British America

British America and the British West Indies
Colonies of England (1607–1707) Colonies of Great Britain (1707–1783)
1607–1783
Flag of Great Britain
British colonies in North America which were part of British America (red) at its peak, and other dependencies held by the British Crown at the time (pink)
Capital		Administered from London, England
Languages		English, French, Spanish, Dutch and many indigenous languages
Religion		Anglicanism, Protestantism, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Native American religion
Government		Constitutional monarchy
Monarch
•	1607–1625	James I & VI (first)
•	1760–1783	George III (last)
History
•	Roanoke Colony	1585
•	Virginia Colony	1607
•	New England	1620
•	King Charles II charter for Rhode Island and Providence Plantations	1663
•	Rupert's Land	1670
•	Treaty of Utrecht	1713
•	Treaty of Paris	1763
•	Treaty of Paris	1783
Currency		Pound sterling, Spanish dollar, colonial money, bills of credit, commodity money and many local currencies
Preceded by Succeeded by New Netherland New France Spanish Florida New Sweden British North America British West Indies United States Spanish Florida
Today part of		Anguilla  Antigua and Barbuda  Bahamas  Barbados  Belize  Bermuda  British Virgin Islands  Canada  Cayman Islands  Dominica  Grenada  Guyana  Honduras  Jamaica  Mexico  Montserrat  Nicaragua  Saint Kitts and Nevis  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Trinidad and Tobago  Turks and Caicos  United States

English America (later British America) refers to the English territories in North America (including Bermuda), Central America, the Caribbean, and Guyana from 1607 to 1783. Formally, the British colonies in North America were known as British America and the British West Indies until 1776, when the Thirteen Colonies located along the Atlantic seaboard declared their independence and formed the United States of America.^[1] After that, the term British North America was used to describe the remainder of Britain's continental North American possessions. That term was first used informally in 1783, but it was uncommon before the Report on the Affairs of British North America (1839), called the Durham Report.

British America gained large amounts of new territory following the Treaty of Paris (1763) which ended British involvement in the Seven Years' War. At the start of the American War of Independence in 1775, the British Empire included 20 colonies north and east of New Spain (present-day areas of Mexico and the Western United States). East and West Florida were ceded to Spain in the Treaty of Paris (1783) which ended the American Revolution, and then ceded by Spain to the United States in 1819. The remaining continental colonies of British North America formed the Dominion of Canada by uniting between 1867 and 1873. The Dominion of Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949.

History

A number of English colonies were established in North America between 1606 and 1670 by individuals and companies whose investors expected to reap rewards from their speculation. They were granted commercial charters by King James I, King Charles I, Parliament, and King Charles II. The first permanent settlement was founded at Jamestown, Virginia by the London Company.

North American colonies in 1775

The Thirteen Colonies

The Thirteen Colonies formed the original states of the United States of America:

New England Colonies

• Province of Massachusetts Bay
• Province of New Hampshire
• Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations^[2][3]
• Connecticut Colony

Middle Colonies

• Province of New York
• Province of New Jersey
• Province of Pennsylvania
• Delaware Colony

Southern Colonies

• Province of Maryland
• Colony of Virginia
• Province of North Carolina
• Province of South Carolina
• Province of Georgia

Other British colonies

Other British colonies and territories ruled by Britain from 1763 were later ceded by Britain to Spain (the Floridas) or the United States (the Indian Reserve and Southwestern Quebec). All this territory eventually became part of the United States of America:

• Province of East Florida
• Province of West Florida
• Indian Reserve
• Province of Quebec (southwest of the Great Lakes)

The remaining British colonies and territories eventually became part of modern Canada:

• Province of Quebec (northeast of the Great Lakes)
• Province of Nova Scotia
• Island of St. John
• Colony of Newfoundland
• Rupert's Land

Colonies in the Caribbean and South America in 1783

Divisions of the British Leeward Islands

• Saint Christopher (de facto Capital)
• Antigua
• Barbuda
• British Virgin Islands
• Montserrat
• Nevis
• Anguilla

Island of Jamaica and its dependencies

• Island of Jamaica
• Settlement of Belize in British Honduras
• Mosquito Coast
• Bay Islands
• Cayman Islands

Other possessions in the British West Indies

• Colony of the Bahamas
• Colony of Bermuda
• Island of Barbados
• Island of Grenada
• Island of St. Vincent (detached from Grenada in 1776)
• Island of Tobago (detached from Grenada in 1768)
• Island of Dominica (detached from Grenada in 1770)

See also

• British colonization of the Americas
• British Empire
• Evolution of the British Empire
• British North America Acts
• British North America
• British West Indies
• British overseas territories
• Former colonies and territories in Canada

Citations