Christopher Columbus' discovery of the Americas in the late 15th century sparked a race to acquire the new-found land among European empires. Among the first to explore and lay claim to North American land were Britain, Spain and France. After several failures to set up a permanent settlement, Spain was the first to set up a permanent colony - in Florida. Soon, the Dutch, the French and the British followed suit. Britain, France and Spain had conquered much of the North American landmass by the 18th century; Britain held much of the Eastern Seaboard.
The formation of the 13 British Colonies started with the colonization of Jamestown in Virginia in 1607. The Colonies were divided into three areas the northern New England Colonies, the Middle Colonies and the Southern Colonies.
The first permanent British settlement in America, known as Jamestown, the colony of Virginia was founded by the London Company under the reign of James I (1566-1625). It was founded with the motivation of expansion of the British Empire and to spread Christian faith. It was named Virginia in honor of Queen Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen. In 1624 it was created as a royal colony (subject to the governing authority of the granting Royalty) that included all early Jamestown settlers. It also witnessed the formation of its first representative assembly, the House of Burgesses.
Formerly known as Plymouth colony, Massachusetts was founded in 1620 by Puritans who came aboard the ship Mayflower in order to seek refuge in the New World. Of the 102 passengers on the Mayflower, there were 41 Christian Puritan Separatists known as the Leiden group. They were called Pilgrims by the other passengers. They were seeking a new life of religious freedom after being exiled by the Church of England. The Massachusetts Bay Colony (Province of Massachusetts) included not only the modern-day state of Massachusetts, but New Hampshire and Maine as well.
The colony of New Hampshire was founded in 1623, by two groups of settlers, sent by Captain John Mason, to create a fishing colony near the mouth of the Piscataqua River. The colony was under Massachusetts jurisdiction, but was treated as a separate colony. It was named after John Mason's home County of Hampshire, England. Mason never set foot in the colony he helped establish; he died before his planned move to New Hampshire. In 1638, John Wheelwright, exiled from Boston, founded a settlement called Exeter in New Hampshire. The settlers of New Hampshire created a draft called Exeter Compact, modeled on the successful Mayflower Compact. It became a Royal colony in 1679.
In 1632, Charles I granted the charter to Lord Baltimore, Baron of Baltimore, to establish a new settlement in the New World. Accordingly, Maryland was founded in 1634. Lord Baltimore along with his sons moved to Maryland and profited from the vast stretches of tobacco grown there. It was his ardent wish to create a separate settlement for Roman Catholics, who were persecuted in Protestant England. Maryland later, came to be known as a 'Catholic haven'. Maryland provided religious freedom for different sects of Christianity, after the Act of Toleration was passed in 1649.
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Connecticut was already a permanent Dutch settlement when Clergyman Thomas Hooker and his followers arrived in Hartford from Massachusetts in 1636, seeking more wealth and religious freedom. The English settlers waged a war with Pequot Indians (1636 1637) to establish supremacy. In 1939, the draft of the 'Fundamental Orders' was enacted to govern the Connecticut colony and it became a royal colony under John Winthrop Jr. in 1662.
English settlers were scattered all over Rhode Island, but it was still not established as one colony. Providence was bought by Roger Williams from the Narragansett Indians in 1636. He was exiled from Salem for seeking separation of religious and political functioning of the state. Anne Hutchinson was also driven away from Massachusetts Bay, for supporting Williams' cause. She formed the settlement of Portsmouth. They were united as the colony of Rhode Island after receiving a royal Charter of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in 1663. As it was founded on the separation of church and state, it gave complete and absolute right to religious freedom. It was a fiercely independent colony, and it was here that the idea of revolution and freedom was born; Rhode Island was the first colony to defy British rule.
Delaware was founded by Peter Stuyvesant in 1655, as the Dutch defeated the Swedish settlers and gained control of the colony. The English won Delaware from the Dutch nine years later. It was awarded to William Penn, but Delaware became independent in 1701, and elected its own assembly in 1704. Delaware was founded as a proprietary colony.
In 1653, King Charles II issued a royal charter to eight Virginia colonists to settle the North Carolina region to provide a buffer for the southern frontier. All previously settled Southern Colonies were included in North Carolina. However, there were many internal problems as North Carolina was a proprietary colony. To solve those problems, in 1712, the colony was split in two North and South Carolina. They became royal colonies under the charter issued by King George II in 1720, although it took Britain nine more years to buy out seven out of eight Lords Proprietors, the proprietors of South Carolina, and bring it under direct rule of the crown.
New Jersey was originally known as New Netherlands. Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret received a proprietary grant of the land between the Hudson and the Delaware River from the Duke of York in 1664. The colony was named New Jersey to honor Sir George Carteret, governor of the Isle of Jersey. They made an enormous profit from the sale of land to settlers, as they promised them representation in government and freedom of religion. The Society of Friends, Quakers bought grants for both East and West Jersey. However, the purchase was liquidated when New Jersey was made a royal colony in 1702.
The Dutch West India Company had settled in New York area as early as 1614. A Walloon explorer known as Peter Minuit had bought the island of Manhattan from local tribes. It was known as New Amsterdam and was a self governing state, until it was lost to King Charles II. It was given to his brother, the Duke of York and renamed New York in his honor. New York was converted into a proprietary colony, until in 1685, when it became a royal colony. It was in this colony that the Albany Congress was formed, to help unite the colonies against the British rule.
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Pennsylvania was already settled by Swedish, Dutch and English settlers in the Delaware River region. William Penn, a member of the Quakers was granted the land of Pennsylvania by King Charles II, as compensation to Penn's late father. Penn saw this as an opportunity to create a colony that allowed for freedom of religion for his fellow Quakers.
King George wanted to create a new colony between South Carolina and Florida, to stall the Spanish and French expansion. In 1732, he granted Georgia's proprietorship to an English General James Edward Oglethorpe, to establish a new colony. Oglethorpe led his first group of settlers to Savannah, Georgia. Originally, Oglethorpe had established Georgia as a no-slavery colony, but in 1752, after it became a royal colony, it was known to have most number of slaves working in the plantations.
I. Answer the following questions:
1) What did the formation of the 13 British Colonies start with?
2) What countries were among the first ones to explore and lay claim to North American land?
3) What areas were the colonies divided into?
4) What was the motivation for the formation of Virginia colony?
5) When was Massachusetts colony founded? Whom by?
6) What was Hampshire named after?
7) When and where was the Act of Toleration passed? What did it provide?
8) Whose permanent settlement was Connecticut when the English settlers arrived?
9) Which colony was the first to defy British rule?
10) What kind of colony was Delaware founded as?
11) Why did King Charles II issue a royal charter to eight Virginia colonists to
settle the North Carolina region in 1653?
12) How was New Jersey originally known?
13) Why was New Jersey named this way?
14) Whom did Peter Minuit buy the island of Manhattan from? What name did it
get?
15) What is the origin of the name New York?
16) What kind of colony did General James Edward Oglethorpe want Georgia to
be? Did it happen?
II. Complete the following sentences:
1. Spain was the first to..
2. The formation of the 13 British Colonies started
3. The first permanent British settlement in America.
4. Formerly known as Plymouth colony, Massachusetts
5. The colony of New Hampshire.
6. Lord Baltimore along with his sons.
7. Maryland later,
8. Connecticut was already.
9. Anne Hutchinson.
10. The English won..
11. However, there were many internal problems as North Carolina was a proprietary colony. To .
12. They (Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret) made
13. The Dutch .
14. Penn saw this as .
15. King George wanted..
III Choose the correct variant:
1. Christopher Columbus' discovery in the late 15th century sparked a race to acquire the new-found land among European empires. It was
a) India
b) Africa
c) America
d) Australia
2. Which countries had conquered much of the North American landmass by the 18th century?
a) Britain, France and Spain
b) France, Britain and German
c) Britain, Italy and France
d) Britain, Spain and Italy
3. What areas were Colonies divided into?
a) the Northern New England Colonies, the Middle Colonies and the Southern Colonies.
b) the Southern New England Colonies, the Northern Colonies and the Southern Colonies
c) the Northern New England Colonies, the Middle Colonies and the Middle Southern Colonies
d) the Northern New Spain Colonies, the Middle Colonies and the Southern Colonies
4. Whose honor was Virginia state named in?
a) Queen Elizabeth II
b) James I
c) Queen Elizabeth
d) Captain John Mason
5. In 1632, Charles I granted the charter to Lord Baltimore, Baron of Baltimore, to establish a new settlement in the New World. Accordingly, Maryland was founded in
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a) 1639
b) 1632
c) 1940
d) 1634
6. Who formed the settlement of Portsmouth?
a) Roger Williams
b) William Penn
c) Anne Hutchinson
d) Peter Minuit
7. Which state was originally known as New Netherlands?
a) New Jersey
b) New York
c) California
d) New Hampshire
8. New York was renamed in honor of
a) King Charles II
b) Queen Elizabeth
c) the Duke of York
d) William Penn
9. King George wanted to create a new colony between South Carolina and Florida. He created
a) Pennsylvania
b) Georgia
c) Alabama
d) North Carolina
10. Pennsylvania was already settled by
a) Swedish, Dutch and English
b) English, French and Dutch
c) Swedish, English and Spanish
d) Spanish, Dutch and Spanish
