Thirteen Colonies

Betsy Ross purportedly sewed the first American flag with 13 stars and 13 stripes representing each of the 13 states.

The Thirteen Colonies were thirteen British colonies in North America, separately chartered and governed, that rebelled, signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 becoming independent sovereign states, thereby establishing the United States of America.

List

The 13 states threw off colonial rule in 1775 and declared independence in 1776.

Contemporaneous documents almost always listed the colonies in geographical order, roughly from north to south, as follows (the division into three regions is a later construct of historians, though New England was always considered to be a distinct region):

• New England:
  • Province of New Hampshire, later New Hampshire
  • Province of Massachusetts Bay, later Massachusetts and Maine
  • Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, later Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
  • Connecticut Colony, later Connecticut
• Middle Colonies:
  • Province of New York, later New York and Vermont
  • Province of New Jersey, later New Jersey
  • Province of Pennsylvania, later Pennsylvania
  • Delaware Colony (before 1776, the Lower Counties on Delaware), later Delaware
• Cheasapeake Colonies:
  • Province of Maryland, later Maryland
  • Colony and Dominion of Virginia, later Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia
• Southern Colonies:
  • Province of North Carolina, later North Carolina and Tennessee
  • Province of South Carolina, later South Carolina
  • Province of Georgia, later Georgia

Reference is sometimes seen to the Chesapeake Colonies, these being the Province of Maryland and the Colony and Dominion of Virginia; so called because they border the Chesapeake Bay; otherwise, they are considered Southern Colonies.

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Proprietary, royal, and charter colonies

The Thirteen Colonies were established by one of three possible means.

• Proprietary colonies: Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. The British Crown gave a charter (document) and land to a private owner (proprietor) who would then govern the colony.

• Royal colonies: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The British Crown retained sovereignty over the colony and governed it.

• Charter colonies: Rhode Island and Connecticut. The British Crown granted a charter (document) to a group of settlers, who would then govern the colony.

British colonies in mainland North America that did not join the rebellion

Britain held several other colonies on mainland North America in 1776 which did not join the thirteen in their Revolution against the Crown.

Future Canadian provinces

• Nova Scotia (including present day New Brunswick)
• Newfoundland
• St. John's Island (now called Prince Edward Island)
• the Province of Quebec, which included present day Quebec and Ontario

In 1775, the British claimed authority over both the red and pink areas on this map and Spain ruled the orange west of the Mississippi River. The red area is the area of the 13 colonies after the Proclamation of 1763. (Map produced by U.S. Dept. of Interior.)

Future American states

• East Florida (forming most of today's Florida)
• West Florida (which now forms parts of the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida)

See also

• History of the United States (1776-1789): Independence and the American Revolution
• British colonization of the Americas
• Colonial government in America

External links

• British North American Colonies to 1783 - Military History & Institutions
• The Avalon Project at Yale Law School: Colonial Charters, Grants and Related Documents
• 13 Originals: Founding the American Colonies, a page that gives a brief history of all the colonies.