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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
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
New Hampshire is created as a fishing colony by Captain John Mason. It is named for Hampshire County in England. -
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. -
Connecticut
Puritan minister Thomas Hooker and Governor John Haynes of the Massachusetts Bay Colony establish River Colony, later called Connecticut. Hooker lost support in Massachusetts for his belief in government being led by the consent of the people, not just God's will. -
Rhode Island
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
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. -
North and South Carolina
Acting on a charter from King Charles II, eight noblemen from Virginia create a settlement south of Virginia. They call it Carolina, although it is divided into North Carolina and South Carolina when the crown takes control of the colony in 1729. -
New Jersey
James, the Duke of York, gives land from New Netherland to his friends Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. They call the colony New Jersey and advertise it as a place of religious freedom. -
New York
With the Duke of York in control of the former Dutch trading post, he renames it New York. The city the Dutch called New Amsterdam becomes New York City. -
Pennsylvania
Acting on a land grant that is owed to his deceased father, William Penn creates a colony to serve as a refuge for Quakers under persecution in England. By 1700, it grows to be the third largest colony in the New World. -
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.
