Thirteen Colonies

The thirteen colonies were the original colonies of the United States. They were: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. On July 4, 1776, they became states and formed a new nation, the United States of America.

New England Colonies

Colony	Year Founded	Founded By	Chief Crops or Trade	Government	Religion
Massachusetts	1620	Pilgrims, led by William Bradford	Shipbuilding, fish, lumber	Governor appointed by king	established Puritan Church (after 1700 called Congregationalist);
Rhode Island	1636	Roger Williams, for religious reasons left Massachusetts	Lumber, fish.	Elected by colonists.	Complete religious freedom for all- Anglican (Episcopalian), Baptist, Quakers and other Protestants
Connecticut	1636	Thomas Hooker, who led a group from Massachusetts who wanted less government	Shipbuilding, lumber, fish	Elected by colonists	Congregationalist Church was established
New Hampshire	1623	Colonists who left Massachusetts for political and religious reasons	Molasses, fish	Governor appointed by king	Congregationalist

Middle Colonies

Colony	Year Founded	Founded By	Chief Crops or Trade	Government	Religion
New York	1626	Dutch; English in 1664	Shipbuilding and trade	Governor appointed by king	Dutch Reformed, and other Protestants
New Jersey	1664	Swedish and Dutch; In 1664 Sir George Carteret and Lord John Berkeley were given the land by the English Duke of York	Oats, wheat, rye	Governor appointed by king	Dutch Reformed, Quaker, others
Pennsylvania	1681	William Penn as a safe place for Quakers	Trade and Shipbuilding	Proprietor selected the governor	Quaker Lutheran, and other Protestant
Delaware	1682	William Penn	Tobacco	Proprietor selected the governor	Protestant

Southern Colonies

Colony	Year Founded	Founded By	Chief Crops or Trade	Government	Religion
Virginia	1607	John Smith, settlers from Virginia Company of London	Tobacco	Governor appointed by king	Anglican Church was established
Maryland	1634	Lord Baltimore as a safe place for Catholics	Tobacco	Proprietor selected by governor	Protestant and Catholic
North Carolina	1654	Virginia settlers	Tar from pine trees, tobacco, pitch, and rice	Governor appointed by king	Protestant
South Carolina	1663	English and other Europeans	Tar from pine trees, tobacco, pitch, and rice	Governor appointed by king	Protestant
Georgia	1732	James Oglethorpe, brought English debtors to protect Georgia from the Spanish	Indigo, tobacco	Governor appointed by king	Protestant