Columbia District

Former fur trading district of North America

This article is about the fur district of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Pacific Northwest. For the US capital district (District of Columbia), see Washington, D.C. For other uses, see District of Columbia (disambiguation).

Fur trading district in British North America

Columbia

Fur trading district

Flag

Map of the Oregon Country "jointly occupied" by the United States and the United Kingdom; the Columbia Department at its greatest extent included areas far to the north and to the south.

Country| British North America
Map of the Columbia River and its tributaries showing modern political boundaries. In 1811 David Thompson was the first European to journey the entire length of the Columbia.

The Columbia District was a fur-trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, in both the United States and British North America in the 19th century. Much of its territory overlapped with the temporarily jointly occupied and disputed Oregon Country. It was explored by the North West Company between 1793 and 1811 and established as an operating fur-trading district around 1810. The North West Company was absorbed into the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1821, under which the Columbia District became known as the Columbia Department. It was considered part of British North America and later became the brief first Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) with the subsequent merger with the Colony of Vancouver Island (1849–1866) to form a larger second short-lived Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871). After protracted negotiations with British and Canadian authorities, the newly reorganized Province of British Columbia joined in 1871 with the new Canadian Confederation of 1867 further east, as the western-most province of the now trans-continental Dominion of Canada. The Oregon Treaty of June 1846, signed in Washington, D.C., by the United States and the United Kingdom, marked the effective end of the old Hudson's Bay Company's jurisdiction of the former western Columbia District / Department on the Pacific coast, although the HBC still continues a mercantile commercial business into the 21st century.

## Early years

[edit]

Beginning in 1807, explorer, fur trader, surveyor / cartographer David Thompson, working for the North West Company (NWC), explored much of what would become the Columbia District (and later Department) / Oregon Country. In 1811 he located and mapped out the Athabasca Pass in the Canadian Rockies (the northern portion of the long Rocky Mountains chain in western North America), which became the key overland east — west connection to the emerging fur district.[1]

## Pacific Fur Company (1810–1813)

[edit]

The American short-lived Pacific Fur Company (PFC) of 1810–1813, founded Fort Astoria near the entrance mouth of the long Columbia River waterway to the continental interior and began to compete with and counter the older NWC trade posts. Funded largely by German-American merchant John Jacob Astor, the company men had previously sailed around Cape Horn on board Tonquin. During the War of 1812, the Pacific Northwest was a distant isolated region of the second British-American conflict. Prior to the war, both companies operated in the region peaceably with each other. News of a coming British warship put the American company into a difficult position. In October 1813, the PFC management met at Fort Astoria and agreed to liquidate its assets to the British-owned NWC The Royal Navy warship HMS Racoon arrived the following month and in honor of the still reigning British monarch, King George III of the United Kingdom, Fort Astoria was renamed to Fort George.[2]

## North West Company

[edit]

Main article: North West Company

In 1815 the North West Company's business west of the Canadian Rockies was officially divided into two districts, the older New Caledonia District in the northern interior, and the Columbia District to the south. Also in 1815 the New Caledonia district began receiving the bulk of its annual supplies by sea from the lower Columbia River rather than overland from Fort William and Montreal. By 1820 the North West Company operated six posts on the lower Columbia River and its tributaries, including Fort George (previously Fort Astoria of the Americans' Pacific Fur Company, Fort Nez Percés, Fort Okanogan, Spokane House, Flathead Post, and Kootanae House.[1]

Under the North West Company the Columbia District was bounded, roughly, by the southern edge of the Thompson River on the north, and by the southern and eastern limits of the Columbia River basin. North and west of the Thompson was the New Caledonia fur district, in what is now north-central British Columbia. The Thompson River region was its own fur district, centered on a fur trading post that later became the city of Kamloops. The Thompson River District was the link between the Columbia and New Caledonia Districts.

In the Treaty of 1818 between the U.S. and Britain, the two powers agreed that each had free and open access to the Oregon Country. This "joint occupation" continued until the Oregon Treaty of 1846, yet American attempts to conduct commercial operations in the region failed in the face of competition by the Hudson's Bay Company. The only sphere in which the Americans temporarily dominated was the maritime fur trade along the coast. But the HBC successfully took over the coastal maritime trade during the 1830s through various means, such as constructing trading forts.[3]

The North West Company found the Native Americans of the Columbia region generally unwilling to work as fur trappers and hunters. The company depended upon native labor east of the Rocky Mountains and found it difficult to operate without assistance in the west. For this reason the company began, in 1815, to bring groups of Iroquois, skilled at hunting and trapping, from the Montreal region to the Pacific Northwest. This practice soon became standard policy and was continued for many years by both the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company and was essential for the extension of the fur trade into much of the Columbia basin. The Iroquois were intended not only to support company personnel but, it was hoped, teach local natives the skills of hunting and trapping, and convince them to take up the work. This effort was largely unsuccessful. The reason generally given for the unwillingness of the natives to take up trapping and hunting was that their way of life was highly focused on salmon and fishing, and that the abundance of salmon resulted in little incentive for taking up hunting and trapping. Instead of cooperation there were altercations between the Iroquois and local natives. In 1816 parties of the North West Company, including a number of Iroquois, explored the Cowlitz River valley and the Willamette Valley, reaching as far south as the Umpqua River. Both exploring expeditions ended with violent clashes between the Iroquois and local natives.[4] In addition the North West Company began to hire Native Hawaiians, known as Kanakas. This practice was continued and greatly expanded by the Hudson's Bay Company.

The North West Company was unchallenged in the fur trade of the region from 1813 to 1821, when it was merged with the Hudson's Bay Company. During this period the company put into practice the system attempted by the Astorians' Pacific Fur Company. A supply ship arrived each spring at Fort George (Astoria). Fur brigades from the interior of the Columbia and New Caledonia districts would converge on Fort George each spring. Furs were loaded on the ship and supplies carried back to the interior. The ship would then carry the furs to Canton, China, where furs would be exchanged for tea and other goods, which were then carried to Britain, completing a global circuit. Company letters, reports, and personnel were generally conveyed overland along a route between Fort George and Fort William on Lake Superior, making use of Athabasca Pass.[5] Later, under the Hudson's Bay Company, the York Factory Express used this route, reoriented to York Factory on Hudson Bay.

The Columbia District under the North West Company was only marginally profitable at best. There were numerous problems at many posts. The only consistently profitable areas were the Kootenay River and Snake River countries. New Caledonia produced many furs, but its remoteness made it costly to operate. Nevertheless, the North West Company succeeded in creating a functional network oriented to the Pacific via the Columbia River. Another important legacy was the construction of Fort Nez Percés on the Columbia River near its confluence with the Snake River. Fort Nez Percés would long remain a strategic site, located at the junction of a variety of trails leading to vastly different regions. The fort became an important center for the procurement of horses, a base for expeditions far to the southeast, and a focal point for fur brigades preparing to journey through the Columbia River Gorge.[5] The shipping of furs to Canton, China, was a financial failure for both the North West Company and, later, the Hudson's Bay Company, in part due to the East India Company's monopoly on British trade in the Far East.[6]

## Hudson's Bay Company

[edit]

The North West Company was merged with the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821. Operations west of the Rocky Mountains were reorganized and the fur districts of New Caledonia and Columbia were merged in 1827 under the name Columbia Department.[6] The name New Caledonia continued to be used for the old northern district, and in time came to be used for areas such as the Fraser Canyon and the Lower Mainland.

In 1824 the Hudson's Bay Company built Fort Vancouver on the lower Columbia River to serve as the headquarters of the entire Columbia Department, which was previously the role of Fort Astoria.

The Hudson's Bay Company York Factory Express, overland route to Fort Vancouver, evolved from an earlier express brigade used by the North West Company between Fort Astoria to Fort William on Lake Superior. By 1825 there were usually two brigades, each setting out in spring from opposite ends of the route, Fort Vancouver, and York Factory on Hudson Bay, and passing each other in the middle of the continent. Each brigade consisted of about forty to seventy-five men and two to five specially made boats and traveled at breakneck speed (for the time). Indians along the way were often paid in trade goods to help them portage around falls and unnavigable rapids. An 1839 report cites the travel time as three months and ten days—almost 26 miles (40 km) per day on average.[7] This established a 'quick' (about 100 days for 2,600 miles (4,200 km)) way to resupply their forts and fur trading centers as well as transmitting messages between Fort Vancouver and York Factory on Hudson Bay.

Map of the route of the York Factory Express, 1820s to 1840s, with modern political boundaries shown

The supplies were brought into Fort Vancouver and York Factory by ship every year (they tried to maintain one years extra supplies to avoid disastrous ship wrecks etc.). The furs they had traded were shipped back on the supply ships with the furs from Fort Vancouver often being shipped to China where they were traded for Chinese goods before returning to England. The furs from York factory being sold in London in an annual fur sale. The brigades carried supplies in and furs out by boat, horseback and as back packs for the forts and trading posts along the route. They also carried status reports for supplies needed, furs traded etc. from Dr. John McLoughlin, Chief Factor of the Columbia District HBC operations, and the other fort managers along the route. This continued until 1846.

Between the acquisition of the North West Company in 1821 and the Oregon Treaty of 1846, the HBC greatly expanded the operations of the Columbia Department. The fur trade was extended to essentially every major river from the Yukon River in the north to the mouth of the Colorado River in the south, and east to the headwaters of the Missouri River tributaries. American fur trade competition was effectively blocked through various strategies, including selectively overhunting frontier regions to create "fur deserts", and the construction of forts on the Pacific Northwest coast to intercept furs before American ships could acquire them.

The HBC also diversified their economic activity and began exporting agricultural foodstuffs, salmon, lumber, and other products. Russian Alaska, Hawaii, and Mexican California were developed as markets for these exports. The HBC opened agencies in Sitka, Honolulu, and Yerba Buena (San Francisco) to facilitate the trade.[8]

Fort Vancouver was the nexus for the fur trade on the Pacific Coast; its influence reached from the Rocky Mountains to the Hawaiian Islands, and from Alaska into Mexican-controlled California. At its pinnacle, Fort Vancouver watched over 34 outposts, 24 ports, six ships, and 600 employees.[citation needed] The employment of Hawaiian Kanakas was gradually expanded until at least 207 in the Columbia Department by 1845, with 119 located at Fort Vancouver.[9] Also, for many settlers the fort became the last stop on the Oregon Trail as they could get supplies before starting their homestead.

By 1843 the Hudson's Bay Company operated numerous posts in the Columbia Department, including Fort Vancouver, Fort George (Astoria), Fort Nisqually, Fort Umpqua, Fort Langley, Fort Colville, Fort Okanogan, Fort Kamloops, Fort Alexandria, Flathead Post, Kootanae House, Fort Boise, Fort Hall, Fort Simpson, Fort Taku, Fort McLoughlin (in Milbanke Sound), Fort Stikine, as well as a number of others.[10]

Increasing numbers of American settlers arriving on the Oregon Trail gave rise to the Oregon boundary dispute. With the signing of the Oregon Treaty in 1846 the U.S.-British boundary was fixed on the 49th parallel. This effectively destroyed the geographical logic of the HBC's Columbia Department, since the lower Columbia River was the core and lifeline of the system. The U.S. soon organized its portion as the Oregon Territory. The administrative headquarters of fur operations, and of the Columbia Department, then shifted to Fort Victoria, which had been founded by James Douglas in 1843 as a fallback position in preparation for the "worst case" scenario settlement of the dispute, in the face of manifest destiny.

By 1846, the Columbia District proper had been more than halved and the name had fallen into relative disuse, until revived when the new Mainland Colony needed a name. The uncharted territory of the remainder of the Columbia District, including the remainder of the British coast north of Puget Sound, as far north as at least Queen Charlotte Strait (Fort Simpson and Fort McLoughlin were administered from Fort St. James, the capital of New Caledonia). After 1846 New Caledonia informally referred to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush region in 1848 and farther north the Cariboo Gold Rush area during the 1860s. As also had included Fort Langley since as early as 1827.

With the creation of the Crown Colony on the British mainland north of the then-Washington Territory in 1858, Queen Victoria chose to use Columbia District as the basis for the name Colony of British Columbia, i.e. the remaining British portion of the former Columbia District.

In their British Columbia Chronicle, historians Helen B. Akrigg and G.P.V. Akrigg coined the term "Southern Columbia" for the "lost" area south of the 49th Parallel, but this has never come into common use, even by other historians.

## Historical figures

[edit]

* Samuel Black
* Comcomly
* Chief Lolo
* John McLoughlin
* Chief Nicola (Hwistesmetxe'qen)
* Peter Skene Ogden
* Alexander Ross
* Chief Seattle (Sealth)
* Sir George Simpson
* James Sinclair
* David Thompson

## See also

[edit]

* Canada portal
* History portal

* Former colonies and territories in Canada
* Territorial evolution of Canada after 1867
* Columbia Country
* History of British Columbia
* History of Oregon
* Rupert's Land
* Pig War

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Mackie 1997, pp. 12, 18–21.
2. ^ Franchère 1969, pp. 190–193, 200–201.
3. ^ Mackie 1997, pp. 123–127.
4. ^ Mackie 1997, p. 12, 18-21.
5. ^ a b Meinig 2016, pp. 64-65.
6. ^ a b Mackie 1997, pp. 54–55, 70.
7. ^ Mackie 1997, p. 61.
8. ^ Mackie 1997, pp. xviii–xxiii.
9. ^ Koppel 1995, p. 21.
10. ^ Mackie 1997, p. 250.

## Sources

[edit]

* Franchère, Gabriel (1969) [1854], Lamb, William (ed.), Journal of a Voyage on the North West Coast of North America during the Years 1811, 1812, 1813 and 1814, Toronto,Ontario: Champlain Society Publications, doi:10.3138/9781442618039, ISBN 978-1-4426-1803-9, OCLC 655880167
* Koppel, Tom (1995), McLean, Elizabeth (ed.), Kanaka: The Untold Story of Hawaiian Pioneers in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, Vancouver, B.C.: Whitecap Books, ISBN 978-1-55110-295-5, OCLC 31777714
* Mackie, Richard Somerset (1997), Trading Beyond the Mountains: The British Fur Trade on the Pacific 1793–1843, Vancouver, B.C.: University of British Columbia Press, ISBN 978-0-7748-0559-9, OCLC 180704193
* Meinig, Donald W. (2016) [1968], The Great Columbia Plain, Seattle: University of Washington Press, ISBN 978-0-295-80519-1, JSTOR j.ctvct01r6, OCLC 1052568178 Partial preview at Google Books.

## External links

[edit]

* "Fort Vancouver Cultural Landscape Report" produced by the US National Park Service.

* v
* t
* e

Former British Empire and current British Overseas Territories

Legend
Former territory
Current territory
*Current Commonwealth realm
†Current member of the Commonwealth of Nations

Europe

* Akrotiri and Dhekelia since 1960 (before as part of Cyprus)
* Corsica 1794–1796
* †Cyprus 1878–1960
* Gibraltar since 1713
* Heligoland 1807–1890
* Ionian Islands 1809–1864
* Lordship of Ireland 1177–1542
* Kingdom of Ireland 1542–1800 (integrated into the UK)
* Free State 1921–1931
* †Malta
* Protectorate 1800–1813
* Colony 1813–1964
* Minorca 1708–1757, 1763–1782 and 1798–1802

Africa

* Basutoland (†Lesotho) 1868–1966
* Bechuanaland (†Botswana) 1884–1966
* Cameroons13 1919–1961
* Cape Colony 1795–1803
* Cape of Good Hope 1806–1910
* Central Africa 1891–1907
* East Africa 1895–1920
* Egypt 1882–1922
* †The Gambia 1816–1965
* Gold Coast (†Ghana) 1874–1957
* †Kenya 1920–1963
* Lagos 1862–1906
* Madeira 1807–1808
* †Mauritius 1810–1968
* Natal 1856–1910
* Niger Coast 1884–1900
* †Nigeria 1914–1960
* Northern Nigeria 1900–1914
* Northern Rhodesia15 1924–1964
* Nyasaland 1891–1964
* Orange River 1900–1910
* †Seychelles 1903–1976
* †Sierra Leone 1792–1961
* Somaliland 1884–1960
* †South Africa 1910–1931
* South-West Africa12 1915–1931
* Southern Rhodesia14 1923–1965 and 1979–1980
* Southern Nigeria 1900–1914
* †Swaziland 1893–1968
* Sudan 1899–1956
* Tanganyika13 1922–1961
* Transvaal 1900–1910
* †Uganda 1890–1962
* Zanzibar 1890–1963
* Zululand 1887–1897

* 12Now †Namibia
* 13League of Nations mandate. British Cameroons is now part of †Cameroon and Nigeria, while Tanganyika is part of †Tanzania.
* 14Self-governing Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965 (as Rhodesia) and continued as an unrecognised state until the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. After recognised independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was a member of the Commonwealth until it withdrew in 2003.
* 15Now †Zambia

Asia

* Aden Colony 1839–1967
* Afghanistan 1839–1842
* Protectorate 1879–1919
* Bencoolen 1685–1824
* Banka and Billiton 1812–1824
* Bengal 1757–1947
* Bhutan (protectorate) 1907–1949
* Borneo 1874–1963
* British Indian Ocean Territory since 1965 (before as part of Mauritius and Seychelles)26
* Burma 1824–1948
* †Brunei 1888–1984
* †Ceylon 1795–1948
* †Cyprus 1878–1960
* Hong Kong 1841–1997
* †India18 1858–1947
* Java 1811–1816
* Kuwait 1918–1961
* Labuan 1848–1946
* Malaya 1819–1826
* Federated States 1895–1946
* Unfederated States 1885–1946
* Union 1946–1948
* Federation 1948–1957
* Malacca 1824–1946
* Crown Colony 1946–1957
* †Maldives 1796–1965
* Manila and Cavite 1762–1764
* Mesopotamia19 1920–1932
* Muscat and Oman 1891–1971
* North Borneo 1882–1963
* Crown Colony 1946–1963
* Padang 1781–1784 and 1795–1819
* Palestine19 1923–1948
* Penang 1786–1946
* Crown Colony 1946–1957
* Pulo Condore 1702–1705
* Sarawak 1841–1946
* Crown Colony 1946–1963
* †Singapore 1946–1963
* South Vietnam 1945–1946
* Straits Settlements 1826–1946
* Transjordan 1921–1946
* Trucial States 1892–1971
* Weihai 1898–1930

* 18Now †India, †Pakistan and †Bangladesh
* 19League of Nations mandate. Iraq's mandate was not enacted and replaced by the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty
* 26Legitimacy of territorial establishment disputed

North America

* Anguilla since 1650
* *Antigua 1632–1860
* *Antigua and Barbuda 1860–1981
* †*Bahamas 1670–1973
* †Barbados 1624–1966
* Bay Islands 1643–1860
* †*Belize 1871–1981
* Bermuda since 1619
* British Arctic Territories 16th c.–1880
* British Columbia 1858–1866
* 1866–1871
* Cape Breton Island 1754–1820
* †Dominica 1763–1978
* East Florida 1763–1783
* †*Grenada 1762–1974
* †*Canada
* Lower 1791–1841
* Upper 1791–1841
* Province 1841–1867
* Dominion 1867–1931
* Carolina 1663–1712
* Cayman Islands since 1670
* Columbia District/Oregon Country 1818–1846
* Connecticut 1636–1776
* Delaware 1701–1776
* East Jersey 1674–1702
* Georgia 1733–1776
* †*Jamaica 1655–1962
* Leeward Islands 1671–1816, 1833–1960
* Massachusetts Bay 1629–1691
* Province, 1691–1776
* Maryland 1632–1776
* Montserrat since 1632
* Mosquito Coast 1655–1860
* Nevis 1628–1983
* New Albion 1579
* New Brunswick 1784–1867
* New England 1686–1689
* New Hampshire 1680–1776
* New Haven 1637–1662
* New Jersey 1665–1674 and 1702–1776
* New York 1664–1776
* Newfoundland 1907–1949
* Newfoundland and Labrador 1583–1907
* North Carolina 1712–1776
* North-Western Territory 1859–1870
* Nova Scotia 1713–1867
* Paulet affair 1843
* Prince Edward Island 1763–1873
* Pennsylvania 1681–1776
* Plymouth 1620–1691
* Quebec 1763–1791* Queen Charlotte Islands 1853–1863
* Rhode Island 1636–1776
* Rupert's Land 1670–1870
* Saint Croix 1625–1650
* Saint Kitts 1623–1983
* †*Saint Kitts and Nevis 1882–1983
* †*Saint Lucia 1605–1979
* †*Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1627–1979
* Saybrook 1635–1644
* South Carolina 1712–1776
* Stickeen 1862–1863
* †Trinidad and Tobago 1889–1962
* Turks and Caicos Islands since 1799
* Vancouver Island 1849–1866
* Virgin Islands since 1666
* Virginia 1607–1776
* West Florida 1763–1783
* West Indies Federation 1958–1962
* Associated States 1967–1983
* West Jersey 1674–1702
* Windward Islands 1833–1960

South America

* Providence Island 1631–1641
* Willoughbyland 1651–1667
* Saint Andrew and Providence Islands4 1670–1688
* †Guiana 1831–1966

* 4Now a department of Colombia

Oceania

* New South Wales 1788–1901
* Van Diemen's Land/Tasmania 1803–1901
* Auckland Islands20 1807–1863
* New Hebrides21 1824–1980
* Queensland 1824–1901
* Swan River/Western Australia 1829–1901
* South Australia 1836–1901
* Pitcairn Islands since 1838
* New Zealand 1841–1907
* North Australia 1846–1847
* Victoria 1851–1901
* †Fiji 1874–1970
* Western Pacific Territories 1877–1976
* Papua 1884–1902
* Rarotonga/Cook Islands20 1888–1901
* Union Islands20 1889–1948
* Gilbert and Ellice Islands22 1892–1979
* †*Solomon Islands 1893–1978
* †Tonga 1900–1970
* Niue20 1900–1974
* †*Australia 1901–1942
* †*New Zealand 1907–1947
* †Samoa 1914–1962
* †Nauru 1919–1942 and 1945–1968

* 20Now part of the †Realm of New Zealand
* 21Now †Vanuatu
* 22Now †Kiribati and †*Tuvalu

Antarctica and the South Atlantic

* Saint Helena23 since 1658
* Ascension Island23 since 1815
* Tristan da Cunha23 since 1816
* Falkland Islands5 since 1833
* †Australian Antarctic Territory (transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia) 1841–1933
* †Ross Dependency (transferred to the Realm of New Zealand) 1841–1947
* British Antarctic Territory24 since 1908
* South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands25 since 1908

* 5Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April–June 1982.
* 23Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Ascension Island (1922–) and Tristan da Cunha (1938–) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena.
* 24Claimed in 1908; territory formed 1962; overlaps portions of Argentine and Chilean claims, borders not enforced but claim not renounced under the Antarctic Treaty.
* 25Claimed in 1908; territory formed 1985

* Historical flags of the British Empire
* Anglosphere culture
* Category
* Portal

* v
* t
* e

History of the North American fur trade by region

Fur trading regions|

* Athabasca
* Assiniboine
* Columbia
* California
* Montana
* Great Plains
* Nebraska
* New Caledonia
* North Pacific
* Peace
* Saskatchewan

Companies|

* American Fur Company
* Bent, St. Vrain & Company
* Columbia Fur Company
* Company of One Hundred Associates
* Dutch West India Company
* Hudson's Bay Company
* Missouri Fur Company
* Monjo Company
* New Netherland Company
* North West Company
* Pacific Fur Company
* Revillon Frères
* Rocky Mountain Fur Company
* Russian-American Company
* XY Company

Lists of forts and trading posts|

* French
* Hudson's Bay Company

Canoe routes and fur brigades|

* Portage La Loche Brigade
* York Factory Express

Communities|

* Longhunter
* Mountain man

Other|

* Beaver Wars
* Indian Trade
* Deerskin trade
* Iron Confederacy
* Trapline

See also: Siberian fur trade

* v
* t
* e

Thirteen Colonies

* New England Colonies
* Middle Colonies
* Chesapeake Colonies
* Tobacco Colonies
* Southern Colonies
* United Colonies

* Virginia (1607–1776)
* New Hampshire (1629–1641; 1679–1686; 1689–1776)
* Maryland (1632–1776)
* Connecticut (1636–1776)
* Rhode Island (1636–1776)
* Delaware (1664–1776)
* New Jersey (1664–1673; 1702–1776)
* New York (1664–1776)
* Pennsylvania (1681–1776)
* Massachusetts Bay (1691–1776)
* North Carolina (1712–1776)
* South Carolina (1712–1776)
* Georgia (1732–1776)

* Other British colonial entities in the contemporary United States

* Roanoke (1585–1590)
* Popham (1607–1608)
* Jamestown (1607–1699)
* Berkeley Hundred (1619)
* Plymouth (1620–1686; 1689–1691)
* Maine (1622–1658)
* Saint Croix (1625–1650)
* Carolana (1629–1663)
* Massachusetts Bay Colony (1629–1686; 1689–1691)
* Saybrook (1635–1644)
* New Haven (1638–1664)
* New England Confederation (1643–1654; 1675–c. 1680)
* Carolina (1663–1712)
* Rupert's Land (1670–1811)
* North-Western Territory (1670–1870)
* East Jersey (1674–1702)
* West Jersey (1674–1702)
* Dominion of New England (1686–1689)
* Indian Reserve (1763–1783)
* Quebec (1763–1783)
* East Florida (1763–1783)
* West Florida (1763–1783)
* New Ireland (1779–1783; 1814–1815)
* Columbia District (1810–1846)
* Red River Colony (1811–1818)
* Stickeen Territories (1862–1863)
* Colony of British Columbia (1863–1866)
* Colony of British Columbia and Vancouver Island (1866–1871)
* Province of British Columbia (1871–1903)

* Non-British colonial entities in the contemporary United States

* Columbian Viceroyalty (1492–1535)
* New Spain
* 1521–1821; Spanish Florida, 1565–1763
* New Navarre, 1565–1821
* Captaincy General of the Philippines, 1565–1898
* Captaincy General of Puerto Rico, 1580–1898
* Santa Fe de Nuevo México, 1598–1821
* Captaincy General of Cuba, 1607–1801
* Spanish Saint Croix, 1650–1651
* Spanish Texas, 1690–1821
* Las Californias, 1767–1804
* Spanish Louisiana, 1769–1801
* Provincias Internas, 1776–1821
* Spanish East Florida, 1783–1821
* Spanish West Florida, 1783–1821
* Alta California, 1804–1821
* New France
* 1534–1763; French Canada, 1535–1763
* French Florida, 1562–1565
* Hospitaller Saint Croix, 1651–1665
* French Saint Croix, 1665–1733
* Illinois Country, 1675–1769 and 1801–1803
* French Louisiana, 1682–1763 and 1801–1803
* New Netherland (1614–1667)
* Dutch Virgin Islands (1625–1672)
* New Sweden (1638–1655)
* Danish West Indies (1672–1917)
* Brandenburger Saint Thomas (1685–1754)
* Krabbeninsel (1689–1693)
* Scottish Darien Company (1698)
* Russian America (1799–1867)

Related Documents

* Discourse Concerning Western Planting (1584)
* Mayflower Compact (1620)
* Mourt's Relation (1622)
* Of Plymouth Plantation (1630–1651)
* Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1638)
* Quintipartite Deed (1676)

* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[c.]: circa