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13 Things You Didn't Know About the 13 Colonies

by Liana Mahoney

You probably already know the story of

Maine
(part of
America's thirteen colonies. It's a story of perseverance, Massachusetts)

New Hampshire

danger, adventure, and luck. It is the story of Virginia, New York

Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Connecticut

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania

New Jersey

Delaware
Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, North Carolina, Virginia
Maryland

New Jersey, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. North Carolina

South Carolina

At first, these colonies followed the rules and laws of

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Georgia
Atlantic Ocean

England, but it wasn't long before they decided they

wanted to govern themselves. As a result, in 1776, it became the story of the birth of a
nation, when these original thirteen colonies fought for their independence and became
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the United States of America. What else is there to know? Here are thirteen lesser-known
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facts that you may not have known about the thirteen colonies.

e Not a member
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1. There was a lost colony. ?
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gain comple
ad thisthe first
downlo
In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh began te
English settlement in North America on
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Roanoke Island, just off the coast of what we now know as North Carolina. Living
conditions here were so harsh that the colonists had no choice but to return to England
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just a year later. In 1587, Raleigh sent a second group of colonists, led by a man named
John White. White left his family temporarily to sail back to England for more supplies.
When he returned two years later, the colony had vanished! Everyone was gone. Carved
into the bark of a tree was a single word: Croatoan. To this day, the fate of the Roanoke
colony remains a mystery, and Roanoke is known as The Lost Colony.

2. Virginia was the first colony to establish a form of representative government.

In 1619, male landowners elected an assembly of leaders called the House of

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Burgesses. The role of the House of Burgesses was to make laws for the Jamestown
colony. This was the first form of representative government in the colonies, and it
planted the seed for the future democracy that would later govern the United States of
America.

3. The first institution of higher learning was founded in Massachusetts.

Harvard College was founded in the Boston, Massachusetts area a

mere sixteen years after the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth.

4. The colonies' names came from a variety of sources.

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Some, such as Virginia, Georgia, the Carolinas, and New York were named after
royalty. Massachusetts is an Indian word meaning "at the big hill." Connecticut is a
Mohican Indian word that means "at the long tidal river." Rhode Island likely got its
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name from Dutch words meaningof"red
collection island," because
worksheets there was red clay in the area in
in all subjects!
which it was first settled.

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5. Swedish settlers built M
the cabins. ?
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is
wnload athcolony gain comple
Settlers from Swedendoformed called te
New Sweden, where they built log
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cabins for homes. The Dutch claimed New Sweden a few years later, and made it part of
New Netherland, which later became New York when the English claimed and renamed
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it in 1664.

6. North Carolina was famous for its pirates!

Edward Teach was a famous pirate known as Blackbeard. Up until the time of his
death in 1718, he hid in the colony of Carolina after robbing ships of their treasure.

7. The colony of Georgia was founded for people who were going to prison.

James Ogelthorpe founded Georgia in 1732 because he felt that people who were

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imprisoned for their debts should be able to work on their own farms to earn money and
pay off their debts.

8. Most domestic and farm animals were brought to the United States by the
colonists.

Pigs, domestic dogs, cows, horses, and chickens were brought to mainland
America by the colonists.

9. The colonies were founded for a variety of different reasons.

While colonies such as Massachusetts, Maryland, and Pennsylvania were founded

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for the purpose of religious freedom, others, such as New York were founded in the
hopes of finding wealth, jobs, and trade opportunities.

10. England had other colonies in the access

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In what is now Canada, there were other English colonies, including
Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
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log in toStates has 13 stars
11. The Great Seal of the United e sigand
n up an
to eagle wearing a shield of
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13 stripes and holding 13darrows. gain comple
te
worksheet. a c c e ss.
The Great Seal was designed to honor the thirteen colonies, and it is displayed on
the back of the dollar bill.
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12. To help pay for the war against Britain in the American Revolution, the colonies
had to borrow more than ten million dollars from France, Spain, and the
Netherlands.

This was an enormous amount of money at the time! It goes to show just how
expensive a war can be, in addition to the loss of lives and the destruction of property.
After the French and Indian War, Britain needed money to pay for its war expenses, so
King George III began adding taxes to many of the colonists' goods. This taxation

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angered the colonists and was the main reason they decided to break away from
England and become an independent nation.

13. On September 9, 1776, two months after Independence Day, the Continental
Congress officially changed the name from "United Colonies" to "United States of
America." And that, as you probably already know, is the end of the story.

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download this te
worksheet. access.

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13 Things You Didn't Know About the 13 Colonies

1) Match the name of the colony to the word/group of words that best represents it.

a) mystery Massachusetts

b) danger Maryland

c) prosperity North Carolina

d) “Red Island” Roanoke Island

e) Religious freedom Virginia

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f ) Legislature New York

g) Higher learning Rhode Island

2) Why did King George

GainIII impose
completetaxes on many
access to theof largest
the colonists' goods?
What was the consequence of this?
collection of worksheets in all subjects!

e Not a member
Members, pleas ?
log in to Please sign up to
gain comple
download this te
worksheet. access.

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3) What was the 'House of Burgesses'? What was their contribution to America?

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13 Things You Didn't Know About the 13 Colonies

4) Name the reasons why different colonies were founded.

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5) Why do you thinkcollection
the writerof worksheets
chose in alldetails
to start with subjects!
of the lost colony as the fact
number one?
e Not a member
Members, pleas ?
log in to Please sign up to
gain comple
download this te
worksheet. access.

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Answer key

13 Things You Didn't Know About the 13 Colonies

1) Match the name of the colony to the word/group of words that best represents it.

a) mystery Massachusetts

b) danger Maryland

c) prosperity North Carolina

d) “Red Island” Roanoke Island

e) Religious freedom Virginia

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f ) Legislature New York

g) Higher learning Rhode Island

2) Why did King George

GainIII impose
completetaxes on many
access to theof largest
the colonists' goods?
What was the consequence of this?
collection of worksheets in all subjects!
After the wars with France and India, Britain needed money to pay for

its war expenses, so

MeKing , please III started
mbersGeorge Not a m
imposing
ember? more taxes. This really
log in to Please sign up
to
angered the colonists so much so that
g
they decided to break away from
download this ain complete
rksheet.
woindependent
Britain to become an access.
nation.

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3) What was the 'House of Burgesses'? What was their contribution to America?

The House of Burgesses was an assembly of leaders elected by male

landowners. Their role was to make laws for the Jamestown colony. This

was the first form of representative government in the colonies, and it laid

the foundation for the future democracy that would later govern the

United States of America.

Printable Worksheets @ www.mathworksheets4kids.com

Name :
Answer key

13 Things You Didn't Know About the 13 Colonies

4) Name the reasons why different colonies were founded.

Georgia was founded for prisoners to be able to work on their own farms to

earn money and pay off their debts. Colonies such as Massachusetts,

Maryland, and Pennsylvania were founded for the purpose of religious

freedom. Others, such as New york were founded in the hope of finding

wealth, jobs, and trade opportunities.

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Gain complete access to the largest
5) Why do you thinkcollection
the writerof worksheets
chose in alldetails
to start with subjects!
of the lost colony as the fact
number one?

rs, ple
bethe as eNot a member
Memin
The author has stated introduction that she ?is going to tell the reader
log in to Please sign up to
13 lesser-known facts gain cand
about the colonies, this is probably the
download this omplete
worksheet. a c c e ss.
reason why she decided to start off with Roanoke colony whose fate

remains a mystery till date. This is simply the best way to generate keen
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interest in the young readers and encourage them to read further through

passage.

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