How many original colonies were there

These colonies — 13 in total — later declared their independence from the British in and formed what is now the United States. The Plymouth Company also established a colony, known as Popham Colony.

However, this colony was short-lived. In , the 13 colonies were complete. As the colonies were established throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the population grew immensely, starting at just 2, people and growing to over 2 million.

During this time, many American Indians were also displaced. The colonies all had similar constitutions, legal systems and political systems in place. Representative government had begun. Meanwhile, in England, a group of Puritans was fleeing religious persecution. Some decided to go to America. In September these Pilgrims sailed to the New World. They chose Plymouth as the site of their colony. They founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Winthrop became its first governor. By more than 20, settlers were living around Boston. Puritan leaders tried to control the colony, but settlers demanded the right to representation. In Massachusetts, as in Virginia, colonists developed a democratic government. One early protester against the Puritans was Roger Williams.

In he founded Providence, which became the colony of Rhode Island. That same year, another group from Massachusetts settled on the Connecticut River. They built a village called Hartford.

They were soon governing themselves as the colony of Connecticut. Later, the two men divided the land. Gorges took the Maine section. Mason took New Hampshire. Pioneers from Massachusetts moved north. They built farms and villages. In New Hampshire became a separate colony. But Massachusetts still claimed the coast. Maine never became a colony. In Henry Hudson sailed to America. He was an Englishman who had been hired by the Dutch.

The Dutch claimed the territory Hudson explored, and they called it New Netherland. Dutch businessmen sent out traders to build trading posts. The largest stood at the mouth of the Hudson River. The Dutch called it New Amsterdam. In Swedish settlers sailed into the Delaware River. They built Fort Christina, named for the queen of Sweden.

The Middle Colonies list also consisted of four of the original 13 Colonies:. The Southern Colonies list consisted of five of the original 13 Colonies:. This article on the first 13 Colonies of Colonial America provides facts and information about: The original names of the first 13 Colonies The location and a map of the 13 Colonies The first 13 Colonies in order of their establishment Fast facts and an overview of the New England Colonies, the Middle Colonies and the Southern Colonies.

American Colonies Index. First 13 Colonies. New England Colonies. Middle Colonies. Southern Colonies. Date of Colonization. Famous People. John Smith John Rolfe. John Carver William Bradford. New York. Peter Minuit Peter Stuyvesant. Massachusetts Bay. Cargoes of rum were exchanged for captives in Africa, the captives were then transported to the West Indies and traded for sugar and molasses produced by enslaved people. Those raw materials went back to New England, where they were used to make the rum.

Rhode Island also had the highest percentage of enslaved Africans in New England, with captives making up Some in the colony were troubled by its dependence upon the cruel institution, and legislators passed a number of laws in an effort to limit it, including a law that emancipated the children of enslaved women once they reached adulthood. Delaware started out as a Swedish colony in , when explorer Peter Minuit established a settlement near what is today Wilmington.

But the Dutch held the colony for less than a decade before they were chased out by the British, who absorbed it into the former Dutch colony they renamed New York.

Then, in , the Duke of York who would later become King James II , gave what is now Delaware to William Penn , who wanted it so that his new colony of Pennsylvania would have access to the sea. But Pennsylvania and the three counties that eventually formed Delaware never really meshed, and in , those counties were allowed to establish their own separate elected legislature.

In June , Delaware legislators met at the New Castle courthouse and approved a Separation Resolution , severing ties with the British crown. That negated its relationship with Pennsylvania as well, and the state of Delaware was created. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you.

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