Sixteenth-century England was a period of significant upheaval. Landowners shifted from farming to sheep pastures due to the higher profitability of wool, leading to both food shortages and unemployment among agricultural workers.
Did you know? Virginia Dare holds the distinction of being the first child born in America to English parents, arriving into the world in Roanoke in 1587.
The 16th century also marked the height of mercantilism, a fiercely competitive economic system that drove European nations to aggressively pursue colonies. Consequently, the English colonies established in North America were primarily commercial endeavors. While they offered a solution to England’s overpopulation and, in some instances, greater religious freedom, their main objective was to generate profit for their backers.
The 13 Colonies
The Tobacco Colonies
In 1606, King James I divided the Atlantic coast, granting the southern part to the London Company (later known as the Virginia Company) and the northern part to the Plymouth Company.
The earliest English settlement in North America actually predates this division by about 20 years. In 1587, Sir Walter Raleigh led a group of colonists (comprising 91 men, 17 women, and nine children) to settle Roanoke Island. However, by 1590, the Roanoke colony had mysteriously disappeared, becoming known as the Lost Colony of Roanoke. The fate of its inhabitants remains an unsolved historical puzzle.
In 1606, shortly after King James I issued the charter, the London Company dispatched 144 men to Virginia aboard three ships: the Godspeed, the Discovery, and the Susan Constant. They reached Chesapeake Bay in the spring of 1607 and sailed approximately 60 miles up the James River, where they established Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America.
The Jamestown colonists faced severe hardships. Their preoccupation with finding gold and other valuable resources overshadowed the crucial task of food production. It wasn’t until 1616, when settlers in Virginia began cultivating tobacco, that the colony’s survival prospects improved. The first documented arrival of enslaved Africans in Virginia occurred in 1619.
In 1632, the English crown awarded approximately 12 million acres at the northern end of Chesapeake Bay to Cecilius Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore. This colony, named Maryland in honor of Queen Henrietta Maria, shared many similarities with Virginia. Large plantations in Maryland produced tobacco, relying on indentured servants and, increasingly, enslaved Africans for labor.
However, unlike Virginia, Maryland was founded by Lord Baltimore, a Catholic, who envisioned the colony as a haven for persecuted Catholics. Maryland became notable for its policy of religious tolerance for all Christian denominations.
The New England Colonies
The initial English settlers in the region that would become the New England colonies were a small group of Puritan separatists, later known as the Pilgrims. They arrived in Plymouth in 1620 and founded Plymouth Colony. A decade later, the Massachusetts Bay Company, a wealthy syndicate, sent a larger and more reformist group of Puritans to establish another settlement in Massachusetts. With assistance from local Native American tribes, the colonists quickly learned to farm, fish, and hunt, leading to the prosperity of Massachusetts.
As the Massachusetts settlements grew, they branched out to form new colonies across New England. Puritans who felt Massachusetts was not strict enough in its religious practices established the colonies of Connecticut and New Haven (which merged in 1665). Conversely, Puritans who considered Massachusetts too restrictive formed Rhode Island, a colony celebrated for its complete religious freedom for all, including Jewish people. To the north of Massachusetts Bay Colony, a group of adventurous individuals established the colony of New Hampshire.
The 13 Colonies: Order of Settlement and Key Dates
| Colony | Founding Date | Founder/Key Facts |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia | May 14, 1607 | Established by the Virginia Company at Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America; initially struggled but thrived with tobacco cultivation. |
| New Hampshire | 1623 | First permanent settlement at present-day Dover; officially authorized as a colony in 1629, known for independent settlers and later shipbuilding. |
| Massachusetts | 1630 | Founded by Puritans in Salem under the Massachusetts Bay Company; absorbed Plymouth Colony (founded by Pilgrims in 1620); became a major center of Puritanism and commerce. |
| Maryland | 1634 | Established by Cecilius Calvert (Lord Baltimore) at St. Mary’s City; intended as a haven for Catholics; known for religious tolerance and tobacco plantations. |
| Connecticut | 1636 | Founded by Puritans led by Thomas Hooker, who established Hartford; known for its Fundamental Orders, an early form of colonial constitution. |
| Rhode Island | 1636 | Established by Roger Williams after being banished from Massachusetts; founded Providence, known for its religious freedom and separation of church and state. |
| New York | 1664 | Originally Dutch New Netherland, seized by the English and renamed New York; became a diverse colony with Dutch, English, and other European settlers; important trading hub. |
| New Jersey | 1664 | Formed from the division of New Netherland with New York; known for fertile lands and religious diversity; attracted Quakers and other groups seeking tolerance. |
| Pennsylvania | 1681 | Founded by William Penn for Quakers; granted by royal charter; known for religious tolerance, peaceful relations with Native Americans, and the city of Philadelphia. |
| Delaware | 1664/1776 | Initially part of New Netherland, then New York, and later administered with Pennsylvania; declared independence from Pennsylvania in 1776 to become a separate colony/state. |
| North Carolina | 1712 | Divided from the Carolina province (originally chartered in 1663); characterized by smaller farms, tobacco, and naval stores; less aristocratic than South Carolina. |
| South Carolina | 1712 | Also divided from Carolina; developed a plantation economy based on rice and indigo; closer ties to Barbados and reliant on enslaved African labor. |
| Georgia | 1732 | Founded by James Oglethorpe; intended as a buffer colony against Spanish Florida and a haven for debtors; initially restricted slavery but later adopted plantation agriculture. |
The Middle Colonies
In 1664, King Charles II granted the territory between New England and Virginia, much of which was already settled by Dutch traders and landowners called patroons, to his brother James, the Duke of York. The English swiftly took control of Dutch New Netherland and renamed it New York.
Most of the existing Dutch inhabitants, along with Belgian Flemings and Walloons, French Huguenots, Scandinavians, and Germans, remained in the area. This diverse population contributed to New York’s rapid growth and prosperity in the New World.
In 1680, the king granted William Penn, a Quaker who owned significant lands in Ireland, 45,000 square miles of land west of the Delaware River. Penn’s North American holdings became the colony of Pennsylvania, meaning “Penn’s Woods.”
Attracted by fertile soil and the promise of religious tolerance offered by Penn, people migrated to Pennsylvania from across Europe. Similar to their Puritan counterparts in New England, many of these immigrants could afford their passage and had resources to establish themselves upon arrival. As a result, Pennsylvania quickly became a prosperous and relatively egalitarian colony.
The Southern Colonies
In contrast, the Carolina colony, which stretched from Virginia south to Florida and west to the Pacific Ocean (though this western claim was largely theoretical), was less unified. Northern Carolina was characterized by hardworking farmers struggling to make a living. Southern Carolina, however, developed large plantations producing corn, lumber, beef, pork, and, from the 1690s onward, rice.
The Carolinians, particularly in the south, had strong connections to the English planter colony in Barbados, which heavily relied on enslaved African labor. Many Carolinians were also involved in the slave trade. Consequently, slavery became deeply ingrained in the development of the Carolina colony, which split into North Carolina and South Carolina in 1729.
In 1732, motivated by the need for a buffer zone between South Carolina and Spanish Florida, James Oglethorpe established the Georgia colony. Georgia’s early development mirrored South Carolina’s trajectory.
Read more about the differences between Puritans and Pilgrims.
Explore surprising facts about the Jamestown Colony.
Discover 13 facts about the 13 colonies.
The Revolutionary War and the Treaty of Paris
By 1700, the English colonies in North America were home to approximately 250,000 European settlers and enslaved Africans. By 1775, on the brink of revolution, this number had grown to an estimated 2.5 million. Despite their diverse backgrounds, the colonists united to fight for their independence.
The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) was ignited by colonial discontent over issues like taxation without representation, exemplified by acts such as the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts. Tensions escalated, culminating in the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, where the “shot heard round the world” was fired.
Earlier events, such as the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770, and the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773, had already demonstrated the colonists’ growing opposition to British rule.
The Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, 1776, articulated the reasons why the Founding Fathers felt compelled to separate from King George III and the British Parliament to establish a new nation. In September of that year, the Continental Congress officially renamed the “United Colonies” of America as the “United States of America.”
France allied with the colonists in 1778, providing crucial support that helped the Continental Army defeat the British at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. The Treaty of Paris, formally ending the American Revolution and recognizing the independence of the original 13 colonies, was signed on September 3, 1783.
13 Colonies Flag
During the Revolutionary War, a flag featuring thirteen alternating red and white stripes and thirteen five-pointed stars arranged in a circle became a symbol of the colonies’ unity. This flag variant is also known as the “Betsy Ross Flag,” attributed to her design. The stripes and stars are symbolic representations of the 13 original colonies.
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