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Period: Jan 1, 1500 to
The Amazing 13 Colonies
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John White returns to Roanoke and finds deserted land.
After helping establish the first English settlement on the Island of Roanoke, off the coast of modern day North Carolina, John White reluctantly returned to England for supplies. Delayed by war for three years, he returns in 1590 to find the colonists are gone. It is still not known what happened to them. -
Virginia becomes the first colony.
Virginia is founded under a patent for the London Company and becomes the first British colony in North America. Jamestown, Virginia is the first permanent English settlement. -
Massachusetts is founded.
The King of England grants a charter to a group of Puritans to allow them to form a colony along the Massachusetts Bay. The Puritans form the colony of Massachusetts as a place to spread their religion and extend the empire of Great Britain. -
New Hampshire is founded
New Hampshire is created as a fishing colony by Captain John Mason. It is named for Hampshire County in England -
Lord Baltimore founds the colony of Maryland
The first colonists from England to arrive on the western shore of Maryland call it St. Mary's. George Calvert, the first Lord of Baltimore, is acting under a royal charter to create a colony to serve as a refuge for Catholics -
Rhode Island is founded by Roger Williams
After being kicked out Massachusetts for his belief in the separation of church and state, Roger Williams goes to live with the Narragansett Indians. He forms Providence, which will be the capital of Rhode Island -
Delaware is founded by Peter Minuit and the New Sweden Company.
Peter Minuit of the Netherlands establishes a colony called New Sweden. Minuit later is forced to give up the colony when King Charles II takes control of the area called "New Netherland" and tells him to give it to his brother James, the Duke of York. James renames New Sweden Delaware. -
James Oglethorpe establishes the colony of Georgia.
King Charles II grants James Oglethorpe a royal charter to establish a colony between Florida and South Carolina. Georgia is created to act as a barrier between Spain, which owns Florida, and the British colonies. It is also intended to provide a place for those recently released from debtors prison to have a fresh start. -
The colonies declare their independence from England
With the signing of the Declaration of Independence, all of the colonies of America declare their independence from England. Independence is won through the Revolutionary War and the colonies become the United States of Americ -
The 13 colonies are represented in the first American flag
The Second Continental Congress passes a resolution that states that the American flag shall have 13 stripes, alternately in red and white, to represent the 13 colonies. Despite all of the variations of the U.S. flag over time, the 13 stripes have never changed
