Original Thirteen Colonies
The Original Thirteen Colonies The original 13 colonies were established in 1607. Virginia
/Jamestown was the first followed by, in chronological order, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania and Georgia. These colonies were governed by the British until the
Revolutionary War. The thirteen colonieswere divided into three groups based on geography: New
EnglandColonies, Middle Colonies, and Southern Colonies. The New England Colonies were New
Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The Middle Colonies were New York,
New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The Southern Colonies were Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North
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The reason the upper class settled in the Southern colonies was because of the large and very
valuable tracts of land available for farming. It was advantageous to settle in the south because
of the perfect climate for farming and growing cash crops. In 1607, King James 1 split the
Atlantic seaboard into two distinct areas. He gave the southern half to the London Company and
the northern half to the Plymouth Company. A total of 144 ships were sent by the London
Company to settle. They established the settlement called Jamestown. It was at first not an easy
adventure. The settlers primary focus was on finding gold. While they were so consumed with
finding gold, they were not producing any exports to bring money to them and often times
barely had enough food for survival. Virginia began growing tobacco. This proved to be a very
profitable crop for them, but it was also their main source of income and they relied heavily on it.
Virginia had a lot of slaves, at first mostly white indentured servants who helped in the tobacco
fields. However, later Virginia became a true slave society with slaves from Africa. White male
landowners held most of the power. These white men controlled the government and belonged to
the Church of England. In 1775, Virginia ended up becoming a royal government, meaning the
colonial government was appointed by the crown. Religious tolerance took a while to prosper in
Virginia. There was a high influx of Anglicans in this colony and they were legally required to
attend church services in the beginning. Taxes were collected to support the church. On Sundays,
both business affairs and church series were conducted (B. Wolfe). Virginia s climate consisted of
hot and humid summers and moderate winters. The hot, humid climate made conditions optimal
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