British Colonial America

Definition

During the colonial period in the North, Central, and South Americas (1600s - 1700s) many colonies were established by England. Some of these colonies flourished, some were dissolved, and others disbanded. The term Colonial America is often mistaken as referring only to the British colonies of North America. In fact Colonial America is a general term for all the colonies that were located in the North, Central, and South Americas; as well as, the land in the Caribbean.

The modern term of British colonial America (with a lower-case c), was not used during the Americas colonial time and refers not only to the thirteen colonies that later became the United States of America, but the other colonies held by the British in the Caribbean, North, Central, and South America.

British use of "British colonial America"

British colonial America is a term used by British historians to describe the years of 1585 – 1783 where the English sent colonists, convicts, adventurists, and religious dissenters to the Americas. Over time most of the colonies rebelled against the crown.

History of British colonial America

The British (which includes England and Scotland) colonization of the Americas began in 1585 in Roanoke Island, off the coast of the future state of North Carolina, reached its peak in the eighteenth century, when colonies had been established throughout all three Americas. The British colonial American empire came to rival the Spanish American colonies in military and economic might.
Three classes of colonies were established in the Americas by the British, Royal (owned by the King); Proprietary (land grants given by the British government) Charter (charters were granted to the colonists by the king through a joint-stock company, generally a self-governing colony).

Over time, the eighteenth century, British colonists in the Americas became disenchanted with their British rulers. The Thirteen British Colonies in North America were the first to break away from the monarchy through a successful revolution. These colonies were the beginning of the current nation United States of America.
After the end of the Napoleonic Wars (1803–15), the remaining British territories in North America were slowly granted a more independent governing system. In 1838 the Durham Report recommended full responsible government for Canada, but this was not fully implemented for another decade. Eventually, with the Confederation of Canada, the Canadian colonies were granted significant autonomy and became a self-governing (responsible) Dominion in 1867.

Other colonies in the Americas followed at a much slower pace. Overtime, two countries in North America, ten in the Caribbean, and one in South America received their independence from the British Empire. All of these, except the United States, are members of the Commonwealth of Nations and nine are Commonwealth realms. The eight current British overseas territories in the Americas have varying degrees of self-government.

For more information see: Timeline: British colonial America.

Additional Information

• History of British colonial America
• Canada and other British North American Colonies - British North America (BNA) was not popularized until well after the American Revolution was settled in 1783.
• Colonial Time line - Overview of the colonial time period in what became the U.S.
• Official Name and Status History of the Several States and U.S. Territories