History of the Colonization of America and the original 13 Colonies

The 13 Colonies: The Establishment and Settlement of the 13 original colonies

The Original 13 Colonies
Discover interesting  facts and information about the history of the original 13 Colonies starting with the arrival of the first colonists in Jamestown in 1607 who suffered the Starving Time and the Pilgrim Fathers who arrived on the Mayflower in Plymouth Settlement in 1620, refer to the Mayflower Compact and the people who immigrated to Colonial America. For a history timeline detailing specific events relating to the original 13 Colonies refer to the 13 Colonies Timeline . A fully comprehensive history reference relating to the era refer to the Colonial America Time Period .

13 Colonies Map
Where were the original 13 Colonies situated? The English settlements of the original 13 Colonies were located on the Atlantic coast of North America. The original 13 colonies were Delaware, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Bay Colony (which included Maine), New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.  The original 13 colonies were divided into three geographic areas consisting of the New England colonies, the Middle colonies, and the Southern colonies. The first European colonists and settlers did not know how big North America was because they didn't have a map of the continent - it was, literally unchartered land. 

Colonial America - Map of the 13 Colonies

For interesting facts and information check out the British Colonies in 1763

The 13 Colonies in Order of Establishment
The list of the 13 Colonies in order of establishment and Colonization are detailed in the following table:

For more facts and information refer to the article on Colonies to States for details of
how and when the 13 original colonies became states

13 Colonies Map - The New England, Middle & Southern Colonies
The 13 Colonies map shows the location of each of the original 13 colonies and color coded to indicate which of the original 13 colonies were classified as the New England colonies, the Middle colonies, and the Southern colonies. Each of the 13 Colonies had specific economic, social, and political developments that were unique to their regions and locations in Colonial America - see Colonial Times .

• The New England Colonies list consisted of four of the original 13 Colonies:
  • New Hampshire
  • Massachusetts Bay Colony
  • Rhode Island
  • Connecticut
• The Middle Colonies list also consisted of four of the original 13 Colonies:
  • New York
  • New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania
  • Delaware
• The Southern Colonies list consisted of five of the original 13 Colonies:
  • Maryland
  • Virginia
  • North Carolina
  • South Carolina
  • Georgia

The 13 Colonies Chart
The 13 Colonies chart shows the New England, Middle and Southern Colonies:

The Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor

The New England Colonies

The 13 Colonies -  Facts and Information about the New England Colonies
Information and facts about the 13 colonies. The New England Colonies are also referred to as the North Colonies - Facts about the New England Colonies of Colonial America:

• Fact 1 - Geography: The geography of New England consisted of mountains thick with trees, rivers and poor rocky soil that was difficult to farm and unsuitable for agriculture
• Fact 2 - Natural Resources: Fish, whales, forests. Imported agricultural products from other colonies
• Fact 3 - Religion: Puritans - No religious freedom. refer to Religion in the Colonies
• Fact 4 - Climate: Coldest of the three regions, leading to difficult winters but less disease

The Middle Colonies

The 13 Colonies -  Facts and Information about the Middle Colonies
The four Middle Colonies of Colonial America consisted of a mix of both northern and southern features and its early settlement was dominated by non-English Europeans, mostly Dutch and German, the English colonists were in the minority. Information and facts about the 13 colonies - Facts about the Middle Colonies of Colonial America:

• Fact 1 - The geography and climate of the Middle Colonies was a mix of the New England and Southern features
• Fact 2 - Natural Resources: Good farmland, timber, furs and coal. Iron ore was a particularly important natural resource
• Fact 3 - Religion: Not dominated by a specific religion which gave way to religious freedom for Quakers, Catholics, Lutherans, Jews and others

The Southern Colonies

The 13 Colonies -  Facts and Information about the Southern Colonies
Information and facts about the 13 colonies - Facts about the Southern Colonies of Colonial America:

• Fact 1 - Geography: The geography of the Southern Colonies was hilly coastal plains with plenty of forests
• Fact 2 - Natural Resources: The Southern colonies concentrated on developing plantations that eventually grew cotton, tobacco, rice, sugar cane and indigo (a purple dye)
• Fact 3 - Religion: Not dominated by a specific religion which gave way to religious freedom for Baptists, Anglicans and others
• Fact 4 - Climate: Warmest of the three regions, winters not difficult to survive, warmer climate gave rise to the spread of disease
• Fact 5 - Trade and Industry was dominated by the Slave Plantations

The 13 Colonies - The Original Names of the New England Colonies
The four New England Colonies of Colonial America included colonies of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The original names of the New England Colonies were the Province of New Hampshire, later New Hampshire, the Province of Massachusetts Bay, later Massachusetts and Maine, the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, later Rhode Island and the Connecticut Colony, later Connecticut.

The Names of the Original 13 Colonies - The Middle Colonies
The four Middle Colonies of Colonial America composed of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and New Jersey. The original names of the Middle Colonies were the Province of New York, later New York and Vermont, the Province of New Jersey, later New Jersey, the Province of Pennsylvania, later Pennsylvania and the Delaware Colony (before 1776, the Lower Counties on Delaware), later Delaware.

The Names of the Original 13 Colonies - The Southern Colonies
The five Southern Colonies of Colonial America composed of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The original names of the Southern Colonies were the Province of Maryland (later Maryland), the Colony and Dominion of Virginia, (later Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia), the Province of North Carolina, (later North Carolina and Tennessee), the Province of South Carolina, (later South Carolina) and the Province of Georgia, (later Georgia). The Dominion of Virginia and the Province of Maryland comprised the Chesapeake Colonies.

13 Colonies

• Interesting Facts and information via the 13 Colonies
• 13 Colonies history timeline
• Fast Facts and info with the 13 Colonies timeline
• The 13 Colonies is great history timeline resource for kids
• Social Studies Homework help for kids on 13 Colonies

Pictures and Videos of the 13 Colonies
The 13 Colonies were classified in three separate regions consisting of the New England Colonies, the Middle Colonies and the Southern Colonies.  Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Bay Colony (which included Maine), New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Delaware, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island.. We hope that this article on the 13 Colonies will assist in your studies or homework and that you will enjoy watching the videos featuring many pictures of the colonists. A great educational resource for kids on the subject of the 13 Colonies. For facts, laws and statistics about emigration today, and in the past, please visit www.emmigration.info.

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