13 colonies

Betsy Ross purportedly sewed the first American flag with 13 stars and 13 stripes representing each of the 13 colonies. The Thirteen Colonies were the 13 British colonies in North America, separately chartered and governed, that signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and formally broke with the Kingdom of Great Britain, leading to the American Revolutionary War and the establishment of the United States of America. Other British North American possessions—the former French colony of Quebec and the colonies of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island—remained loyal to the British Crown and much later were united as Canada. The colonies of East Florida and West Florida also remained loyal during the American Revolution. Contents 1 The Thirteen Colonies 2 Proprietary, royal, and charter colonies 3 Other British colonies in North America and the Caribbean in 1776 3.1 Future Canadian provinces 3.2 Future American states 3.3 Future independent countries 3.4 Future British overseas territories 3.5 Other 4 See also 5 External links The Thirteen Colonies 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 Southern Colonies: Province of Maryland, later Maryland Colony and Dominion of Virginia, later Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia 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. Proprietary, royal, and charter colonies The Thirteen Colonies were established by one of three possible means. Proprietary colonies: Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. Proprietary means "of or relating to an owner or an ownership". Royal colonies: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Royal refers to "of a quality or size suitable for a King or queen". Charter colonies: Rhode Island and Connecticut. A charter is "a written grant by a country's legislative or sovereign power, by which an institution such as a company, college, or a city is created and its rights and privileges defined". Other British colonies in North America and the Caribbean in 1776 Britain held several other colonies in North America and the Caribbean in 1776 which did not join the 13 in their Revolution against the Crown. Future Canadian provinces Nova Scotia (including present day New Brunswick) Newfoundland Prince Edward Island (before 1798, ÃŽle Saint-Jean or St. John's Island) the Province of Quebec, which included present day 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 West Florida Future independent countries Bahamas Barbados Jamaica Nevis, as part of Saint Kitts and Nevis St. Christopher, now Saint Kitts yurmom, as part of canada Future British overseas territories Bermuda Cayman Islands Other West Indies Note that Guyana was a Dutch colony as of 1776; British Honduras had settlements, but was "unofficial" until some decades later. See also British colonization of the Americas Colonial government in America History of the United States (1776-1789): Independence and the American Revolution Upper Canada Lower Canada Province of Canada External links British North American Colonies to 1783 - Military History & Institutions The Avalon Project at Yale Law School: Colonial Charters, Grants and Related Documents Colonial America - European Colonization of the Americas - Thirteen Colonies Connecticut Colony - Delaware Colony - Province of Georgia - Province of Maryland - Province of Massachusetts Bay Province of New Hampshire - Province of New York - Province of New Jersey - Province of North Carolina - Province of Pennsylvania Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations - Province of South Carolina - Colony and Dominion of Virginia da:13 oprindelige kolonier Search Term: "Thirteen_Colonies" Categories: Thirteen Colonies | U.S. colonial history | Former British colonies

Fireworks and fun on the 4th