British America

Former British territories in North America

For the British Empire's colonial territories in North America after 1783, see British North America.

British America and
the British West Indies[a]

1585–1783

Top: Flag of Great Britain
Bottom: Colonial Red Ensign

Royal coat of arms

Anthem: God Save the King

British colonies in continental North America (red) and the island colonies of the British West Indies of the Caribbean Sea (pink), after the French and Indian War (1754–1763) and before the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)

Status| Colonies of England
(1585–1707)
Colonies of Scotland
(1629–1632)
Colonies of Great Britain
(1707–1783)
Religion

* Anglicanism
* Protestantism

Government| Constitutional monarchy with various colonial arrangements
Monarch|

• 1607–1625 (first)

| James VI and I

• 1760–1783 (last)

| George III
History|

• Colony of Virginia

| 1585

• Newfoundland Colony and Province of Avalon

| 1610

• Bermuda

| 1614

• Plymouth Council for New England (Massachusetts Bay Colony)

| 1620

• Province of Maryland

| 1632

• Colony of Jamaica

| 1655

• Rupert's Land

| 1670

• Treaty of Utrecht

| 1713

• Treaty of Paris (French and Indian War)

| 1763

• American Revolutionary War

| 1775–1783

• Treaty of Paris

| 1783
Currency| Pound sterling, Spanish dollar, bills of credit, commodity money, and many local currencies

Preceded by | Succeeded by

|

|  | New France

|

| New Netherland
| New Sweden
| Spanish Florida
| British North America |

|

Confederation period |
Spanish Florida |
British West Indies |

British America, known as English America before 1707, comprised the colonial territories of the Kingdom of England (and Kingdom of Scotland) of the overseas English Empire, and the successor British Empire, in the Americas from the founding of Jamestown in the new Virginia colony in 1607 to 1783.[1] These colonies were formally known as British America and the British West Indies immediately prior to thirteen of the colonies rebelling in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and forming the newly-independent United States of America.

After the conclusion of the world-wide war (having grown besides the North American colonies to involve other European nations / kingdoms of France and Spain), with the signing of the Treaty of Paris of 1783, the term British North America was used to refer to the remainder of Great Britain's British Empire possessions in the Americas with what became Canada, the British West Indies in reference to its various West Indies island territories in the Caribbean Sea, also British Honduras (now Belize) in Central America, and British Guiana (now Guyana) on the northeast coast of South America.

The term British North America was used in the English language in 1783, but it was more commonly used by people and historians after the issuing of the Report on the Affairs of British North America, published in 1839 and generally known as the "Durham Report".

## Background

[edit]

### Native American societies

[edit]

Native Americans potentially have evidence of settlement in modern Illinois in as early as 5000 BCE, and in the Ohio River Valley in as early as 350 BCE. In the Hopewellian period from 200 BCE to 500 CE, numerous Native American tribes formed around what would later be New England due to ideal agricultural conditions. Major groups of this area include the Algonquians, Hurons, Mohicans, and Susquehannocks.

Around 1570 CE, in modern New York state, five native tribes—the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca peoples—formed a confederation ruled through participatory democracy, known as the Iroquois Confederacy. It was highly efficient at governing the region, and played an important part in the politics of later British and French colonies.[2]

### European exploration and colonization

[edit]

Main articles: European exploration of North America and European colonization of the Americas

Around the start of the second millennium CE, two settlements on the modern Canadian island of Newfoundland were established by Norse viking explorers, which were soon abandoned and the next known European settlement in North America occurred some 500 years later.[3]

In 1526, Spain founded the San Miguel de Gauldape colony in either modern Georgia or the Carolinas. It lasted for a few months.[4] In 1534, France explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence, starting fur trade with the natives, and eventually what became their colony New France.[5] In 1559, Spain founded a settlement at modern Pensacola, Florida, which was abandoned by 1561. In 1570, Spanish Jesuits founded the Ajacán Mission at Chesapeake Bay in modern Virginia, but they were killed by the local Powhatan people. In 1589 or 1599, a French colony was founded at Sable Island in Nova Scotia, but the colony had failed by 1603; another French colony at Saint Croix Island in modern Maine also existed from 1604 to 1607.[4] In 1604, near the Gulf of St. Lawrence, France started a new colony later named Quebec.[5]

## History

[edit]

Main article: English overseas possessions § The Americas

Further information: First British Empire

### Roanoke Colony

[edit]

In 1585, the British began their first settlement in North America, the Roanoke Colony. Its initial form only lasted until 1586 due to conflict with the local Native Americans.[6] In 1587, around 115 colonists led by Governor John White settled back at Roanoke.[7][6] White went back on a ship to England to get supplies for the colony, but his return was delayed by English's conflict with the Spanish Armada. In August 1590, White returned back to the colony, which had been abandoned. Left behind was an inscription on a post that said "CROATOAN" and a carving into a tree that said "CRO".[6] Where the colonists went to in those years is considered a mystery. However, "Croatoan" was the name of an island south of Roanoke where Native Americans lived.[7]

### Jamestown Colony

[edit]

A number of English colonies were established in America between 1607 and 1670 by individuals and companies whose investors expected to reap rewards from their speculation. They were granted commercial charters by Kings James I, Charles I, and Charles II, and by the British Parliament. Later, most colonies were founded, or converted to, royal colonies. In 1607, the London Company (fully titled the Virginia Company of London, but better known as the "Virginia Company") founded the first permanent settlement on the James River at Jamestown, Virginia upstream from Chesapeake Bay. English settlement in the Somers Isles (or Islands of Bermuda), 640 miles off Cape Hatteras, began in 1609 with the wreck of the Sea Venture, leaving the Virginia Company in de facto possession of Bermuda. The company's charter was extended in 1612 to officially encompass the archipelago, and settlers were despatched to join the three men remaining there from the Sea Venture (and plans were begun for an under-company that would become the Somers Isles Company).[8]

### Atlantic slave trade

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In the Caribbean, the British West Indies and other European sugar colonies were at the center for the Atlantic slave trade.[9][10][11]

### Plymouth Colony

[edit]

A 1710 British map of North America by John Senex, Charles Price, and John Maxwell

This was followed, in 1620, with the Pilgrims establishing the Plymouth settlement in New England. English Catholics settled the Province of Maryland in 1634, under Cecilus Calvert, second Lord Baltimore.[12][13]

### Anglo-Powhatan Wars

[edit]

The Anglo-Powhatan Wars were fought between the British colonists at Virginia and the local Powhatan people between 1610 and 1646.[14][15]

### Thirteen Colonies

[edit]

A state department in London known as the Southern Department governed all the colonies beginning in 1660 along with a committee of the Privy Council, called the Board of Trade and Plantations. In 1768, Parliament created a specific state department for America, but it was disbanded in 1782 when the Home Office took responsibility for the remaining possessions of British North America in Eastern Canada, the Floridas, and the West Indies.[16]

Fort George and New York City, c. 1731

### Occupation of New Amsterdam

[edit]

In 1664, the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam at modern New York City became under control of the British, who renamed it to New York.[17]

### King Philip's War

[edit]

King Philip's War was fought from 1675 to 1676 between in New England between the local natives and English colonists with their native allies.[18][19]

### French and Indian War

[edit]

British America gained large amounts of territory with the Treaty of Paris of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War in America and the Seven Years' War in Europe.[20][21][22]

### American Revolution

[edit]

At the start of the American Revolutionary War in 1775, the British Empire included 23 colonies and territories on the North American continent.[23][24]

The Treaty of Paris of 1783 ended the Revolutionary War, and Britain lost much of this territory to the newly formed United States.[25]

### After the Treaty of Paris of 1783

[edit]

Following the 1783 recognition of the independence of the colonies that would form the United States of America, Britain ceded East and West Florida to the Kingdom of Spain, which in turn ceded them to the United States in 1821. The Atlantic archipelago of the Bahamas had been administratively grouped with the North American continent, but with the loss of the Floridas was grouped with the British colonies of the Caribbean as the British West Indies.

Most of the remaining colonies to the north (including the continental colonies and the archipelago of Bermuda, the nearest landfall from which was North Carolina, but the nearest other British territory from which became Nova Scotia) formed the Dominion of Canada in 1867, with the colony of Newfoundland (which had become the Dominion of Newfoundland in 1907, leaving Bermuda as the only remaining British colony in British North America, before reverting to a colony in 1934) joining the independent Commonwealth realm of Canada in 1949, and Bermuda, elevated (by the independence of the thirteen colonies that became the United States) to the role of an Imperial fortress and the most important British naval and military base in the Western Hemisphere (due to its location, 1,236 km (768 mi) south of Nova Scotia, and 1,538 km (956 mi) north of the British Virgin Islands, and handily placed for naval and amphibious operations against its nearest neighbour, the nascent United States, during the 19th century), remains as a British Overseas Territory today.

## North American colonies in 1775

[edit]

The Thirteen Colonies that became the original states of the United States were:

New England Colonies

* Province of Massachusetts Bay
* Province of New Hampshire
* Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations[26][27]
* 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

Colonies and territories that became part of British North America (and from 1867 the Dominion of Canada):

* Province of Quebec northeast of the Great Lakes (including Labrador until 1791)
* Nova Scotia (including New Brunswick until 1784)
* Island of St. John
* Rupert's Land
* North-Western Territory
* British Arctic Territories

Colonies that became part of British North America (but which would be left out of the 1867 Confederation of Canada):

* Bermuda
* Newfoundland Colony

Colonies and territories that were ceded to Spain or the United States in 1783:

* Province of East Florida (Spanish 1783–1823, U.S. after 1823)
* Province of West Florida (Spanish 1783–1823, U.S. after 1823)
* Indian Reserve (U.S. after 1783)
* Province of Quebec southwest of the Great Lakes (U.S. after 1783)

## Colonies in the Caribbean, Mid-Atlantic, and South America in 1783

[edit]

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
* Old Providence Island Colony

Other possessions in the British Windward Islands

* Island of Barbados
* Island of Grenada
* Island of St. Vincent
* Island of Tobago (detached from Grenada in 1768)
* Island of Dominica (detached from Grenada in 1770)

## Imperial administration after 1783

[edit]

Military Governors and Staff Officers in garrisons of British North America and West Indies 1778 and 1784

The Home Office was formed on 27 March 1782, responsible for the administration of all British territory, within and without the British Isles, taking over the administration of the British colonies, including those of British North America, from the Board of Trade. Dissatisfaction with the then Home Secretary (who oversaw the Home Office), William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, during two decades of war with the French Republic led to colonial business being transferred to the War Office in 1801, which became the War and Colonial Office, with the Secretary of State for War was renamed the Secretary of State for War and Colonies. From 1824, the British Empire was divided by the War and Colonial Office into four administrative departments, including NORTH AMERICA, the WEST INDIES, MEDITERRANEAN AND AFRICA, and EASTERN COLONIES, of which North America included:[28]

North America

* Upper Canada, Lower Canada
* New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island
* Bermuda, Newfoundland

The Colonial Office and War Office, and the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Secretary of State for War, were separated in 1854.[29][30] The War Office, from then until the 1867 confederation of the Dominion of Canada, split the military administration of the British colonial and foreign stations into nine districts: North America And North Atlantic; West Indies; Mediterranean; West Coast Of Africa And South Atlantic; South Africa; Egypt And The Sudan; INDIAN OCEAN; Australia; and China. North America And North Atlantic included the following stations (or garrisons):[31]

North America and North Atlantic

* New Westminster (British Columbia)
* Newfoundland
* Quebec
* Halifax
* Kingston, Canada West
* Bermuda

The Colonial Office, by 1862, oversaw eight Colonies in British North America,[32] including:

North American Colonies, 1862

* Canada
* Nova Scotia
* New Brunswick
* Prince Edward Island
* Newfoundland
* Bermuda
* Vancouver Island
* British Colombia

By 1867, administration of the South Atlantic Ocean archipelago of the Falkland Islands, which had been colonised in 1833, had been added to the remit of the North American Department of the Colonial Office.[33]

North American Department of the Colonial Office, 1867

* Canada
* Nova Scotia
* New Brunswick
* Prince Edward Island
* Newfoundland
* Bermuda
* Vancouver Island
* British Colombia
* Falkland Islands

Following the 1867 confederation, Bermuda and Newfoundland remained as the only British colonies in North America (although the Falkland Islands also continued to be administered by the North American Department of the Colonial Office).[34] The reduction of the territory administered by the British Government would result in re-organisation of the Colonial Office. In 1901, the departments of the Colonial Office included: North American and Australasian; West Indian; Eastern; South African; and West African (two departments).[35] In 1907, the Colony of Newfoundland became the Dominion of Newfoundland, leaving the Imperial fortress of Bermuda as the sole remaining British North American colony. By 1908, the Colonial Office included only two departments (one overseeing dominion and protectorate business, the other colonial): Dominions Department (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Newfoundland, Transvaal, Orange River Colony, Australian States, Fiji, Western Pacific, Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protectorate, Swaziland, Rhodesia); Crown Colonies Department. The Crown Colonies Department was made up of four territorial divisions: Eastern Division; West Indian Division; East African and Mediterranean Division; and the West African Division. Of these, the West Indian Division now included all of the remaining British colonies in the Western Hemisphere, from Bermuda to the Falkland Islands.[36]

## See also

[edit]

* British Empire portal
* History portal
* Canada portal
* North America portal
* United States portal
* Caribbean portal

* Evolution of the British Empire
* British colonization of the Americas
* Colonial history of the United States
* Former colonies and territories in Canada
* British colonization of Australia
* British colonization of New Zealand
* British North America Acts
* British overseas territories

## Notes

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1. ^ Formerly called English America before the Act of Union in 1707.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Rights: Thomas Jefferson, A Summary View of the Rights of British America". press-pubs.uchicago.edu.
2. ^ "Iroquois Confederacy | Definition, Significance, History, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
3. ^ Blumenthal, Ralph (31 March 2016). "View From Space Hints at a New Viking Site in North America". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
4. ^ a b "7 Failed North American Colonies". HISTORY. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
5. ^ a b "New France | Definition, History, & Map | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
6. ^ a b c "Lost Colony | Roanoke Island, Virginia, 1587 | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
7. ^ a b "What Happened to the 'Lost Colony' of Roanoke?". HISTORY. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
8. ^ "Jamestown Colony | History, Foundation, Settlement, Map, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 22 September 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
9. ^ Lambert, David. "An introduction to the Caribbean, empire and slavery". British Library. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
10. ^ Swingen, Abigail L. (2015). The Slave Trade, the Asiento, and the National Interest, 1698–1718. Yale University Press. doi:10.12987/yale/9780300187540.001.0001. ISBN 9780300187540. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
11. ^ "Transatlantic slave trade | History & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 14 September 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
12. ^ "Plymouth Colony ‑ Location, Pilgrims & Thanksgiving". HISTORY. 20 August 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
13. ^ "Plymouth | Rock, Massachusetts, Colony, Map, History, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 20 September 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
14. ^ Mark, Joshua J. "Anglo-Powhatan Wars". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
15. ^ "Powhatan War | Native Americans, Jamestown, Virginia | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
16. ^ Foulds, Nancy Brown. "Colonial Office". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
17. ^ "New Amsterdam becomes New York | September 8, 1664". HISTORY. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
18. ^ "King Philip's War | Cause, Summary, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 19 September 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
19. ^ "King Philip's War ‑ Definition, Cause & Significance". HISTORY. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
20. ^ "French and Indian War ‑ Seven Years War". HISTORY. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
21. ^ "French and Indian War | Definition, History, Dates, Summary, Causes, Combatants, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
22. ^ "Treaty of Paris | End of French & Indian War, Peace, Colonies | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
23. ^ "American Revolution | Causes, Battles, Aftermath, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 19 October 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
24. ^ "American Revolution: Causes and Timeline". HISTORY. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
25. ^ "Treaty of Paris ‑ Definition, Date & Terms". HISTORY. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
26. ^ "Rhode Island Royal Charter of 1663". sos.ri.gov. Secretary of State of Rhode Island. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
27. ^ "Charles II Granted Rhode Island New Charter". christianity.com. 8 July 1663. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
28. ^ Young, Douglas MacMurray (1961). The Colonial Office in The Early Nineteenth Century. London: Published for the Royal Commonwealth Society by Longmans. p. 55.
29. ^ Maton, 1995, article
30. ^ Maton, 1998, article
31. ^ METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS AT THE FOREIGN AND COLONIAL STATIONS OF THE ROYAL ENGINEERS AND THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT 1852—1886. London: Published by the authority of the Meteorological Council. PRINTED FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE BY EYRE AND SPOTTISWOODE, East Harding Street, Fleet Street, London E.C. 1890.
32. ^ "COLONIAL GOVERNORS AND BISHOPS". The Wiltshire County Mirror. Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. 1 October 1862. p. 7\. "The annual return has been issued by the Colonial-office, containing the list of Governors and Bishops. Our North American colonies are eight in number, - Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Bermuda, Vancouver Island, and British Colombia;"
33. ^ BIRCH, ARTHUR N.; ROBINSON, WILLIAM (1867). THE COLONIAL OFFICE LIST FOR 1867: COMPRISING Historical and Statistical Information RESPECTING THE COLONIAL DEPENDENCIES OF GREAT BRITAIN, AN ACCOUNT OF THE SERVICES OF THE PRINCIPAL OFFICERS OF THE SEVERAL COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS. WITH MAP. COMPILED FROM OFFICIAL RECORDS, &c., &c., WITH PERMISSION OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES. BY ARTHUR N. BIRCH, AND WILLIAM ROBINSON, OF THE COLONIAL OFFICE. LONDON: HARRISON. BOOKSELLER TO HER MAJESTY AND H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES. Printed by HARRISON AND SONS. p. 8.
34. ^ Fairfield, Edward (1878). THE COLONIAL OFFICE LIST FOR 1878: COMPRISING Historical and Statistical Information RESPECTING THE COLONIAL DEPENDENCIES OF GREAT BRITAIN, AN ACCOUNT OF THE SERVICES OF THE OFFICERS IN THE COLONIAL SERVICE; A TRANSCRIPT OF THE COLONIAL REGULATIONS, AND OTHER INFORMATION. WITH MAPS. COMPILED FROM OFFICIAL RECORDS* BY PERMISSION OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES, BY EDWARD FAIRFIELD, OF THE COLONIAL OFFICE. LONDON: HARRISON AND SONS, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty. Page 17, PART II. — COLONIES .-- COLONIAL GOVERNORS. Colonies. North American. "CANADA: PROVINCES OF CANADA-Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, North-west Territories, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island; NEWFOUNDLAND; BERMUDA; FALKLAND ISLANDS"
35. ^ Mercer, W. H.; Collins, A. E. (1901). THE COLONIAL OFFICE LIST FOR 1901: COMPRISING Historical and Statistical Information RESPECTING THE COLONIAL DEPENDENCIES OF GREAT BRITAIN, AN ACCOUNT OF THE SERVICES OF THE OFFICERS IN THE COLONIAL SERVICE; A TRANSCRIPT OF THE COLONIAL REGULATIONS, AND OTHER INFORMATION. WITH MAPS. COMPILED FROM OFFICIAL RECORDS* BY PERMISSION OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES, BY W. H. MERCER, One of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, and A. E. COLLINS, OF THE COLONIAL 0FFICE. LONDON: HARRISON AND SONS, Printers in Ordinary to Her late Majesty. p. xiii.
36. ^ Mercer, W. H.; Collins, A. E. (1908). THE COLONIAL OFFICE LIST FOR 1901: COMPRISING Historical Statistical Information RESPECTING THE COLONIAL DEPENDENCIES OF GREAT BRITAIN, AN ACCOUNT OF THE SERVICES OF THE OFFICERS IN THE COLONIAL SERVICE; A TRANSCRIPT OF THE COLONIAL REGULATIONS, AND OTHER INFORMATION. WITH MAPS. COMPILED FROM OFFICIAL RECORDS* BY PERMISSION OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES, BY W. H. MERCER, One of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, and A. E. COLLINS, OF THE COLONIAL 0FFICE. LONDON: Waterlow and Sons Limited. p. xiii.

*[c.]: circa