3 Types of Colonies
Charter
Proprietary
Royal
Types of Colonies
• Royal- colony that is direct controlled by the king of England.
The king would appoint a local governor and/or council (upper house) to
administer, but the king would be the ultimate power.
The colonists elected an assembly called the lower house which was composed of the
people, and they would appeal any issues to the governor.
Virginia was an example of a royal colony.
• Proprietary- is a colony in which the king gave land to one or more people called
proprietors.
This type was most common during the early colonization of the Americas by Great
Britain. Most are run under a charter agreement which is reviewed by the ruling
royalty.
They were generally free to rule as they wished. People elect the lower house.
Examples- Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware
This type of ruling structure eventually fell out of favor as the English monarchs sought
to concentrate their power and authority, and the colonies were converted to crown
colonies. Crown colonies were governed by someone appointed by the king.
• Charter- established by groups of settlers given charter, and had the most control
over their own government than the other types of colonies, which were ruled more
by the British.
A charter is a document bestowing certain rights on a town, city, university or
institution. ...
contract between the people who came and the crown
People (freemen) elect the lower house
Lower house elects the upper house
Upper and lower house elect the governor
Connecticut and Rhode Island examples