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Expansion of the Colonies: 1650–1750
English Administration of the Colonies
U.S. History Textbooks Boundless U.S. History Expansion of the Colonies: 1650–1750 English Administration of the Colonies
U.S. History Textbooks Boundless U.S. History Expansion of the Colonies: 1650–1750
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Concept Version 13
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English Administration of the Colonies

Britain's 13 North American colonies reflected different structures of government: provincial, proprietary, and charter.

Learning Objective

  • Differentiate between the three different types of colonies


Key Points

    • By 1776, Britain had evolved three different forms of government for its North American colonies: provincial, proprietary, and charter. All were subordinate to the king in London and had no explicit relationship with the British Parliament.
    • Provincial colonies, also known as royal colonies, were under the direct control of the King, who usually appointed a royal governor. These colonies included New Hampshire, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and eventually Massachusetts. 
    • Proprietary colonies, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland, were were owned by a person or family (known as Lords Proprietors) who could make laws and appoint officials as they pleased. 
    • Charter colonies, also known as corporate colonies or joint stock companies, included Rhode Island, Providence Plantation, and Connecticut; Massachusetts began as a charter colony in 1684, but became a provincial colony in 1691. 

Terms

  • letters patent

    A type of legal document which is an open letter issued by an authority granting a right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or organization.

  • charter colonies

    Also known as corporate colonies or joint stock companies.  One of the three classes of colonial government established in the 17th-century English colonies of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and originally Massachusetts Bay. The King allowed the colonial government to establish the rules under which the colony was to be governed.

  • proprietary colonies

    Owned by a person (always a white male) or family, who could make laws and appoint officials as he or they pleased.

  • royal colonies

    Another term for provincial colonies; colonies that were under the direct control of the King, who usually appointed a Royal Governor.

  • Lords Proprietor

    A position akin to head landlord or overseer of a territory; a person who oversaw a territory on behalf of a higher sovereign.

  • Board of Trade

    A committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th century that evolved gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions.


Full Text

Colonial Governments

By 1776, Britain had evolved three different forms of government for its North American colonies: provincial, proprietary, and charter. These governments were all subordinate to the king in London and had no explicit relationship with the British Parliament. Beginning late in the 17th century, the administration of all British colonies was overseen by the Board of Trade, a committee of the Privy Council. Each colony had a paid colonial agent in London to represent its interests.

Provincial Colonies

Provincial colonies, also known as royal colonies, were under the direct control of the king, who usually appointed a royal governor. Provincial colonies included New Hampshire, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and eventually Massachusetts. The governor was invested with general executive powers and authorized to call a locally elected assembly. The governor's council would advise the governor and sit as an upper house when the assembly was in session. 

Assembly members included representatives elected by the freeholders and planters (landowners) of the province. The assembly's role was to conceive all local laws and ordinances and to ensure that local laws were not inconsistent with the laws of England. The governor had the power of absolute veto and could prorogue (i.e., delay) and dissolve the assembly at will. Laws could be examined by the Board of Trade, which also held veto power of legislation. Over time, many of the provincial assemblies sought to expand their powers and limit those of the governor and crown.

Proprietary Colonies

Proprietary colonies included Pennsylvania (which included Delaware at the time), New Jersey, and Maryland. Proprietary colonies were owned by a person (always a white male) or family, who could make laws and appoint officials as he or they pleased. This person or family was given the title of Lords Proprietor. Proprietary colonies were governed much as provincial colonies except that Lords Proprietors, rather than the king, appointed the governor. Typically, they enjoyed greater civil and religious liberties than provincial colonies.

Charter Colonies

Charter colonies, also known as corporate colonies or joint stock companies, included Rhode Island, Providence Plantation, and Connecticut. Massachusetts began as a charter colony in 1684 but became a provincial colony in 1691. In a charter colony, Britain granted a charter to the colonial government establishing the rules under which the colony was to be governed. A joint stock company was a project in which investors would buy shares of stock in building a new colony. Depending on the success of the colony, each investor would receive some of the profits in proportion to the number of shares he bought. 

Charter governments were political corporations created by letters patent, giving the grantees control of the land and the powers of legislative government. The charters provided a fundamental constitution and divided powers among legislative, executive, and judicial functions, with those powers being vested in officials. The charters of Rhode Island and Connecticut granted the colonists significantly more political liberty than other colonies.

Thirteen original colonies 

This map illustrates the 13 original colonies under British rule in North America in the 18th century: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Lands to the west at that time were colonized by France and Spain. Some land to the west was also set aside for Native Americans.

A note on the map states the following: "Boundary between Mississippi River and 49th parallel uncertain due to misconception that source of Mississippi River lay further north."
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