating a new, ideologically pure church in the New World. By 1640, 20,000 had arrived; many died soon after arrival, but the others found a healthy climate and an ample food supply. The Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies together spawned other Puritan colonies in New England, including the New Haven, Saybrook, and Connecticut colonies. During the 17th century, the New Haven and Saybrook colonies were absorbed by Connecticut.
Where were the thirteen colonies located?
The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies or the Thirteen American Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centuries, they began fighting the American Revolutionary War in April 1775 and formed the United States of America by declaring full independence in July 1776.
What are the 13 colonies?
That story is incomplete–by the time Englishmen had begun to establish colonies in earnest, there were plenty of French, Spanish, Dutch and even Russian colonial outposts on the American continent–but the story of those 13 colonies (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia ) is an important one. It was those colonies that came together to form the United States.
Which colony was less cosmopolitan?
The Southern Colonies. By contrast, the Carolina colony, a territory that stretched south from Virginia to Florida and west to the Pacific Ocean, was much less cosmopolitan. In its northern half, hardscrabble farmers eked out a living.
What colony did Puritans form?
As the Massachusetts settlements expanded, they generated new colonies in New England. Puritans who thought that Massachusetts was not pious enough formed the colonies of Connecticut and New Haven (the two combined in 1665). Meanwhile, Puritans who thought that Massachusetts was too restrictive formed the colony of Rhode Island, where everyone–including Jewish people–enjoyed complete “liberty in religious concernments.” To the north of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a handful of adventurous settlers formed the colony of New Hampshire.
What did the Jamestown colonists learn?
It was not until 1616, when Virginia’s settlers learned how to grow tobacco, that it seemed the colony might survive. The first enslaved African arrived in Virginia in 1619.
How many ships did the London Company send to Virginia?
Mysteriously, by 1590 the Roanoke colony had vanished entirely. Historians still do not know what became of its inhabitants. In 1606, just a few months after James I issued its charter, the London Company sent 144 men to Virginia on three ships: the Godspeed, the Discovery and the Susan Constant.
What was the name of the colony that was named after William Penn?
Penn’s North American holdings became the colony of “Penn’s Woods,” or Pennsylvania.
What was the Declaration of Independence?
The Declaration of Independence, issued on July 4, 1776, enumerated the reasons the Founding Fathers felt compelled to break from the rule of King George III and parliament to start a new nation. In September of that year, the Continental Congress declared the “United Colonies” of America to be the “ United States of America .”.
What was the New England colony under?
Under King James II of England, the New England colonies, New York, and the Jerseys were briefly united as the Dominion of New England (1686–89). The administration was eventually led by Governor Sir Edmund Andros and seized colonial charters, revoked land titles, and ruled without local assemblies, causing anger among the population. The 1689 Boston revolt was inspired by England's Glorious Revolution against James II and led to the arrest of Andros, Boston Anglicans, and senior dominion officials by the Massachusetts militia. Andros was jailed for several months, then returned to England. The Dominion of New England was dissolved and governments resumed under their earlier charters.
What countries were colonized in 1750?
Main articles: New France and French colonization of the Americas. The 1750 possessions of Britain (pink and purple), France (blue), and Spain (orange) in contrast to the borders of contemporary Canada and the United States.
What was the first successful colony in the world?
The first successful English colony was Jamestown, established May 14, 1607, near Chesapeake Bay. The business venture was financed and coordinated by the London Virginia Company, a joint-stock company looking for gold. Its first years were extremely difficult, with very high death rates from disease and starvation, wars with local Indians, and little gold. The colony survived and flourished by turning to tobacco as a cash crop. By the late 17th century, Virginia's export economy was largely based on tobacco, and new, richer settlers came in to take up large portions of land, build large plantations and import indentured servants and slaves. In 1676, Bacon's Rebellion occurred, but was suppressed by royal officials. After Bacon's Rebellion, African slaves rapidly replaced indentured servants as Virginia's main labor force.
What was the name of the island that Columbus landed on?
In September 1493, Christopher Columbus set sail on his second voyage with 17 ships from Cádiz. On November 19, 1493 he landed on the island of Puerto Rico , naming it San Juan Bautista in honor of Saint John the Baptist. The first European colony, Caparra, was founded on August 8, 1508, by Juan Ponce de León, a lieutenant under Columbus, who was greeted by the Taíno Cacique Agüeybaná and who later became the first governor of the island. Ponce de Leon was actively involved in the Higuey massacre of 1503 in Puerto Rico. In 1508, Sir Ponce de Leon was chosen by the Spanish Crown to lead the conquest and slavery of the Taíno Indians for gold mining operations. The following year, the colony was abandoned in favor of a nearby island on the coast, named Puerto Rico (Rich Port), which had a suitable harbor. In 1511, a second settlement, San Germán was established in the southwestern part of the island. During the 1520s, the island took the name of Puerto Rico while the port became San Juan .
How did the British colonists find themselves more similar than different?
Another point on which the colonies found themselves more similar than different was the booming import of British goods. The British economy had begun to grow rapidly at the end of the 17th century and, by the mid-18th century, small factories in Britain were producing much more than the nation could consume. Britain found a market for their goods in the British colonies of North America, increasing her exports to that region by 360% between 1740 and 1770. British merchants offered credit to their customers; this allowed Americans to buy a large amount of British goods. From Nova Scotia to Georgia, all British subjects bought similar products, creating and anglicizing a sort of common identity.
What territories did New Spain include?
New Spain included territories in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, much of the United States west of the Mississippi River, parts of Latin America (including Puerto Rico), and the Spanish East Indies (including Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands ).
Why did some emigrants come to America?
Some emigrants who came to Colonial America were in search of religious freedom. London did not make the Church of England official in the colonies—it never sent a bishop—so religious practice became diverse.
Who ruled the colonies?
Royal colonies were ruled directly by the English monarchy and government officials were appointed by the crown.
How many colonies were there in the 17th century?
There were originally seven colonies in New England in the 17 th century: Plymouth Colony, founded in 1620, absorbed by the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1691. Province of Maine, founded in 1622, later absorbed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony. New Hampshire Colony, founded in 1623, later became the Province of New Hampshire.
How did the New England colonies make money?
Economy of the New England Colonies: Since the soil in New England was poor and the growing season was too short to grow many crops, besides corn, beans and squash, the New England colonies had to rely on other ways to make money, primarily through fishing, whaling, shipbuilding and rum making.
What are the names of the colonies in New England?
There were originally seven colonies in New England in the 17 th century: 1 Plymouth Colony, founded in 1620, absorbed by the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1691 2 Province of Maine, founded in 1622, later absorbed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony 3 New Hampshire Colony, founded in 1623, later became the Province of New Hampshire 4 Massachusetts Bay Colony, founded in 1630, became the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1691 5 Rhode Island Colony, founded in 1636 6 Connecticut Colony, founded in 1636 7 New Haven Colony, founded in 1638, absorbed by Connecticut Colony in 1664
Why did the New England colonies become royal colonies?
Many of the New England colonies eventually had their charters revoked though and became royal colonies when the crown began to tighten its control over the colonies due to its growing economic interest in colonial trade.
What climate did the New England colonies have?
The New England colonies had a humid continental climate. Humid continental climates have four seasons: winter, spring, summer and fall and exhibit large seasonal temperature contrasts with hot summers and cold winters.
Why was shipbuilding important in the New England colonies?
Shipbuilding was also an important industry in the New England colonies as a result of the abundance of tall, straight oak trees and white pine, which were ideal trees for shipbuilding. To take advantage of this natural resource, the colonists built many sawmills to process these trees into lumber for the shipbuilding process.
