Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
American colonies
References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images, Videos & Interactives
Map showing English colonies along the eastern coast of North America in 1689
What was life like in colonial America?
Timeline of the American Revolution Pennsylvania Painting of the early 1600s Jamestown village on the James River in Virginia, showing a fortified settlement, ships in the water, and a winding river through forested land. John Smith: Map of Virginia Painting by Bernard Gribble showing Pilgrim Fathers and families boarding small boats at a busy harbor to board the Mayflower, with the large ship anchored nearby. Pilgrims signing the Mayflower Compact John Winthrop Map showing the present-day state of Massachusetts with colonial boundaries highlighted for the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1629) and Plymouth Colony (1630). Indigenous groups such as the Mohican, Pocumtuc, Nipmuc, Pennacook, Wampanoag, and Nauset are labeled in their respective regions. Key colonial settlements like Boston, Salem, and Plymouth are marked, and a red arrow indicates the Pilgrims' 1620 route to Cape Cod Bay. The map is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and features major bays including
At a Glance
default image
American colonies summary
Quizzes
Mayflower. Plymouth. Photograph of the Mayflower II a full-scale reproduction of the Mayflower. The Mayflower II built in Devon, England, crossed the Atlantic in 1957 maintained by Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, MA.
Early America
Engraving of Solomon Northup, c. 1853. (Twelve Years a Slave, 12 Years a Slave, slavery, African-American, Black History)
The History of Slavery in North America Quiz
Related Questions

American colonies: References & Edit History

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Modified link of Web site: World History Encyclopedia - Thirteen Colonies. Aug 28, 2026
Media revised. Mar 16, 2026
Add new Web site: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - The Colonies Under British Rule (PDF). Oct 01, 2025
Add new Web site: Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History - The Thirteen Colonies. Jul 25, 2025
Add new Web site: PBS LearingMedia - Colonizing America. Apr 15, 2025
Questions and answers added. Feb 21, 2025
Add new Web site: National Army Museum - American War of Independence: Outbreak. Feb 07, 2025
Media added. Feb 06, 2025
Add new Web site: CORE - Autonomy and the Thirteen Colonies: Was the American Revolution Really Necessary (PDF). Aug 02, 2024
Added a banner to the timeline of the American Revolution. Jun 24, 2024
Add new Web site: American Battlefield Trust - Everyday Life in Colonial America. May 07, 2024
Media added. Sep 07, 2023
Media added. Sep 06, 2023
Media added. Aug 31, 2023
Add new Web site: Ushistory.org - The Colonial Experience. Jun 19, 2023
Add new Web site: Digital History - The Colonial Era Timeline. Apr 26, 2023
Added cross-reference. Mar 21, 2023
Add new Web site: EH.net - Money in the American Colonies. Nov 09, 2022
Add new Web site: World History Encyclopedia - Thirteen Colonies. Aug 22, 2022
Replaced media. Oct 19, 2021
Media added. Nov 05, 2019
Add new Web site: Colonial America - The 13 Colonies. May 30, 2019
Add new Web site: Alpha History - The Thirteen Colonies. May 30, 2019
New article added. Jan 16, 2019
View Changes:
Article History
Revised:
By: