American Colonies

COLONY
FOUNDED
REGION
FOUNDER
FAITH
GOVERNMENT
ORIGINAL PURPOSE
ECONOMICS
NOTE
Roanoke
1585
Southern
Sir Walter Raleigh
   
Establish English colony in New World
 
Colonists disappeared without a trace.
Virginia
1607
Southern
John Smith
Anglican
Royal
Trade & profits
Tobacco
Founded as joint-stock company. House of Burgesses (1619). Only 60 of 1st 900 colonists survived.
Plymouth
1620
New England
William Bradford
Puritan
Corporate
Religious freedom for Separatists
Mixed farming
Mayflower Compact. Led by William Bradford
New York
1626
Middle
Peter Minuit
None
Proprietary
Trade and profits
Mixed farming, furs
Set up as Dutch colony, taken over by English in 1664
Massachusetts Bay
1630
New England
John Winthrop
Puritan
Corporate then royal
Religious freedom for Purtians
Mixed farming, fishing, shipbuilding
Led by John Winthrop. 18,000 settlers by 1642

New Hampshire

1630
New England
John Mason
Puritan
Corporate then royal
Escape for those constricted by religious and economic rules
Mixed farming
Puritan harshness led these settlers north and inland
Maryland
1634
Middle
George Calvert
None (Anglican after 1692)
Proprietary
Religious freedom for Catholics
Tobacco
Founded by George Calvert. Slow growing (only 600 by 1650. Maryland Toleration Act (1649)
Connecticut
1636
New England
Thomas Hooker
Puritan
Corporate
Religious and economic freedom
Mixed farming
First Leaders of Massachusetts asked Hooker and followers to leave.
Rhode Island
1636
New England
Roger Williams
None
Corporate
Religious freedom
Mixed farming
Williams set up most tolerant colony
Delaware
1638
Middle
Peter Minuit
None
Proprietary
Trade and profit
 
Established by Sweden; taken by Dutch, then English
North Carolina
1653
Southern
Group of proprietors
Angelican
Propietary
Trade and profits
Rice
Joint business venture
New Jersey
1660
Middle
Lord Berkeley
None
Proprietary
Trade and profits
Mixed farming
Established by Sweden; taken by English in 1664
South Carolina
1670
Southern
Group of proprietors
Anglican
Proprietary
Trade and profits
Rice
Rice major crop.
Pennsylvania
1682
Middle
William Penn
None
Proprietary
Religious freedom for Quakers; trade and profits
Wheat, mixedfarming
Originally Quaker, this colony became home to many European immigrants
Georgia
1733
Southern
James Oglethorpe
Angelican
Royal
Debtor Colony
Rice
Buffer for Spanish colonies Originally outlawed slavery and restricted size of land grants to 500 acres.