What makes the 13 colonies different

They founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Winthrop became its first governor. By more than 20, settlers were living around Boston. Puritan leaders tried to control the colony, but settlers demanded the right to representation. In Massachusetts, as in Virginia, colonists developed a democratic government. One early protester against the Puritans was Roger Williams.

In he founded Providence, which became the colony of Rhode Island. That same year, another group from Massachusetts settled on the Connecticut River. They built a village called Hartford. They were soon governing themselves as the colony of Connecticut. Later, the two men divided the land. Gorges took the Maine section.

Mason took New Hampshire. Pioneers from Massachusetts moved north. They built farms and villages. In New Hampshire became a separate colony. But Massachusetts still claimed the coast. Maine never became a colony. In Henry Hudson sailed to America. He was an Englishman who had been hired by the Dutch. The Dutch claimed the territory Hudson explored, and they called it New Netherland. Dutch businessmen sent out traders to build trading posts.

The largest stood at the mouth of the Hudson River. The Dutch called it New Amsterdam. In Swedish settlers sailed into the Delaware River. They built Fort Christina, named for the queen of Sweden. But this colony lasted only a few years.

In Dutch troops seized the Swedish settlements. However, less than ten years later, an English fleet sailed into New Amsterdam. Its commander forced the Dutch governor to haul down his flag. The city of New York soon became a large seaport. Rhode Island saw its first slave ship arrive in Newport harbor in , and the colony went on to play a key role in the slave trade during the s. Ships set sail from the colony on about 1, triangular voyages. Cargoes of rum were exchanged for captives in Africa, the captives were then transported to the West Indies and traded for sugar and molasses produced by enslaved people.

Those raw materials went back to New England, where they were used to make the rum. Rhode Island also had the highest percentage of enslaved Africans in New England, with captives making up Some in the colony were troubled by its dependence upon the cruel institution, and legislators passed a number of laws in an effort to limit it, including a law that emancipated the children of enslaved women once they reached adulthood.

Delaware started out as a Swedish colony in , when explorer Peter Minuit established a settlement near what is today Wilmington. But the Dutch held the colony for less than a decade before they were chased out by the British, who absorbed it into the former Dutch colony they renamed New York.

Then, in , the Duke of York who would later become King James II , gave what is now Delaware to William Penn , who wanted it so that his new colony of Pennsylvania would have access to the sea.

But Pennsylvania and the three counties that eventually formed Delaware never really meshed, and in , those counties were allowed to establish their own separate elected legislature.

In June , Delaware legislators met at the New Castle courthouse and approved a Separation Resolution , severing ties with the British crown. That negated its relationship with Pennsylvania as well, and the state of Delaware was created.

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View all US state worksheets. You must be logged in to post a comment. Request permissions beyond the scope of this license here. Copyright Notice. Everyday Americans, Exceptional Americans. Skip to content. Freedom on the Frontier. The Boston Massacre: You be the judge! Historical Background Colonial America depended on the natural environment to meet basic needs of the people and the colony. Lesson Objective How did climate, geographic features, and other available resources distinguish the three colonial regions from each other?

Materials Primary sources printed and divided by colonial region southern, middle, and New England Historical Reading Skills: Student Handout Procedure Hook: Have you ever thought of living in a place that is totally different from here? Take a moment to pick one place that is different from here. Describe the climate and the weather. Name some natural resources in that environment. Model historical thinking skills: An image of the Boston map is projected and students are asked to list objects they see.

Students answer the questions from their PSA question sheet see student worksheet handout by raising their hands. Teachers explain that some questions might not be appropriate for their picture, but the idea is to do the best they can and fill in as many details as they can. Each group will have pictures from one region. The students must work together to analyze which region they have and discuss the historical thinking questions.

Students present their region to the class and show all of the images. A script is provided at the bottom of the student handout. Assessment Students will demonstrate knowledge of their assigned region by creating a rough draft of a poster or brochure that will describe life in the colonial age.

References Hyde, Sir Thomas.