Britain's Thirteen Colonies originally reflected different structures of
government: royal, proprietary, and charter colonies.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Differentiate between the three different species of colony
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
The king appointed a governor, who in turn called anassembly. The governor had
absolute executive power, and the assembly could make laws that did not disagree with British
law.
Laws could be examined and overturned by the Board of Trade.
Royal or provincial colonies included New Hampshire and Georgia; Pennsylvania and Maryland
began as proprietary colonies, while Connecticut and Massachusetts were
initiallycharter colonies.
TERMS [ edit ]
Charter Colonies
Charter colony is one of the three classes of colonial government established in the 17th century
English colonies in North America, the other classes being proprietary colony and royal colony.
The colonies of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts Bay were charter colonies. In a
charter colony, the King granted a charter to the colonial government establishing the rules under
which the colony was to be governed.
Board of Trade
Originally called the Lords of Trade or Lords of Trade and Plantations; a committee of the Privy
Council of the United Kingdom, first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th
century that evolved gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions.
Royal Colonies
Royal colonies, also known as provincial colonies, were under the direct control of the King, who
usually appointed a Royal Governor. Provincial colonies included New Hampshire, New York,
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and eventually Massachusetts.
Give us feedback on this content: Give us feedback on this content: FULL TEXT [ edit ]
By 1776, Britain had evolved three different forms of government for its North American
colonies: provincial, proprietary, and charter. These governments were all subordinate to the
king in London, and had no explicit relationship with the British Parliament. Beginning late
in the 17th century, the administration of all British colonies was overseen by the Board of
Trade, a committee of the Privy Council. Each colony had a paid colonial agent in London to
represent its interests.
Provincial colonies, also known as royal colonies, were under the direct control of the King,
who usually appointed a Royal Governor. Provincial colonies included New Hampshire, New
York, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and eventually Massachusetts. The
governor was invested with general executive powers, and authorized to call a locally elected
assembly. The governor's council would advise the governor, as well as sit as an upper house
when the assembly was in session. Assembly members included representatives elected by
the freeholders and planters (landowners) of the province. The assembly's role was to
conceive all local laws and ordinances and to ensure that local laws were not inconsistent
with the laws of England. The governor had the power of absolute veto, and could prorogue
(i.e., delay) and dissolve the assembly at will. Laws could be examined by the Board of Trade,
which also held veto power of legislation. Over time, many of the provincial assemblies
sought to expand their powers and limit those of the governor and crown.
Proprietary colonies included Pennsylvania (which included Delaware), New Jersey, and
Maryland. Proprietary colonies were owned by a person or family, who could make laws and
appoint officials as he or they pleased. They were governed much as royal colonies except
that lords proprietors, rather than the king, appointed the governor. Typically they enjoyed
greater civil and religious liberties than provincial colonies.
Charter colonies, also known as corporate colonies or joint stock companies, included Rhode
Island, ProvidencePlantation, and Connecticut. Massachusetts began as a charter colony in
1684 but became a provincial colony in 1691. A joint stock company was a project in which
investors would buy shares of stock in building a new colony. Depending on the success of
the colony, each investor would receive some of the profits, in proportion to the number of
shares he bought. Charter governments were political corporations created by letters patent,
giving the grantees control of the land and the powers of legislative government. The charters
provided a fundamental constitution and divided powers among legislative, executive, and
judicial functions, with those powers being vested in officials.
Engraving of colonial governor Sir Edmund Andros
Andros was an English colonial administrator whose actions in New England resulted in his
overthrow during the 1689 Boston revolt