Northern, Middle and Southern Colonies

Look at this map of the 13 colonies. Name the 13 colonies.

Although all of the 13 colonies were ultimately ruled by England, there was a distinct governing body for each colony. The crown colonies had the most influence from England. These included New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia as well as the Carolinas and Georgia. These were dubbed “royal colonies” because they were heavily influenced by the British crown.

Next in line came the “proprietary” colonies, which consisted of Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. Although colonies were usually founded by Charters, which were granted by a person from the British rule, it didn’t mean that the control was complete. A proprietary colony had less influence from British rule than the royal colony, but more so than the “corporate” colony.

Corporate colonies included Rhode Island and Connecticut (although you could include Massachusetts, which was a mix of this and a bit of the royal). Even though the governing mentality varied from colony to colony, the men still held themselves as English men, and they wanted to maintain the rights they deserved. They did so by electing representative assemblies to discuss and create a means to keep those rights intact. Town Meetings were held in the colonies. People would come together to discuss issues and vote on them. Each person had a say, and it was truly a democratic process. For example, in 1772 Samuel Adams organized town meetings to discuss self-government among the colonies. Some of the New England states still hold Town Meetings each year.