British America

For American people of British descent, see British American.

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British America and the British West Indies
1607–1783
Flag
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)
Status	Colonies of England (1607–1707) Colonies of Great Britain (1707–1783)
Capital	Administered from London, England
Common languages	English, French, many indigenous languages
Religion	Anglicanism, Protestantism, Judaism, Roman Catholic, 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 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, and later British America, refers to the English, and later British territories in the Americas (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 British Colonies located along the Atlantic seaboard declared their independence and formed the United States of America. After that, British North America (or, simply but not inclusively, Canada) was used to describe the remainder of Britain's continental North American possessions. The term "British North America" 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 Britain's 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. All but one of the remaining colonies of British North America apart from the British West Indies united together from 1867 to 1873 forming the Dominion of Canada. Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949.

History

Main article: English overseas possessions § The Americas

Between 1606 and 1670 a number of English colonies were established in North America by individuals and companies granted commercial charters by King James I, King Charles I, Parliament, and King Charles II to found and run settlements there. The first such permanent settlement was founded at Jamestown by the Virginia Company whose investors expected to reap rewards from their speculative investments. Virginia Native Americans had established settlements long before the English settlers arrived, and there were an estimated 14,000 natives in the region. Their chief sought to resettle the English colonists from Jamestown to another location and expected them to become members of his Confederacy. Other settlers, both English and German, did join the Powhatans. The first explorers were welcomed by the Indians with dancing, feasting and tobacco ceremonies.

List of North American colonies in 1775

There were twenty British colonies in North America in 1775. These were:

1) The Thirteen Colonies that eventually 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 – founded in 1636 as a sanctuary for religious freedom by Baptists expelled from Massachusetts Bay by the Puritans and formally authorised by charter of King Charles II on 8 July 1663.
• Connecticut Colony

Middle Colonies

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

Southern Colonies

(Virginia and Maryland may also be grouped as the Chesapeake Colonies)

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

2) Other British colonies and territories (ruled by Britain since 1763) that 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)

3) British colonies and territories that would eventually become 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

List of colonies in 1783 in North America, the Caribbean and South America

The colonies remaining under British rule after 1783:

British North America

• Province of Quebec (the southwest portion was lost to the newly created United States)
• Colony of Newfoundland
• Province of Nova Scotia
• Province of New Brunswick
• Island of St. John
• Rupert's Land

Divisions of the Colony of the 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 the Bay of Honduras
• Mosquito Coast
• Bay Islands
• Cayman Islands

Other Possessions in the British West Indies

• Colony of the Bahama Islands
• 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