The Thirteen Colonies: Foundations of Colonial America

When most people picture colonial America, they imagine the familiar strip of 13 colonies hugging the Atlantic coast. But from Britain’s point of view, those colonies were only part of a much bigger operation. By the mid-1700s, Great Britain controlled roughly 22 colonies spread across North America, Canada, and the Caribbean. The Caribbean colonies were the real heavyweights. Sugar and rum poured out of islands like Jamaica and Barbados, generating more wealth than many mainland colonies combined. Compared to that kind of money, farming settlements in North America looked useful—but not exactly the crown jewels.

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Even among the 13 mainland colonies, not all were created equal. Some mattered a lot more to Britain than others. New York was a major port and trade hub. South Carolina brought in serious profits from rice and indigo. Other colonies were smaller, poorer, or more trouble than they were worth. Collectively, the mainland colonies played a supporting role in the empire, supplying food, lumber, ships, and labor to keep trade moving, especially to the Caribbean, where the real profits were made.

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The people who came to these colonies reflected that reality. The 13 colonies attracted migrants from all over Great Britain, but they weren’t usually elites packing up comfortable lives. Most arrivals were poor, religious nonconformists, debtors, criminals, indentured servants, and a smaller number of skilled laborers hoping for a reset. For many, the colonies offered something Britain didn’t: land, work, and distance from old problems. Over time, these settlers built communities that felt increasingly local and independent—even while they remained part of an empire that didn’t expect them to one day break away and become a country of their own.