British America

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the British Empire's colonial territories in North America after 1783, see British North America.

British America and
the British West Indies[a]
1585–1783
Royal coat of arms of British America
Royal coat of arms
Anthem: 
George III
(last)
History 
• 
Treaty of Utrecht
1713
1763
1775–1783
1783
Currency
Spanish dollar, bills of credit, commodity money, and many local currencies
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
New France
New Netherland
New Sweden
Spanish Florida
British North America
Confederation period
Spanish Florida
British West Indies

British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, and the successor British Empire, in the America from 1607 to 1783.[1] 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.

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.

Imperial history

Military Governors and Staff Officers in garrisons of British North America and West Indies 1778 and 1784
Main article: English overseas possessions § The Americas
Further information:
First British Empire
A 1710 British map of North America by John Senex, Charles Price, and John Maxwell
Fort George and New York City, c. 1731

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

Plymouth settlement in New England. English Catholics settled the Province of Maryland in 1634, under Cecilus Calvert, second Lord Baltimore
.

A state department in

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 the West Indies.[2]

British America gained large amounts of

British Overseas Territory
today.

In the Caribbean, the British West Indies and other European sugar colonies were at the center for the Atlantic slave trade.[3][4]


North American colonies in 1775

The Thirteen Colonies that became the original states of the United States were:

New England Colonies
Middle Colonies
Southern Colonies

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 the 1867

Confederation of Canada
:

Colonies and territories that were ceded to Spain or the United States in 1783:

Colonies in the Caribbean, Mid-Atlantic, and South America in 1783

Divisions of the British Leeward Islands
Island of Jamaica and its dependencies
Other possessions in the British Windward Islands

Imperial administration after 1783

From 1783 through 1801, the British Empire, including British North America, was administered by the Home Office and by the Home Secretary, then from 1801 to 1854 by the War Office (which became the War and Colonial Office) and Secretary of State for War and Colonies (as the Secretary of State for War was renamed). From 1824, the British Empire 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:[7]

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.[8][9] The War Office, from then until 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):[10]

North America and North Atlantic

  • New Westminster (British Columbia)
  • Newfoundland
  • Quebec
  • Halifax
  • Kingston, Canada West
  • Bermuda

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Formerly called English America before the Act of Union in 1707.

References

  1. ^ "Rights: Thomas Jefferson, A Summary View of the Rights of British America". press-pubs.uchicago.edu.
  2. ^ Foulds, Nancy Brown. "Colonial Office". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  3. ^ Lambert, David. "An introduction to the Caribbean, empire and slavery". British Library. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  4. ISBN 9780300187540. Retrieved 19 May 2022. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help
    )
  5. ^ "Rhode Island Royal Charter of 1663". sos.ri.gov. Secretary of State of Rhode Island. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  6. ^ "Charles II Granted Rhode Island New Charter". christianity.com. 8 July 1663. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  7. ^ Young, Douglas MacMurray (1961). The Colonial Office in The Early Nineteenth Century. London: Published for the Royal Commonwealth Society by Longmans. p. 55.
  8. ^ Maton, 1995, article
  9. ^ Maton, 1998, article
  10. ^ METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS AT THE FOREIGN AND COLONIAL STATIONS OF THE ROYAL ENGINEERS AND THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT 1852—1886. London: Published by the authority of the Meteorological Council. PRINTED FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE BY EYRE AND SPOTTISWOODE, East Harding Street, Fleet Street, London E.C. 1890.
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