In this week’s essay I will be talking about three of the thirteen early colonies of North America, Virgina, Rhode Island, and New York.
Virginia Colony
The very first of the thirteen colonies was Virginia. Virginia was named after the Virgin Queen Elizabeth by a man named Sir Walter Raliegh. The colony was established by the Virginia or London Company; Virginia officially started as a colony in 1607 with the colony of Jamestown.
The first year of the settlement was not really great. Only thirty two of the original colonists survived the harsh winter, and probably more would have died if not for the Native Americans you helped them with food. The next winter was also rough, many people died from hunger and unfriendly encounters with the Native Americans;when the harsh winter was over and some ships arrived the colonists were done, they were ready to leave, but when the colonists were just going to leave a man named Lord Thomas de la Warr(Delaware is named after him), who had just arrived from England with some more settlers and supplies, refused to let the surviving colonists leave back to England. After this the colonists slowly began to thrive and prosper, they made agreements with the Native Americans and learned how to grow crops on their own. They even began growing tobacco which they exported back to Europe which improved life greatly.
Rhode Island Colony
The colony of Rhode Island was founded in the year 1636, when a man and woman, Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson, were banished from Massachusetts. The two founded their own separate small colonies, Rhode Island and Providence Plantation; the two colonies were combined in 1663.
Rhode Island was mostly religiously tolerant except for its not so tolerant treatment to jews and quakers, many people moved to this colony for religious freedom.
New York Colony
New York was originally a province of the Dutch, but in 1664 the Dutch surrendered the colony to the English. The colony was named after the Duke of York.
The colony supported itself by the fur trade and farming along the Hudson river. New York’s constitution benefited the colonists since it gave them more rights then most of the other colonies.
The Dreamer 