British America
British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, and the successor British Empire, in the Americas from 1607 to 1783. These colonies were formally known as British America and the British West Indies immediately prior to thirteen of the colonies seceding in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and forming the United States of America.
British America and the British West Indies | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1585–1783 (before British North America) | |||||||||||||||||||||
British colonies in continental North America (red) and the island colonies of the British West Indies of the Caribbean Sea (pink), after the French and Indian War (1754–1763) and before the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Colonies of England (1585–1707) Colonies of Scotland (1629–1632) Colonies of Great Britain (1707–1783) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Anglicanism, Protestantism | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Government | Constitutional monarchy with various colonial arrangements | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | |||||||||||||||||||||
• 1607–1625 | James VI and I (first) | ||||||||||||||||||||
• 1760–1783 | George III (last) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1585 | |||||||||||||||||||||
• Newfoundland Colony and Province of Avalon | 1610 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Bermuda | 1614 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Plymouth Council for New England (Massachusetts Bay Colony) | 1620 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Province of Maryland | 1632 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1655 | |||||||||||||||||||||
• Rupert's Land | 1670 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Treaty of Utrecht | 1713 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Treaty of Paris (French and Indian War) | 1763 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1775–1783 | |||||||||||||||||||||
• Treaty of Paris | 1783 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Pound sterling, Spanish dollar, bills of credit, commodity money, and many local currencies | ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
After the conclusion of war in 1783, the term British North America was used to refer to the remainder of Great Britain's possessions in what became Canada, the British West Indies in reference to its various island territories, Belize, and Guyana. The term British North America was used in 1783, but it was more commonly used after the Report on the Affairs of British North America, published in 1839 and generally known as the Durham Report.