THIRTEEN COLONIES: ANTECEDENTS, ORIGIN AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS - HISTORY - 2025

The T pray Colonies were the first British colonial possessions on the coast of the present United States. It was in 1607 when the first of all of them was established, Virginia, although previously there was another, but its inhabitants, for reasons unknown to this day, mysteriously disappeared.

After the arrival of Columbus in America, Europeans began to explore the new continent. The Spanish were the first to enter present-day American territory, but the English, French, and Dutch also sent their own expeditions. It would not be until the seventeenth century when colonies began to form.

The Thirteen Colonies of North America around 1775 - Source: Map_Thirteen_Colonies_1775-fr.svg translated by Rowanwindwhistler

There were two main origins of the Thirteen Colonies. On the one hand, the economic one, since many colonists came to the new lands in search of riches, something that the English crown promoted. A second group of settlers, who would settle in New England, arrived fleeing religious persecution.

The Thirteen Colonies had different characteristics and histories, although experts usually group them by geographical areas. Over time, they began to distance themselves from the metropolis, which would lead to the revolution that led to the creation of the United States.

Background

Various circumstances led the Europeans to seek a new route to Asia. It was mostly a commercial matter, as the Turks had made the traditional spice route too dangerous.

The Portuguese had found a way around the African continent, through the Cape of Good Hope. The Spanish, on the other hand, tried to reach Asia by crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, however, they found new lands: America. It was Christopher Columbus, in 1492, the first to set foot on American soil.

First explorations

While Hernán Cortés dedicated himself to the conquest of present-day Mexico, Ponce de León, in the 16th century, entered the current United States through Florida. From there, he explored what are now the States of Georgia, Tennessee, and others.

It was not only the Spanish who were interested in these lands. His rivals in Europe, England and France, also sent explorations, although these did not have, at first, tangible results.

The lost colony

The first direct antecedent to the creation of the Thirteen Colonies was in 1580. That year, Queen Elizabeth I of England granted Sir Humphrey Gilbert the right to colonize new territories on behalf of the Crown. The death of this made it his maternal brother, Sir Walter Raleigh, who financed the first expedition.

The place chosen to establish a settlement was the island of Roanoke. The first expedition did not achieve its objective, but the second, in 1587, did succeed. A group of families settled on the island, while the ships returned to England to report.

It took three years for a new expedition to return to Roanoke. To the surprise of its members, the settlement was empty. They found only one word carved into the trunk of a tree: "Croatoan", the name of a nearby island. To this day, the fate of those first settlers is unknown.

Origin of the Thirteen Colonies

It would not be until the seventeenth century when the British returned major expeditions to North America. At that time, the intention was already to colonize and found firm settlements.

Little by little, British colonies began to be created on the Atlantic coast. These were consolidating, becoming commercial powers.

The colonization process was not planned by the Crown, but it was the settlers themselves who were taking the initiative. However, experts speak of two different types of colonies: those that were dedicated to large tobacco and / or cotton plantations; and those formed by the Puritans.

Colonizers

Among the early British settlers, two groups could be distinguished according to their motivations. On the one hand, there were members of the privileged classes who sought to take advantage of the economic possibilities of the new territories.

The second group consisted of expelled or fled from England for religious reasons. These sought to create societies adapted to their beliefs and marked the character of a good part of the colonies.

Companies

The British Crown, seeking to maintain control of the colonization, created two trading companies focused on the new territories: the London Company and the Bristol Company.

First colony

The first of the Thirteen Colonies was Virginia. The name may come from the first girl born there, Virginia Dare, or it may have been a tribute to Queen Elizabeth I, the virgin.

It was in 1606 when three English ships, with 120 colonists on board, set out for America. Their arrival occurred on May 13, 1607, when they reached the Chesapeake Bay. The leader of the settlers was John Smith. Among the members of this group were ruined nobles, artisans, and adventurers.

Clashes with the Creek Indians soon began, but despite their numerical inferiority, the settlers were able to found the first English city on the continent: Jamestown.

This first group intended to seize the gold in the area. It wasn't until later that they also began cultivating the land. In 1612, one of the most relevant events for the future history of part of the colonies took place. That year, John Rolfe discovered tobacco leaves, although Raleigh had found them before.

Over time, the cultivation of this product became the main source of wealth for the colony.

Slavery

The first colony was increasing its population. The wealth produced by growing tobacco attracted more settlers. Still, life in Virginia was tough enough, the land was rough, and mosquitoes were a nightmare. This caused few women to arrive and the needs of workers were not met.

The solution they found to the latter was to resort to slavery. This, over time, was the origin of the large estates and landowners who ended up dominating the colony.

Pilgrim Fathers

While the Virginia area was populated by settlers in search of economic opportunities, new colonies appeared in the north that would give rise to the New England region.

Unlike those located to the south, those who came to this area did so for religious and cultural reasons. Their intention was to create self-sufficient settlements, with a social structure that was consistent with their beliefs.

This colonization was carried out by the so-called Pilgrim Fathers. His motives for leaving England had been to flee religious persecution. After the Reformation, Great Britain had created its own Church, the Anglican.

Calvinists living in the country, known as Puritans, did not integrate into the new religious structure. In addition, they began to be repressed and persecutions were frequent. Many chose to flee to Holland and later embarked for America.

The Mayflower

The best-known Puritan-led colonizing wave was the Mayflower. This ship left Plymouth for America on August 5, 1620 with 102 people.

By mistake, since they intended to go to Jamestown, on November 11 the Puritans of the Mayflower arrived at a deserted and desolate bay, which they named after the port from which they had departed: Plymouth. Through a vote, they decided to stay there and form an assembly system of government.

These settlers were not looking for gold or wealth and began to work the land as soon as they arrived. Unlike elsewhere, they reached a friendly agreement with the Indians, a pact that was called Thanksgiving, on Thanksgiving Day.

Arrival in Massachusetts

More such settlers reached the shores of Massachusetts Bay in 1628, founding the city of Salem.

Soon after, Boston was created, destined to be the capital of the colony. Having been, practically, expelled from England, these Puritans tried to remain independent of the Crown and the Parliament of that country. They formed an egalitarian system of government, with positions to which anyone could run.

In the following years, the escaped Puritans multiplied, appearing new settlements and colonies, such as those of Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

William Penn

In 1681, a British Quaker, William Penn, obtained permission from the Crown to colonize new territories in North America. The result would be the creation of the Pennsylvania Colony (the Penn Jungle).

Penn carefully selected the settlers he wanted to bring, using scientific methods to select them. Each volunteer would receive 50 acres of land.

The term Quaker had started out derogatory. It had been born in trials in England against members of that community, but it became a common name. Their beliefs went beyond puritanism, as they rejected the laws and obey the lords. For that reason, they had suffered persecution in England.

Penn made agreements with the Iroquois Indians, and after that, founded the city of Philadelphia. Hundreds of settlers arrived within a few years.

The Thirteen Colonies and their characteristics

After the English Civil War, between 1642 and 1660, the colonizing impulse strengthened. In 1773, they had already formed the so-called Thirteen Colonies. These were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Among the common characteristics of the colonies was the heterogeneity of their population. In addition to the English settlers, Scots, Irish, Germans, Flemings and French also participated. To this we must add that the small colonies founded by Sweden and Holland in the middle of the seventeenth century ended up being absorbed.

The colonies, in the political sphere, opted for representative governments. Many governors were appointed by the English king, but they had to share power with an elected assembly. Suffrage was restricted to white male landowners.

1- Virginia (May 13, 1607)

Virgina was the first colony founded by the British. Its foundation dates back to 1607, when King James I allowed a group of settlers to settle there.

The settlers had to face the indigenous people of the area, in addition to resisting the harsh living conditions. However, they succeeded in making the colony prosper and, in just two decades, it became a major exporter of tobacco to England.

That prosperity brought new settlers to the area, both members of the wealthy class and other social groups, including children who were used to work on tobacco plantations.

These plantations were precisely the colony's main source of wealth. Over time, cotton cultivation also began to be established. The need for labor prompted the arrival of many African slaves.

On July 30, 1619, Virginia's first assembly of planters met. This became the first representative government of the colony.

In 1624, the company that had prompted the colonization, the Virginia Company, was dissolved. This meant that it became a royal colony.

2- Massachusetts (1620)

This colony was founded by separatist Puritans. These had fled from England to Holland and subsequently sought refuge in America.

These settlers arrived in North America aboard the Mayflower. They immediately reached an agreement, which they called the Mayflower Compact, by means of which they created a kind of government that had to submit to the decisions of the majority.

As in the northern colonies, the economy of Massachusetts was based on agriculture, although they did not follow the model of large latifundia and, therefore, no landowners appeared or slavery was popularized.

Despite having arrived fleeing religious intolerance, the pilgrims did not allow freedom of worship in the territory.

3- New Hampshire (1623)

New Hampshire was founded by John Mason, who hailed from the county of Hampshire in England. His intention was to form a colony dedicated to fishing. This purpose explains the expansion of the first settlers along the Piscatagua River and the Great Bay.

However, those first inhabitants were not able to create any kind of government system. For that reason, they sought the protection of their southern neighbor, Massachusett. In this way, in 1641, they came to be governed by that territory, although their cities retained some self-government.

As has been indicated, the economy was based on fishing, although the timber industry also had an important weight. Control of the timber trade, in fact, became the subject of conflict with the Crown, which sought to reserve the best trees for its exclusive use.

Despite spending several years under the rule of Massachusetts, New Hampshire's religious diversity was much greater. In some cases, new inhabitants from the neighboring state arrived who had been persecuted for their beliefs.

4- Maryland (1632)

As its name suggests, Maryland, land of Mary, this colony was conceived as a refuge for persecuted Catholics after the Protestant Reformation in Europe. Its founder was Lord Baltimore, who could not prevent religious conflict from arising between Anglicans, Puritans, Catholics, and Quakers during the early years.

After the Glorious Revolution, there was a coup in the colony. Protestant John Code overthrew Lord Baltimore and the English Crown appointed a governor.

As in Virginia, Maryland's economy was supported by the growing and trading of tobacco. Similarly, this led to the arrival of slaves to the colony.

5- Connecticut (1635-1636)

A group of settlers from Massachusetts, led by Thomas Hooker, decided to venture to new lands in search of more freedom and better living conditions. Thus, they founded Connecticut, originally called Colonia del Río in 1636, conceived as a refuge for noble Puritans.

To control the territory, they had to decimate the Indians in the area, the Pequot, in a war that lasted 1 year.

The base of its economy was agriculture, with large plantations of corn and wheat. On the other hand, fishing was also very important.

As in many other colonies founded by Puritans, in Connecticut there was no religious freedom, with all other religions being prohibited.

6- Rhode Island (1636)

The founding of Rhode Island was related to the lack of religious freedom that existed in Massachusetts. There, Roger Williams had proposed a reform that separated the Church and the State, as well as establishing freedom of worship. The answer was expulsion.

Williams then proceeded to found a new colony in 1936, Rhode Island and the Providence Plantations (at that time, the term "plantations" was used to refer to a settlement). He was soon joined by others who were retaliated against by Massachusetts law, such as Anna Hutchison, who created Portsmouth.

Rhode Island did not maintain any type of confrontation with the local natives and, even, tried to mediate in some conflicts between these and other New England colonies.

The bases of the economy were also agriculture and fishing. Likewise, the timber industry and shipyards became very important economic activities.

7- Delaware (1638)

This colony was established by the New Sweden Company, of Sweden. Later, the Dutch from New Amsterdam took control of it, holding it until it passed into English hands. Although legally a colony, Delaware was considered a region of Pennsylvania for several decades.

Different religious sensitivities coexisted in Delaware, since there was more tolerance towards these issues than in the rest of the colonies. Thus, you could find Quakers, Catholics, Lutherans, Jews and others.

The lack of manpower caused, as in other colonies, that a lucrative slave trade was generated.

8- North Carolina (1653)

North Carolina was created by colonists who came from Virginia in 1953. Ten years later, King Charles II thanked the efforts of eight nobles who had supported him to keep the throne and gave them the province of Carolina.

These eight nobles received the name of Lords Owners of the province, which at that time occupied present-day North Carolina and South Carolina.

Precisely, this large size made it uncontrollable through a single assembly, which led to important internal conflicts. For this reason, in 1712, the colony was divided into two parts.

There was no official religion in North Carolina. Freedom of worship allowed the presence of Baptists, Anglicans, and other religious denominations.

As for the economy, in that colony large plantations of tobacco, cotton, corn and fruits were developed.

9- New Jersey (1664)

The Dutch were the first to establish settlements in this colony, but the English took it over in 1664.

From that year until 1704, New Jersey was divided between East Jersey and West Jersey, with different constitutions, although the border between the two sectors was never officially established.

Later, both sides became a single royal colony. The king appointed a governor, Edward Hyde, but he had to step down for corruption. Rather than replace it, the colony was ruled by the governor of New York until 1738.

The New Jersey colony was never controlled by the Puritans, so it was characterized by its religious tolerance and freedom of worship.

Economically, mining was a very important sector in the colony, especially the exploitation of iron deposits. On the other hand, New Jersey was known as one of the granaries of the colonies, as it had large areas of wheat crops.

10- New York (1664)

Before becoming the colony of New York, that territory was controlled by the Dutch under the name of New Amsterdam. It was in 1664, the British took the region and renamed it the Duke of York.

At that time, the colony was larger than the current state. Its borders extended to present-day New Jersey, Delaware, and Vermont, as well as parts of Maine, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

Religious freedom was quite complete in New York. This freedom of worship allowed Catholics, Jews, Lutherans, Quakers and members of other confessions to coexist.

As in New Jersey, this colony was also characterized by its wheat crops. The flour obtained from this cereal was exported to England.

11- South Carolina (1670)

By 1633, the Carolina Colony had been founded, which included both the North and the South. The problems caused by its great extension led to it, in 1712, being divided into these two parts. Later, in 1729, South Carolina became a royal colony.

One of the characteristics of this colony was the large number of slaves that were brought from Africa. The original settlers had been large landowners, firmly convinced of the need to use slaves on their plantations.

The estates of that colony were enormous. The more traditional ones included the main mansion, an area for the slaves, granaries, smithies and laundry, in addition to farmland.

12- Pennsylvania (1681)

The Pennsylvania colony was founded by William Penn, who also gave it his name. Until his arrival, that territory had been in dispute between the Dutch, the Swedes and the English themselves.

This colony was dominated by the Quakers, who created a society according to their beliefs. Despite this, they established that there was freedom to follow other cults.

The reason that the territory was controlled by the Quakers must be found in the establishment of the colony itself. Before traveling to America, Penn had managed to get King Charles II to grant him the power to create a colony that would serve as a refuge for those of his cult, persecuted in England.

In addition to the English settlers, Pennsylvania also received German, Scottish, Irish, and African-American immigrants from other territories. It should be noted that, despite this, slavery was legal and that free African Americans were subject to special laws.

Given the pacifist character of the Quakers, they were one of the few groups that maintained good relations with the Indians in the area. In fact, they never helped the New Englanders when they fought the Indians.

13- Georgia (1732)

The last of the 13 colonies to be founded was Georgia, almost 50 years after the others. Its first settlers came from other colonies and were led by James Oglethorpe.

The purposes of the establishment of this new colony were two different. For the Crown and the rest of the colonies, it was a way to protect South Carolina from a possible invasion by the French, who had occupied Louisiana, or the Spanish, settled in Florida.

The second reason was religious. James Oglethorpe wanted Georgia to be destined to host those Protestants who suffered persecution anywhere in the world. In addition, it sought to welcome the most disadvantaged in Europe. The only ones who were forbidden to settle there were the followers of the Catholic Church.

Oglethorpe, on the other hand, was totally against slavery and the existence of large landowners. While he was in the region, his wishes were respected, but when he returned to England, the situation changed completely. In fact, it was one of the colonies with the highest proportion of slaves and the large plantations proliferated.

References

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