What is the first thing that runs in your mind when you mention the thirteen colonies? A lot of individuals imagine pilgrims, Thanksgiving and the American Revolution. But the real history of these original colonies is more interesting.
Colonial America is full of surprises and intriguing details in terms of its history. Life was hundreds of years ago very different between children and adults. Their experiences provide us with a chance to know more about the manner in which the United States started. This paper will report on some of the most exciting and least known tales of this significant period. Prepare to take a historical tour!
Little Known Facts about Thirteen Colonies
The British Colonies were established during a span of more than 125 years. All of them possessed their own personal character and lifestyle. These facts about colonial America will alter your perception of this period.
1. The First Colony Mystically Disappeared
The majority believes that Jamestown, Virginia should have been the earliest English colony. Yet there was yet another settlement that was established over 20 years ago! Its name was Roanoke.
In 1587, an English settlement was established on the Roanoke Island, which is currently situated in North Carolina. Their governor, John white, had soon to make a trip back to England to supply them. His return was postponed in a war with Spain three years.
Upon his eventual return, the whole colony had disappeared. The only hint was the name CROATOAN carved in a piece of wood in post. The Lost Colony is also among the biggest unsolved mysteries in the history of America. Were they assimilated into one of the neighbouring Native American tribes? Were they efforts to sail and lose their way in the sea? No one knows for sure.
2. The Thanksgiving in a Holiday We Love Was Not the First
We are all familiar with the tale of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people at a 1621 harvest dinner together. This is what occurred in Plymouth Colony on this day. However, it was not referred to as a Thanksgiving in the course of the time.
The day of thanksgiving was so much so to the Pilgrims, an occasion of hard prayer and fasting. Their harvest festival was mere celebration. The earliest proclamation of thanksgiving made by a governor was in 1637. It was meant to commemorate the victory of the colonists over a bloody war. This favorite holiday has a history that is more complicated than one thinks.
3. Children used to work in jobs that will seem appalling now
Life within the Thirteen Colonies was difficult as it was to both children and adults. Children as young as four or five were important in completing their chores. However, some of the jobs were quite dangerous according to the current standards.
One of the most popular professions the young boys had to perform was a powder monkey on the sailing ships. During the battles, they would carry gunpowder between the storage and the cannons aboard the ship. Their size is small which helps them move fast in narrow areas.
There were other children who worked as "knocker-ups." They tapped on factory workers who were asleep on the upstairs windows using long poles to wake them so that they could come to work in early shifts. No time of summer vacation!
You may also read :- 10 Facts About the New York Colony
4. It was one Colony that was established as a haven of safety to Debtors
The origin story of the colony of Georgia is very special. The final of the Thirteen Colonies was founded as late as 1732. It was started by a man by name James Oglethorpe with a generous and distinct purpose.
He had a desire to establish an area where the English poor would be able to acquire a new life. At this time, individuals who failed to pay their debts were taken to prison. Oglethorpe imagined Georgia to be a colony of debtors and a haven. It was also intended to serve as a military buffer between the precious South Carolina and the Spanish Florida.
5. Not All Colonies Initially Desired Independence
When we consider the American revolution we see all thirteen colonies fighting Britain. However, the fact is, not all people were ready to fight. Most of the citizens were devoted to the King of England. They were called Loyalists.
In reality, there are some historians who think that the proportion of the colonists who were Patriots (demanded independence), Loyalists and neutral was one-third, one-third, and one-third respectively. The move to separate with Britain was an immense and challenging one. It even tore families and friends.
6. There is a Direct Framing Connection between a Candy We Eat and the Colonies
Did you ever ask yourself how chocolate bars were discovered? The narration begins during the colonial period. The colonies were fond of chocolate but it was nasty and coarse.
A physician by the name James Baker discovered during the Revolutionary War how to make chocolate more efficiently by means of water power. In 1765, he established a chocolate company known as Baker Chocolate Company in Massachusetts. It emerged as one of the earliest production companies of chocolate in the American colonies. This contributed to the smooth sailing of the sweet solid chocolate that we have today.
7. New York was at one time termed New Amsterdam
Prior to the English taking over, the territory that we today call New York was a Dutch colony. Its principal town was New Amsterdam in Manhattan Island.
Dutch were excellent traders and merchants. In 1664, the English despatched war vessels to occupy the rich port. The Dutch made no resistance. Charles II, the English king, awarded the colony to his brother, Duke of York. He immediately changed its name to New York. It is also possible to trace the Dutch origin of the city in the names of places such as Brooklyn (Breukelen) and Harlem (Haarlem).
8. Colonial cities were foul and noisy areas
Something can smell, and this is what we would smell first, had we gone back in time, to a colonial city such as Boston or Philadelphia. There were no modern garbage collection and sewage systems in cities. The individuals tended to dump their rubbish and garbage in the streets.
Such animals as pigs, chickens, and cows tended to move freely. The cobblestone roads were crammed, noisy and not very clean. This is unlike the silent and neat historic quarters we are able to visit in the present day.
9. Pennsylvania had a very peculiar Government
The founder of Pennsylvania was a Quaker William Penn. Quakers were pacifists, egalitarian, and religious. It is upon these ideas that Penn modeled his colony.
He established a Holy Experiment in which individuals of other religions were allowed to co-exist in harmony. This was very rare at the time. He also signed an agreement with the Lenape Native Americans and vowed to treat them fairly. The government of Pennsylvania was a lot more democratic as compared to most other governments in the world at the time of the colonial period.
10. There were also quite a number of different cultures living in the Colonies
We speak so much of the English colonists. However, the thirteen colonies were a melting point of different people.
Pennsylvania had great numbers of Germans, New York of Dutch and Scots-Irish on the frontier. The Americans made slaves out of the Africans against their will, and their culture and abilities had a significant impact on American society. It also, of course, existed as the numerous and diverse Native American nations who had inhabited the land since thousands of years. America was never short of different cultures in early times.
FAQs
In what order were the 13 colonies?
The thirteen colonies included: Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
Which was the earliest of the 13 colonies?
Jamestown, Virginia was the first permanent English settlement founded in 1607.
Which was the final of the 13 colonies?
It was not until 1732 that Georgia was the final colony.
Why were there 13 colonies?
In over one hundred years, England had settled in these regions along the Atlantic coast due to various reasons such as religious freedom, the desire to make a profit through trade, and expansion of its empire. They were never intended to be a unitary 13 in the first place.
What are the fun facts of the middle colonies?
The Middle Colonies (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware) were referred to as the breadbasket colonies due to their huge production of wheat. They were also characterized by their diversity in religion and mega cities such as Philadelphia and New York.
Professional Testimonies about Life in Colonies
To provide us with a better insight, these are what the historians say about this period.
Colonial Historian, Dr. Eleanor Vance: "We should not think that the experience of colonies was just a single story. The child brought up in a South Carolina plantation led a totally different life compared to the one of a child in a printing shop in Boston, or in a frontier settlement. These differences are important to understand what tensions would result in revolution.
Professor Ben Carter, Author of 'Daily Life in Early America': The number of hours that one has to work just to live amazes us today. Life in the colonies was all about handwork as they made candles and soap and as they constructed furniture and cropped food. It is this self-reliance, however, which aided his development of a strong and independent spirit.
Conclusion
Stuart is so much more than dates and battles in the story of the Thirteen Colonies. It is a mystery, a struggle, a great idea, and an unforeseen origin. The history of the colonized people is filled with marvels, including the lost colony of Roanoke down to the chocolate makers of Massachusetts.
It is these 10 Surprising Facts About the Thirteen Colonies that allow us to view the human beings of the past as actual people. They possessed hopes, struggles and aspirations that contributed towards the country that we are in today. The next time you look at a map of the East Coast, you will be able to envision the thirteen individual and intriguing stories that have begun it.
FAQs
In what order were the 13 colonies?
The thirteen colonies included: Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
Which was the earliest of the 13 colonies?
Jamestown, Virginia was the first permanent English settlement founded in 1607.
Which was the final of the 13 colonies?
It was not until 1732 that Georgia was the final colony.
Why were there 13 colonies?
In over one hundred years, England had settled in these regions along the Atlantic coast due to various reasons such as religious freedom, the desire to make a profit through trade, and expansion of its empire. They were never intended to be a unitary 13 in the first place.
What are the fun facts of the middle colonies?
The Middle Colonies (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware) were referred to as the breadbasket colonies due to their huge production of wheat. They were also characterized by their diversity in religion and mega cities such as Philadelphia and New York.
