Thirteen Colonies

United States, 1607–1776. Draft, not yet reviewed

The first of the colonies, Virginia, was established at Jamestown in 1607. Between 1625 and 1775, the colonial population grew from 2 thousand to 2.4 million, largely displacing the region's Native Americans. Late 18th century conflicts with the British government over taxes and rights led to the American Revolution, in which the Thirteen Colonies joined for the first time to form the Continental Congress and raised the Continental Army, declaring independence in 1776.

Seat of power: Philadelphia

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

• The Thirteen Colonies were separately administered under the Crown, but had similar political, constitutional, and legal systems, and each was dominated by Protestant English-speakers.
• Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the New England Colonies were substantially motivated by their founders' concerns related to the practice of religion. The other colonies were founded for business and economic expansion.
• The population included people subject to a system of slavery, which was legal in all of the colonies.
• The 13 colonies had a degree of self-governance and active local elections, and they resisted London's demands for more control over them.

Picture

Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Image: Humberto Moreno, CC BY 2.0, file

Sources

• Thirteen Colonies (Wikipedia)
• Thirteen Colonies (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.