53-673: The Albany Congress (June 19 – July 11, 1754), also known as the Albany Convention of 1754 , was a meeting of representatives sent by the legislatures of seven of the British colonies in British America : Connecticut , Maryland , Massachusetts , New Hampshire , New York , Pennsylvania , and Rhode Island . Those not in attendance included Newfoundland , Nova Scotia , New Jersey , Virginia , Georgia , North Carolina , and South Carolina . Representatives met daily at
106-489: A confederation ruled through participatory democracy , known as the Iroquois Confederacy . It was highly efficient at governing the region, and played an important part in the politics of later British and French colonies. Around the start of the second millennium CE, two settlements on the modern Canadian island of Newfoundland were established by Norse viking explorers , which were soon abandoned and
159-760: A Grand Council to be selected by the colonial legislatures, with the number of delegates to be apportioned according to the taxes paid by each colony. The colonial assemblies rejected the plan, although delegates forming the government after the Revolution incorporated some features in the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution . Twenty-one representatives attended the Congress from New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. New York Governor James DeLancey
212-739: A different meaning during the lead up to the American Revolution , especially around 1765–1766, during the Stamp Act Congress . American colonists protesting against the rule of the Crown used the cartoon in The Constitutional Courant to help persuade their fellow colonists to rise up. However, the Patriots , who associated the image with eternity, vigilance, and prudence, were not the only ones who saw
265-552: A new colony later named Quebec . In 1585, the British began their first settlement in North America, the Roanoke Colony . Its initial form only lasted until 1586 due to conflict with the local Native Americans. In 1587, around 115 colonists led by Governor John White settled back at Roanoke. White went back on a ship to England to get supplies for the colony, but his return was delayed by English's conflict with
318-425: A new interpretation of the cartoon. The Loyalists saw the cartoon with more biblical traditions, such as those of guile, deceit, and treachery. Franklin himself opposed the use of his cartoon at this time, but instead advocated a moderate political policy; in 1766, he published a new cartoon MAGNA Britannia: her Colonies REDUCED , where he warned against the danger of Britain losing her American colonies by means of
371-530: A result, it has eight segments of a snake rather than the traditional 13 colonies. The poster focused solely on the colonies that claimed shared identities as Americans . The cartoon appeared along with Franklin's editorial about the "disunited state" of the colonies and helped make his point about the importance of colonial unity. It later became a symbol of colonial freedom during the American Revolutionary War . The French and Indian War
424-529: A risk to the well-being and security of the Thirteen Colonies. Writer Philip Davidson stated that Franklin was a propagandist influential in seeing the potential in political cartoons to stir up public opinion in favor of a certain way of thinking. Franklin had proposed the Albany Plan and his cartoon suggested that such a union was necessary to avoid each colony being captured individually by
477-511: A unified level of colonial government. The delegates voted approval of a plan that called for a union of 11 colonies, with a president appointed by the British Crown . Each colonial assembly would send 2 to 7 delegates to a "grand council," which would have legislative powers. The Union would have jurisdiction over Indian affairs. The plan was rejected by the colonies' legislatures, which were protective of their independent charters, and by
530-542: The Americas from the founding of Jamestown in the new Virginia colony in 1607 to 1783. These colonies were formally known as British America and the British West Indies immediately prior to thirteen of the colonies rebelling in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and forming the newly-independent United States of America . After the conclusion of the world-wide war (having grown besides
583-769: The British Parliament . Later, most colonies were founded, or converted to, royal colonies . In 1607, the London Company (fully titled the Virginia Company of London , but better known as the "Virginia Company" ) founded the first permanent settlement on the James River at Jamestown, Virginia upstream from Chesapeake Bay . English settlement in the Somers Isles (or Islands of Bermuda) , 640 miles off Cape Hatteras , began in 1609 with
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#1732776438337636-694: The British Virgin Islands , and handily placed for naval and amphibious operations against its nearest neighbour, the nascent United States, during the 19th century), remains as a British Overseas Territory today. The Thirteen Colonies that became the original states of the United States were: Colonies and territories that became part of British North America (and from 1867 the Dominion of Canada ): Colonies that became part of British North America (but which would be left out of
689-697: The Caribbean Sea , also British Honduras (now Belize ) in Central America , and British Guiana (now Guyana ) on the northeast coast of South America . The term British North America was used in the English language in 1783, but it was more commonly used by people and historians after the issuing of the Report on the Affairs of British North America , published in 1839 and generally known as
742-811: The City Hall ( Dutch : Stadt Huys ) in Albany, New York , from June 19 to July 11, 1754, to discuss better relations with the Native American tribes and common defensive measures against the French threat from Canada in the opening stage of the French and Indian War , the North American front of the Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France. Delegates did not have the goal of creating an American nation; rather, they were colonists with
795-722: The Dominion of Newfoundland , leaving the Imperial fortress of Bermuda as the sole remaining British North American colony. By 1908, the Colonial Office included only two departments (one overseeing dominion and protectorate business, the other colonial): Dominions Department (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Newfoundland, Transvaal, Orange River Colony, Australian States, Fiji, Western Pacific, Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protectorate, Swaziland, Rhodesia); Crown Colonies Department. The Crown Colonies Department
848-646: The French and Indian War in America and the Seven Years' War in Europe. At the start of the American Revolutionary War in 1775, the British Empire included 23 colonies and territories on the North American continent. The Treaty of Paris of 1783 ended the Revolutionary War, and Britain lost much of this territory to the newly formed United States. Following the 1783 recognition of
901-711: The South Atlantic Ocean archipelago of the Falkland Islands , which had been colonised in 1833, had been added to the remit of the North American Department of the Colonial Office. North American Department of the Colonial Office, 1867 Following the 1867 confederation, Bermuda and Newfoundland remained as the only British colonies in North America (although the Falkland Islands also continued to be administered by
954-765: The Southern Department governed all the colonies beginning in 1660 along with a committee of the Privy Council , called the Board of Trade and Plantations . In 1768, Parliament created a specific state department for America, but it was disbanded in 1782 when the Home Office took responsibility for the remaining possessions of British North America in Eastern Canada , the Floridas , and
1007-702: The Spanish Armada . In August 1590, White returned back to the colony, which had been abandoned. Left behind was an inscription on a post that said "CROATOAN" and a carving into a tree that said "CRO". Where the colonists went to in those years is considered a mystery. However, " Croatoan " was the name of an island south of Roanoke where Native Americans lived. A number of English colonies were established in America between 1607 and 1670 by individuals and companies whose investors expected to reap rewards from their speculation. They were granted commercial charters by Kings James I , Charles I , and Charles II , and by
1060-632: The West Indies . In 1664, the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam at modern New York City became under control of the British, who renamed it to New York. King Philip's War was fought from 1675 to 1676 between in New England between the local natives and English colonists with their native allies. British America gained large amounts of territory with the Treaty of Paris of 1763 , which ended
1113-826: The " Durham Report ". Native Americans potentially have evidence of settlement in modern Illinois in as early as 5000 BCE, and in the Ohio River Valley in as early as 350 BCE. In the Hopewellian period from 200 BCE to 500 CE, numerous Native American tribes formed around what would later be New England due to ideal agricultural conditions. Major groups of this area include the Algonquians , Hurons , Mohicans , and Susquehannocks . Around 1570 CE, in modern New York state, five native tribes—the Cayuga , Mohawk , Oneida , Onondaga , and Seneca peoples—formed
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#17327764383371166-539: The 1867 Confederation of Canada ): Colonies and territories that were ceded to Spain or the United States in 1783: The Home Office was formed on 27 March 1782, responsible for the administration of all British territory, within and without the British Isles, taking over the administration of the British colonies, including those of British North America, from the Board of Trade . Dissatisfaction with
1219-695: The 1867 confederation of the Dominion of Canada , split the military administration of the British colonial and foreign stations into nine districts: North America And North Atlantic ; West Indies ; Mediterranean ; West Coast Of Africa And South Atlantic ; South Africa ; Egypt And The Sudan ; INDIAN OCEAN ; Australia ; and China . North America And North Atlantic included the following stations (or garrisons): North America and North Atlantic The Colonial Office, by 1862, oversaw eight Colonies in British North America, including: North American Colonies, 1862 By 1867, administration of
1272-499: The 18th century that American colonial representatives met to discuss some manner of formal union. In the 17th century, some New England colonies had formed a loose association called the New England Confederation , principally for purposes of defense, as raiding was frequent by French and allied Indian tribes. In the 1680s, the British government created the Dominion of New England as a unifying government over
1325-612: The American colonies, originally in the context of the French and Indian War in 1754. Attributed to Benjamin Franklin , the original publication by The Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9, 1754, is the earliest known pictorial representation of colonial union produced by an American colonist in Colonial America . It was based on a superstition that if a snake was cut in pieces and the pieces were put together before sunset,
1378-413: The British West Indies. Most of the remaining colonies to the north (including the continental colonies and the archipelago of Bermuda, the nearest landfall from which was North Carolina, but the nearest other British territory from which became Nova Scotia) formed the Dominion of Canada in 1867, with the colony of Newfoundland (which had become the Dominion of Newfoundland in 1907, leaving Bermuda as
1431-490: The Colonial Office, which wanted a military command. Many elements of the plan were later the basis for the American government established by the Articles of Confederation of 1777 (which formally went into effect in 1781) and the Constitution of 1787. Franklin speculated in 1789 that the colonies might not have separated from England so soon if the 1754 plan had been adopted: On Reflection it now seems probable, that if
1484-599: The French. As Franklin wrote: The Confidence of the French in this Undertaking seems well-grounded on the present disunited state of the British Colonies, and the extreme difficulty of bringing so many different Governments and Assemblies to agree in any speedy and effectual Measures for our common defense and Security; while our Enemies have the very great Advantage of being under one. Direction, with one Council, and one Purse. ... Franklin's political cartoon took on
1537-587: The North American Department of the Colonial Office). The reduction of the territory administered by the British Government would result in re-organisation of the Colonial Office. In 1901, the departments of the Colonial Office included: North American and Australasian ; West Indian ; Eastern ; South African ; and West African (two departments). In 1907, the Colony of Newfoundland became
1590-476: The North American colonies to involve other European nations / kingdoms of France and Spain ), with the signing of the Treaty of Paris of 1783, the term British North America was used to refer to the remainder of Great Britain 's British Empire possessions in the Americas with what became Canada , the British West Indies in reference to its various West Indies island territories in
1643-818: The Plan, an Army from Britain, for that purpose would have been unnecessary: The Pretences for framing the Stamp-Act would not then have existed, nor the other Projects for drawing a Revenue from America to Britain by Acts of Parliament, which were the Cause of the Breach, and attended with such terrible Expence of Blood and Treasure: so that the different Parts of the Empire might still have remained in Peace and Union. The Congress and its Albany Plan have achieved iconic status as presaging
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1696-518: The cartoon to fit the masthead of the Massachusetts Spy . The cartoon has been reprinted and redrawn widely throughout American history. Variants of the cartoon have different texts, and differently labeled segments, depending on the political bodies being appealed to. During the American Revolutionary War , the image became a potent symbol of the unity displayed by the American colonists and resistance to Parliament and The Crown . In
1749-779: The center for the Atlantic slave trade . This was followed, in 1620, with the Pilgrims establishing the Plymouth settlement in New England . English Catholics settled the Province of Maryland in 1634, under Cecilus Calvert, second Lord Baltimore . The Anglo-Powhatan Wars were fought between the British colonists at Virginia and the local Powhatan people between 1610 and 1646. A state department in London known as
1802-531: The colonies between the Delaware River and Penobscot Bay , but it was dissolved in 1689. Jacob Leisler summoned an intercolonial congress which met in New York on May 1, 1690 to plan concerted action against the French and Indians, but he attracted only the colonies as far south as Maryland . The Albany delegates spent most of their time debating Benjamin Franklin 's Albany Plan of Union to create
1855-688: The colonies south of Maryland sent representatives to the Albany Congress. (Note that the "Lower Counties on the Delaware" were then administered by Pennsylvania, and Georgia Colony was slow to start.) The plan called for a single executive (President-General) to be appointed by the King, who would be responsible for relations with the Indians, military preparedness, and execution of laws regulating various trade and financial activities. It called for
1908-605: The foregoing Plan or some thing like it, had been adopted and carried into Execution, the subsequent Separation of the Colonies from the Mother Country might not so soon have happened, nor the Mischiefs suffered on both sides have occurred, perhaps during another Century. For the Colonies, if so united, would have really been, as they then thought themselves, sufficient to their own Defence, and being trusted with it, as by
1961-560: The formation of the United States of America in 1776. It is often illustrated with Franklin's famous snake cartoon Join, or Die . Benjamin Franklin's plan to unite the colonies exceeded the scope of the congress, which had been called to plan a defense against the French and Indian threat. The original plan was heavily debated by all who attended the conference, including the young Philadelphia lawyer Benjamin Chew . Numerous modifications were also proposed by Thomas Hutchinson , who later became Governor of Massachusetts . The delegates passed
2014-532: The image of a female figure (Britannia) with her limbs cut off. Because of Franklin's initial cartoon, however, the Courant was thought of in England as one of the most radical publications. The difference between the use of Join or Die in 1754 and 1765 is that Franklin had designed it to unite the colonies for 'management of Indian relations' and defense against France, but in 1765 American colonists used it to urge colonial unity in favor of resisting laws and edicts that were imposed upon them. Also during this time
2067-403: The independence of the colonies that would form the United States of America, Britain ceded East and West Florida to the Kingdom of Spain , which in turn ceded them to the United States in 1821. The Atlantic archipelago of the Bahamas had been administratively grouped with the North American continent, but with the loss of the Floridas was grouped with the British colonies of the Caribbean as
2120-403: The more limited mission of pursuing a treaty with the Mohawks and other major Iroquois tribes. This was the first time that American colonists had met together, and it provided a model that came into use in setting up the Stamp Act Congress in 1765, as well as the First Continental Congress in 1774, which were preludes to the American Revolution . The Albany Congress was the first time in
2173-438: The next known European settlement in North America occurred some 500 years later. In 1526, Spain founded the San Miguel de Gauldape colony in either modern Georgia or the Carolinas. It lasted for a few months. In 1534, France explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence , starting fur trade with the natives, and eventually what became their colony New France . In 1559, Spain founded a settlement at modern Pensacola, Florida , which
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2226-496: The only remaining British colony in British North America, before reverting to a colony in 1934) joining the independent Commonwealth realm of Canada in 1949, and Bermuda, elevated (by the independence of the thirteen colonies that became the United States) to the role of an Imperial fortress and the most important British naval and military base in the Western Hemisphere (due to its location, 1,236 km (768 mi) south of Nova Scotia , and 1,538 km (956 mi) north of
2279-443: The phrase "join, or die" changed to "unite, or die," in some states such as New York and Pennsylvania . Soon after the publication of the cartoon during the Stamp Act Congress , variations were printed in New York, Massachusetts , and a couple of months later in Virginia and South Carolina . In New York and Pennsylvania, the cartoon continued to be published week after week for over a year. On July 7, 1774 Paul Revere altered
2332-411: The plan unanimously. They submitted it with their recommendations, but the legislatures of the seven colonies rejected it, as it would have removed some of their existing powers. The plan was never sent to the Crown for approval, although it was submitted to the British Board of Trade , which also rejected it. The Plan of Union proposed to include all the British North American colonies, although none of
2385-426: The risk of actually fighting the French for control of the lands west of the Appalachian Mountains. The poster quickly became a symbol for the need of organized action against the threat posed by the French and their native allies during the conflict, as while many Americans were unwilling to participate in combat against the French, many more recognized that if the French colonies were not captured they would always pose
2438-401: The snake would return to life. The cartoon is a woodcut showing a snake cut into eighths, with each segment labeled with the initials of one of the American colonies or regions. New England was represented as one segment, rather than the four colonies it was at that time. Delaware was not listed separately as it was part of Pennsylvania . Georgia , however, was omitted completely. As
2491-403: The then Home Secretary (who oversaw the Home Office), William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland , during two decades of war with the French Republic led to colonial business being transferred to the War Office in 1801, which became the War and Colonial Office , with the Secretary of State for War was renamed the Secretary of State for War and Colonies . From 1824, the British Empire
2544-452: The wreck of the Sea Venture , leaving the Virginia Company in de facto possession of Bermuda. The company's charter was extended in 1612 to officially encompass the archipelago, and settlers were despatched to join the three men remaining there from the Sea Venture (and plans were begun for an under-company that would become the Somers Isles Company ). In the Caribbean , the British West Indies and other European sugar colonies were at
2597-449: Was a part of the Seven Years' War which pitted Great Britain alongside the Thirteen Colonies and their native allies against the French , New France and their native allies. Many American colonists wished to gain control over the lands west of the Appalachian Mountains and settle there (or make profits from speculating on new settlements). During the outbreak of the war, the American colonists were divided on whether or not to take
2650-437: Was abandoned by 1561. In 1570, Spanish Jesuits founded the Ajacán Mission at Chesapeake Bay in modern Virginia, but they were killed by the local Powhatan people. In 1589 or 1599, a French colony was founded at Sable Island in Nova Scotia , but the colony had failed by 1603; another French colony at Saint Croix Island in modern Maine also existed from 1604 to 1607. In 1604, near the Gulf of St. Lawrence, France started
2703-410: Was divided by the War and Colonial Office into four administrative departments, including NORTH AMERICA , the WEST INDIES , MEDITERRANEAN AND AFRICA , and EASTERN COLONIES , of which North America included: North America The Colonial Office and War Office, and the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Secretary of State for War, were separated in 1854. The War Office, from then until
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#17327764383372756-421: Was host governor and Chairman. Peter Wraxall served as Secretary to the Congress. Delegates included: ‡ Indicates Members of the committee of the Plan of Union British America British America , known as English America before 1707 , comprised the colonial territories of the Kingdom of England (and Kingdom of Scotland ) of the overseas English Empire , and the successor British Empire , in
2809-399: Was made up of four territorial divisions: Eastern Division; West Indian Division; East African and Mediterranean Division; and the West African Division. Of these, the West Indian Division now included all of the remaining British colonies in the Western Hemisphere, from Bermuda to the Falkland Islands. Join, or Die Join, or Die. is a political cartoon showing the disunity in
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