Mario Yarbrough
July 20 2022
The 13 Colonies were a gathering of British colonies that were built along the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. The colonies had a well-respected way of governing. The people who lived in the colonies voted on what happened. The colonies included Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, North and South Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.
The first colony was Virginia, and it began with Jamestown in 1607, which was the capital of Virginia until 1699, when Jamestown was turned into Williamsburg. On May 24, 1624, James I of England revoked their charter, and made it a crown colony. In 1607, the colony got the nickname “The Old Dominion” because of its loyalty to the crown. The colony was eventually spread into separate parts that formed Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Massachusetts was created when the Plymouth Colony and the Massachusetts Bay colony were combined to create the Province of Massachusetts. Although most leaders were Puritan, other religions were tolerated. After arriving, the colonists had some difficulties with the natives which led to the Pequot War in 1636. It officially became the Province of Massachusetts when King William and Queen Mary of England issued a new charter in 1691.
Maryland was established by Lord Baltimore in 1632 and was made as a safe place for Catholics during the King Philips War. Even though, the colony was tolerant of other religions, eventually the protestants overthrew the Catholics and gained control. Because they farmed tobacco to sell to Europe, they had to resort to servants and eventually slaves. Most profitable farms were in the area of Chesapeake Bay.
Connecticut was founded four years after Maryland by Thomas Hooker, who was a Puritan minister. The Pequot War between settlers and the native Americans was fought mostly on Connecticut soil.
Rhode Island was founded by Roger Williams and Anne Hutchison when they were banned from Massachusetts. Williams founded Rhode Island and Anne founded the Providence Plantation, in 1663 they combined the two together. It was tolerant of most religions, except for Jews and Quakers, which are religious friends that believe that God flows in all people.
Delaware was established in 1664, by Sir Robert Carr. It was originally part of the Providence of Pennsylvania. It was turned into an English colony after he removed the Dutch from the land.
The Carolinas were founded by Charles II in 1663. He gave the Province of Carolina to eight Lord Proprietors who helped in his restoration of the throne. He planned that the Carolinas would keep the Spaniards from advancing North from Florida. The North and South parts of the colony were governed in different ways. By the time of 1712, they separated completely, and both became royal colonies, with a royal governor. They were named after Charles II and in 1663, had Charlestown made as the very first city. It grew extremely large and became the economical center of South Carolina.
During the Second Anglo-Dutch War, which occurred in 1664, the English took control of Fort Amsterdam and stole the Netherlands claims. This area became New Jersey. However, in 1673-1674, for this short period of time, it was regained by the Dutch. After this, it was split apart into East and West Jersey, with their own governor and constitution. The colony was brought back to one piece in 1703, at which time it became a royal colony. They had a dispute with New York over where the boundary lines were permanently placed in 1769.
The Province of New York was originally owned by the Dutch but was surrendered in 1643. It was named after the Duke of York and was ruled directly by England. Although New York was able to support itself using the European trading system, it also made agricultural advancements on the Hudson River. Its constitution allowed all people to have more rights than any other colonies. In 1663, New York finally added a government, which was organized into twelve counties, ten of which still exist today.
The Pennsylvania Colony was founded in 1681, by William Penn. Its government was made up of four different sections: a governor, a proprietor, a large council, and an assembly. Pennsylvania was made up of quakers, which meant that they believed, that God flows through everyone. The Mennonites and Amish settled on the Pennsylvania land, because of the produce on the rich soil. Philadelphia was the capital of Pennsylvania, and eventually became the most important city in America. The Quakers also treated the Indians with respect, and did not play a part, in any of there wars.
Georgia was established by James Oglethorpe in 1732. It was the last colony established and was furthest south. Savannah was the capital of Georgia, and just happens to also be where the first settlers landed.
All 13 colonies were established by England and Germany, but were eventually, all turned to the English. The US was therefore originally made by England, but then became a separate country.
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