Learn More About The 13 Original US Colonies

The United States has a rich history and there were many individuals that played an important role in the history of the United States and it’s fight for religious freedom and separation of state and church. Read on to learn more about the 13 original US colonies.

The first colony formed was the Virginia Colony which was founded in 1607 by the London Company during the reign of James I. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in the new world.

The London Company developed Jamestown because they saw an opportunity for wealth and they also wanted to convert local natives to Christianity. In 1624 Virginia became a Royal Colony because King James I revoked the charter of the bankrupt Virginia. This provided a great deal of wealth to England from the fertile land which produced tobacco.

The Massachusetts Colony was the second colony to be established in 1620. The Separatists or Puritans who had fled England in 1608 and headed for Holland then decided they wanted to create their homeland in America so they came over on the Mayflower.

Soon they created the Mayflower Compact which was an agreement that would allow them to form their own government who would accord in accordance to the wishes of the majority. This was an important historical movement for the Massachusetts Colony. William Bradford was actually elected 30 times as governor a pretty impressive record.

The next colony was a planned colony founded in 1623 and called the New Hampshire Colony. It was founded by Captain John Mason who lived in Hampshire Country England and had been granted the land in the New World.

Captain John Mason sent settlers over to create what would be a new fishing colony spending a great deal of money to build both buildings and defenses for the town. Sadly Captain John Mason died before ever setting foot in his created colony. Massachusetts actually stayed under English rule until 1679 when they were granted a Royal Charter.

1634 saw the development of the Maryland Colony who actually received their founding carter in 1632. Lord Baltimore, the founder of the Maryland Colony was motivated to build a safe colony for Roman Catholics where were being prosecuted in England and of course he had a desire to make money from the profitable tobacco fields.

Late 1635 the Connecticut Colony begin to take shape as colonists began starting towns looking for financial opportunities and freedom. In 1636 they joined together to form the Connecticut colony which was founded by the Massachusetts colonists and Thomas Hooker.

In 1636 and 1637 the Connecticut Colony waged war with the Pequot Indians where were decimated by the end of the war. And in 1639 the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut were created which became the basis for the US Constitution at a later date.

In 1636 Rhone Island Colony was founded by Roger Williams who had been banished to England by the Massachusetts Colony because he wanted to separate state, church, and freedom from religion. Instead he fled to reside with the Narragansett Indian people. He went on to form Providence.

At the same time Anne Hutchinson was also banished because she had spoken out about the church and she formed Portsmouth. Hutchinson, Williams and two other settlements joined together to form the Rhode Island Colony guaranteeing all citizens the freedom to worship the religion of their choice and separating church from state.

In 1638 Delaware Colony was found by the New Sweden Company and it’s owner Peter Minuit who renamed New Sweden to Delaware. Minuit came to form New Sweden when he was granted New Netherland by King Charles II of England.

It took almost 20 years before the next colony was formed. In 1653 the North Carolina Colony was formed when King Charles II issued a Royal Charter to eight nobles to settle in the area and then incorporated the existing settlements built by the Virginians who had previously settled in the area. However internal problems resulted in the crown taking over the colony and dividing it into north and south Carolina some time in 1729.

The South Carolina Colony was founded with a Royal Charter from King Charles the II in 1663 which he issued to eight nobles. The nobles created Carolina and included areas that had been previously settled. However as with the North Carolina Colony internal problems resulted in the crown taking over the colony and dividing it into north and south Carolina some time in 1729.

In 1664 the New Jersey Colony was founded by Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley. After James the Duke of York received control of New Netherland he granted land to his two friends Cateret and Berkeley who then formed New Jersey. They did this by advertising and promising settlers much including freedom of religion and representative government and thus the colony grew very quickly.

1664 saw the founding of the New York Colony by James the Duke of York who had received control of New Netherland. The name was then changed to New York in recognition of the Duke.

Almost 20 years later in 1682 Pennsylvania Colony was founded by William Penn because of a land grant owed to his father who was deceased. He wanted to create a colony that enjoyed freedom of religion so that his fellow Quakers and himself could not face persecution.

Penn did a good job of advertising his colony so by 1700 it was not only the third largest colony of the new world it was also the richest colony. In Pennsylvania Colony freedom of religion and worship was given to all citizens and they also enjoyed an elected assembly.

1732 saw the last of the colonies to develop when Georgia Colony was founded by James Oglethorpe who had been given a charter by King George II to create a new colony that would be named Georgia.

The colony was to serve two purposes. This was a place that debtors who had been imprisoned could go to get a new start and it also served as a barrier to stop the Spanish expansion from Florida. Up until it became a Royal Colony in 1752 there had been no slavery however after 1752 slavery became an important part of the economy and the plantations.

The United States then and now: From new beginnings and struggling colonies to established states that still face changes and strangles in a new modern world. Both the modern world and the 13 colonies of times past have had their struggles to face and conquer.