First off, a colony is a piece of land under political control of another country. The controlling country is usually very far away as is the case with England and the American colonies.
A colony is formed when people from another country come in and settle the land, for example, people from all over Europe came to America to settle the land back in the day. These people were called settlers. These Europeans settled a total of 13 colonies between 1607 and 1732.
These settlers did not have an easy go of it. In fact, more than half of the settlers did not make it past the first winter in Virginia (Jamestown) or the Plymouth Colony.
Most of the colonies were named after the rulers in England at that time. For example, Virginia gets its name from the Virgin Queen Elizabeth and Georgia is named after George II. Massachusetts was named after a Native American Indian tribe (Massachusett).
Massachusetts-Founded in 1620 when a group of pilgrims on the Mayflower arrived from England and created the Plymouth Colony. Only half of the pilgrims on the journey survived. The Mayflower Compact (a decree for a local government/rules) was conceived by the pilgrims the same year. Chief Massasoit and his tribe of Wamapanoag Indians assisted the pilgrims in planting crops. This was also the first Thanksgiving which was shared by the pilgrims and the Wamapanoag Indians.
New Hampshire-Founded in 1622 by Captain John Mason and Sir Ferdinando Gorges. The name comes from Hampshire County in England The colony of New Hampshire was part of Massachesetts, a royal charter in 1679. The Pennacook and Abenaki Indians were already living in New Hampshire before the Europeans arrived. A really important fact to know about New Hampshire is that New Hampshire was the first to claim independence from England, a full six month before the Declaration of Independence was signed. Another interesting fact is that the first potato ever grown in the US was planted in Londonderry Common Field (NH) in 1719.Maryland- Where tobacco was used the same as money and kids could drink beer! Founded between 1632 and 1634 by Lord Baltimore and named for the wife of King Charles I, Henriette Maria. Native Indians already living in Maryland at the time included the Yaocomaco, Susquehannock, Shawnee, Piscatawy, Nanticoke, Accohannock, and the Algonquin tribes.
Connecticut- Founded in 1636 by Thomas Hooker and other from the Massachusetts colony looking for more religious freedom. Between 1636 and 1637, a war broke out between the settlers and the Pequot Indians, the Pequot War. The Pequot Indians were pretty much wiped out. Connecticut comes from the Mohegan Indian word Quinnehtukqut which means long river place.
Rhode Island- Roger Williams founded Rhode Island in 1636. Williams started a rebellion against the Puritans. Williams believed that the Indians should be paid for the land so he bought it from them. The first slaves arrived in RI in 1774, and in 1776, Rhode Island was the first colony to renounce allegiance to Great Britain and declare its independence.
Delaware- Delaware was established in 1638 by Peter Minuit and the New Sweden Company. Delaware is named from Lord de la Warr (Sir Thomas West) who was the first governor of the Virginia Company. Interesting note, Dutch explorer Henry Husdon was the first to explore this area in 1609.
South Carolina- Founded in 1633 by eight English nobles with a Royal Charter from King Charles II. North Carolina and South Carolina were one colony until around 1729.
New York- It was Peter Minuit who founded New Amsterdam (New York) in 1626, and the Dutch occupied New York until 1674 when the English decided to take it from the Dutch. They wanted the land because it was ideal for farming. The name was changed to New York later in honor of James the Duke of York.
New Jersey- The Dutch and Swedish settled in New York and New Jersey around 1626 and called the land New Netherlands. Around 1664, King Charles II took the New Netherlands by force and gave it to his brother, James, The Duke of York. The Duke of York quickly discovered that the land was too big and gave part of the land away to his good friends Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret in 1664. King Charles named his piece of land New York and New Jersey became the name of the other piece of land. Side note, Princeton University was founded in NJ in 1746.
Pennsylvania-William Penn founded Pennsylvania in 1681 but the Swedes were actually the first to find Pennsylvania under the guidance of Peter Minuit in 1638. Penn was looking for a place to have religious freedom for the Quakers. There were around 638 people living in Pennsylvania at that time. The name Pennsylvania comes from the Latin word Sylvania which means forests or woodlands and Penn from William Penn's name, i.e. Penn's Forest. Ben Franklin was also in Pennsylvania.
Georgia- Three hundred and forty-five English folks led by James Oglethorpe set up shop in the Georgia Colony in 1732. This was the last of the English Colonies to be established. Georgia's name comes from King George II. Georgia, the last colony founded, was founded 75 years after the first colony, Virginia, was founded. Georgia was the only colony that forbade slavery.
Learn more:
Land of the brave info.You can find a great chart here.
Another great site here.
Unit study, free, here.
PDF printables, amazing, here.
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