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the 13 british colonies
the 13 british colonies
Between 1607 and 1733, Great Britain established 13 colonies on the banks of the Atlantic Ocean. Each colony can be grouped into one of three regions based on its geography and economics. Those three regions are New England Colonies, Middle (Mid-Atlantic) Colonies, and Southern Colonies.
Middle Colonies
Middle Colonies
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware
New York
New York
New Netherlands was first founded by the Dutch to act as a trading post. But when England realized how successful they were, they desired New Netherlands for themselves. Also, it made England uncomfortable to have the Dutch settlement between their New England Colonies and Virginia.
In 1664, England sent a fleet of warships to take the colony. Unprepared to engage in battle, the Dutch surrendered the colony to the English.
The colony was renamed New York after the Duke of York, who got the colony as a proprietary colony from the King.
The Duke of York gave some of his land to Lord John Berkley and Sir George Carteret, who named their land New Jersey. They attracted settlers by starting a representative assembly and offering large amounts of land. But because New Jersey had no harbor, it was hard to make a profit. They sold their shares of ownership in the colony and it reverted back to the king.
New Jersey
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
In England, there was a large population of religious people who belonged to a society called the Society of Friends. As they worshipped, they were said to tremble or "quake" so they got the nickname of Quakers. The Quaker beliefs angered the people of England, so they sought to create their own colony in the American colonies in order to find religious freedom.
Some of their beliefs included:
No Slavery
Equality for men and women
Pacifism
tolerance of all people and beliefs
King Charles II handed over land to Quaker William Penn in 1681. The King owed a large sum of money to Penn and rather than repay the debt in cash, he gave him land to take his Quaker friends and leave.
Penn established Pennsylvania (translates to "Penn's Woods"), where Quakers could have religious freedom. There, he founded the town of Philadelphia, which means "city of brotherly love." Philadelphia attracted thousands of people. It became one of the largest cities in the British colonies.
Penn also got land from the Duke of York (also because of a debt owed to him). Delaware was south of the land he had originally recieved and was mainly occupied by colonists from Sweden. It was still officially part of Pennsylvania, but Penn let them govern themselves.
Delaware
Delaware
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