NEW ENGLAND COLONIES
NEW HAMPSHIRE - 1679
This area of land was granted to John Mason in 1622.
Mason called the area New Hampshire after his
homeland of Hampshire, England. In 1679, New
Hampshire became a colony when king Charles II
made it a separate royal colony under John
Wheelwright. The main reasons for the founding of
this colony were for more political and religious
freedom.
MASSACHUSETTS - 1630
The name of this colony means “at or near the great hill.” The
Pilgrims, led by William Bradford, founded the first settlement
in this colony (Plymouth) in 1620. The Pilgrims (Separatists)
established the Plymouth colony so they could have religious
freedom. The Pilgrims received a land grant from the Virginia
Company for land in Northern Virginia, but were blown off
course by a storm. Instead of arriving in Virginia, they ended
up off the coast of Cape Cod. The Pilgrims had a problem.
They were no longer under the control of the Virginia
Company because they were not in Virginia, so they had no
government or laws. Things would get out of hand quickly
without laws and a government to enforce the laws. So, still
aboard ship, William Bradford and William Brewster invited all
41 males to sign the Mayflower Compact. All of the men
signed the document and America’s first adventure in
democracy (rule by the people) had begun.
THE MAYFLOWER COMPACT - EXCERPT
In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are written
here, the loyal subjects of our dreaded sovereign Lord King
James, having undertaken for the glory of God, and the
advancement of the Christian faith, and the honor of our king
and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern
parts of Virginia, do . . . solemnly and mutually in the
presence of God, and one of another, agree and combine
ourselves together into a civil political body . . . to establish,
form, and frame such fair and equal laws, rules, acts,
constitutions, and offices for the general good of the colony,
to which we promise all due submission and obedience.
MASSACHUSETTS – 1630 - CONTINUED
In 1630, the Puritans arrived and started the settlement of
Boston. King Charles I disliked English Puritans because they
wanted to change the Anglican church. He harassed the Puritans
to the point that they finally decided to leave England and
establish a colony where they could practice their religious
beliefs freely. A group of Puritans formed the Massachusetts
Bay Company and in 1630, led by John Winthrop, sailed 1,000
strong on 17 ships into Boston Harbor and established the
Massachusetts Bay Colony. Each of the white men signed a
covenant, or agreement, which stated he and his family would
live by Puritan church rules. Only men who were members of
the Puritan church could vote in the colony’s elections. Once a
year, a governor and representatives from different villages were
elected to govern the colony.
RHODE ISLAND - 1636
In 1636, Roger Williams, a Separatist minister, was kicked out of the
Massachusetts colony because he believed in separation of church
and state. On land bought from a Native American tribe he
established the colony of Rhode Island. In 1638, Anne Hutchinson
was also kicked out of the Massachusetts colony for religious beliefs
that did not match what the Puritans believed. She joined Williams
in Rhode Island. Williams created a democratic government with
religious freedom and separation of church and state. In the early
years of the colony, all men could vote for the colony’s governor and
local officials. Later, only men who owned property could vote.
Voters did not have to belong to a church. In time, the colony
became known as a place where people with different religious
beliefs were welcome.
CONNECTICUT - 1636
In 1636, Thomas Hooker, a Puritan minister, left
Massachusetts because of a disagreement over church
membership and voting. Hooker and his followers
believed that you did not have to belong to a church
in order to vote. The Fundamental Orders of
Connecticut, written by Connecticut Puritans in 1639,
became America’s first written constitution
(document that describes how a government is to be
run). The Fundamental Orders created a democratic
government, with voting rights based on property
ownership rather than religious beliefs.
MIDDLE COLONIES
NEW YORK - 1664
New York was originally a Dutch (Holland or Netherlands)
colony named New Netherland. The Dutch established
this colony in 1624. In 1664, English King Charles II
decided he wanted this land so English settlers in the New
England colonies could move further west. King Charles
gave the task of capturing the colony to his brother James,
Duke of York. The Dutch surrendered and to honor the
Duke of York, New Netherland was renamed New York.
Colonists had little say in New York’s government. The
colony had a powerful governor who was appointed by
British royalty. The governor appointed other officials and
enforced the laws.
NEW JERSEY - 1664
In 1664, the Duke of York gave land between the
Hudson and Delaware rivers to two friends, John
Berkeley and George Carteret, who named the colony
New Jersey after the Isle of Jersey in England. They
divided the land into East Jersey and West Jersey and
established religious and political freedom to attract
colonists. These two men also worked out a system
where colonists could obtain land cheaply. The main
reason this colony was established was to make
money.
PENNSYLVANIA - 1682
In 1682, King Charles II granted this colony to William Penn in order
to pay off a debt (money owed) to the Penn family. Penn, a Quaker,
called the colonization of the area a “holy experiment” where people
could live in peace and harmony. He wanted to start a colony where
Quakers could live safely. Quakers, a religious group, believed all
people were equal: women, slaves, and Native Americans.
Pennsylvania attracted people from many different countries and
religions. Penn’s Frames of Government guaranteed political and
religious freedom and also provided economic opportunity: every
male settler received 50 acres of land. Pennsylvania’s government
included a governor and a Provincial Council that made the laws. A
General Assembly (government officials that meet and make laws)
passed or rejected these laws. All male property owners could vote
for members of the assembly. William Penn appointed the governor
with the approval of the king.
DELAWARE - 1664
In 1638, the New Sweden Company founded New
Sweden on Delaware Bay. The first log cabins in
America were built in this colony. The colony was
taken over by New Netherland in 1655, and then
England gained control of the colony in 1664. King
Charles II gave control of the colony to William Penn
in 1682. Penn wanted the land in order to give the
colonists of Pennsylvania control of a coastal area for
shipping. In 1702, Delaware, named for Lord De La
Warr, the first governor of Virginia, was allowed to
elect its own law making assembly. This colony
became an important agricultural and shipping colony.
SOUTHERN COLONIES
MARYLAND - 1634
In 1632, King Charles I gave a large section of land
north of Virginia to a Catholic landowner named Lord
Baltimore (Cecelius Calvert). Calvert established the
colony of Maryland (named for Queen Henrietta
Maria) in 1634 so Catholics had a safe place to
practice their religious beliefs. In England and in some
colonies, Catholics were harshly treated by nonCatholics and the British government. Protestants
soon outnumbered Catholics in Maryland, and Calvert
realized that Catholic freedom must be protected.
The Toleration Act of 1649, a landmark of religious
liberty, granted freedom of worship to all Christians.
VIRGINIA - 1607
England’s first permanent colony in America, Jamestown, Virginia,
was planned as a trading settlement by the Virginia Company of
London. The purpose of the colony was to make money for the 650
investors who each paid twelve pounds, ten shillings per share for
stock in the Virginia Company. In 1607, the Virginia Company sent
105 men to establish the colony. They landed in the New World on
April 26. Led by a governing council of seven men (appointed by the
Virginia Company), the men settled 30 miles up the James River on a
marshy peninsula, defensible against Indian attacks and Spanish
raiders. The Virginians built a fort, dug for gold, and searched for a
passage to the Far East (China). However, they failed to plant enough
crops for food; by winter, famine (ran out of food) and disease killed
all but 38 men. In 1608, Captain John Smith took charge of the
colony and saved it by making a rule that if you did not work, you did
not eat. Half of the settlers were gentlemen and not used to work.
VIRGINIA – 1607 - CONTINUED
Powhattan, Supreme Chieftain of the Powhattan Confederacy (about
9,000 Indians), discussed the Englishmen at Werowocomocotook, his
village 14 miles from Jamestown. In late 1607, John Smith was
captured and almost killed by these Native Americans. His life was
spared when Powhattan’s daughter, Pocahontas, stepped in and
convinced the Native Americans not to kill him. Her friendship with
the Jamestown colony brought about a time of peace between the
English settlers and the Native Americans. The Jamestown settlers
never found any gold, but in 1612 tobacco became Virginia’s “gold”
when John Rolfe discovered a new way to make it sweet tasting.
Smoking became very popular in England and the Virginia colony
grew and made money by exporting this cash crop to Europe. The
Virginia Company needed more laborers to grow more tobacco so
they could make more money. The Virginia Company came up with
two ways to attract more settlers to the Virginia colony: political
freedom and economic freedom.
VIRGINIA – 1607 - CONTINUED
In 1618, the Virginia colony established the House of Burgesses,
which became the colonies first representative legislative assembly.
“Burgess” (or “burger”) is an old English term meaning “free citizen.”
Each Virginia district elected two men to serve in the assembly
which, along with the company appointed governor and council,
made laws for the colony. The House of Burgesses met for the first
time in 1619 at Jamestown, Virginia. In 1776, leaders from the House
of Burgesses would lead the colonies to independence from England.
By 1698, the House of Burgesses had the right to make tax laws for
the colony. There could be “no taxation without representation.” In
1619, the Virginia Company established the Headright System that
allowed private ownership of land. Each settler received 100 acres of
free land. Also in 1619, 90 women arrived for the first time to
become wives for the Jamestown settlers , and 20 kidnapped
Africans were sold to the Jamestown settlers by the captain of a
Dutch ship. The first seeds of slavery had been planted in the
English colonies.
NORTH CAROLINA - 1663
Sir Walter Raleigh organized the first settlement
attempted by the English in this colony in 1587. It became
known as ”The Lost Colony” because its settlers
disappeared and never found. In 1653, English people
from other colonies began to move into the area. Eight
noblemen known as the Lord Proprietors were given this
land in 1663. The noblemen wanted to make money by
growing and exporting rice, indigo, silk, and wine. It was
originally one colony but was split into two sections in
1729 by King George II. North Carolina was the poorest of
the thirteen colonies because many of the colonists were
debtors, members of religious sects, and pirates.
SOUTH CAROLINA - 1663
This land was given to eight noblemen, known as the
Lord Proprietors, in 1663. It was originally one colony
but was split into two sections in 1729. The first
settlement in this colony was Charles Town. South
Carolina had a policy of religious tolerance so many
different religious groups moved to this area. The
slave trade was a big business in this colony as well as
the export of beef. Later, rice and indigo would
become popular cash crops.
GEORGIA - 1733
James Oglethorpe, an English leader, help found the last of
the English colonies in North America. Oglethorpe saw
that English jails were crowded with debtors, people who
owe money to someone else. He came up with a plan to
establish a colony in the New World where debtors could
go to start new lives on their own land. In 1732, King
George II gave Oglethorpe a charter to land south of the
Carolinas. Because of Georgia’s location, it helped protect
the other English colonies from possible Spanish attacks.
Settlers found that the land was good for growing rice and
indigo. These crops made the colony wealthy. Slavery
was at first outlawed in this colony but was later accepted
in order to get workers for the plantations.