The American Colonies
The colonial time period in America began in 1607 and ended in 1783. The thirteen English colonies settled along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in North America spreading from modern Main to Georgia (Warber, n.d.). The colonial time period ended when the colonists defeated England in the Revolutionary War for their independence. Life during colonization was hard; therefore everyone had to do their part in order for the colonies to survive (Sage, 2007). During the colonial times women typically held domestic roles in the home, while the men labored, farmed, and hunted (Warber, n.d.). Women were an essential component of the nuclear family. Without a strong and productive wife and mother, the family would have struggled to survive. Women held the important and impactful roles of preparing food, creating home goods, and being a wife and mother. The woman’s daily tasks filled every hour from sunrise through sunset (Speare, 1963). These roles seem mundane, however in colonial times a family could not survive without the work of the women.
Colony Name Founding Year Founder Became Royal Colony
Virginia 1607 London Company 1624
Massachusetts 1620 Puritans 1691
New Hampshire 1623 John Wheelwright 1679
Maryland 1634 Lord Baltimore N/A
Connecticut 1635 Thomas Hooker N/A
Rhode Island 1636 Roger Williams N/A
Delaware 1638 Peter Miniut N/A
North Carolina 1653 Virginians 1729
South Carolina 1663 Royal Charter Charles II 1729
New Jersey 1664 Lord Berkley, Sir George Carteret 1702
New York 1664 Duke of York 1685
Pennsylvania 1682 William Penn N/A
Georgia 1732 James Edward Oglethorpe 1752