When did the English Colonial Empire exist?

The English Colonial Empire existed 1583–1707. On this map it is drawn 1609–1761, 1763–1779.

How large was the English Colonial Empire?

At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the English Colonial Empire covered about 228,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.

North America · Norse and colonial ventures

English Colonial Empire

1583–1707

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Existed: 1583–1707
Shown on the map: 1609–1761, 1763–1779 (2 periods)
Peak area: 228k km²
Region: North America

Overview

England's overseas empire in North America began with Sir Humphrey Gilbert's claim to Newfoundland (1583) and the failed Roanoke colony (the "Lost Colony," 1587). Permanent settlement came with Jamestown, Virginia (1607), the first lasting English colony, followed by the Plymouth Colony (1620, the Pilgrims) and Massachusetts Bay (1630, the Puritan "Great Migration"). Over the 17th century England established a chain of colonies down the Atlantic seaboard — the Chesapeake (Virginia, Maryland), New England, the Middle Colonies (New York, seized from the Dutch in 1664; Pennsylvania, chartered to William Penn in 1681), and the Carolinas — plus lucrative sugar islands in the Caribbean.

History

The colonies were governed through a patchwork of royal, proprietary, and corporate charters, with elected assemblies (beginning with Virginia's House of Burgesses, 1619) coexisting with crown-appointed governors. Their economies diverged sharply: plantation staples (tobacco in the Chesapeake, rice and indigo in the Carolinas) worked increasingly by enslaved Africans; mixed farming, fishing, and shipping in New England; and grain and trade in the Middle Colonies. Religious dissent (Puritans, Quakers, Catholics in Maryland) shaped several colonies.

Decline and legacy

England's North American possessions were consolidated under the Kingdom of Great Britain after the Act of Union of 1707 merged England and Scotland — the date the source table uses to close the "English" empire, after which it becomes the British Empire. That British Empire went on to expel France from the continent in the Seven Years' War / French and Indian War (1754–1763), only to lose thirteen of its colonies in the American Revolution. The English colonial foundation — common law, representative assemblies, the English language, and Protestantism — became the bedrock of both the United States and English Canada.

Common questions

What was the English Colonial Empire?: England's overseas empire in North America began with Sir Humphrey Gilbert's claim to Newfoundland (1583) and the failed Roanoke colony (the "Lost Colony," 1587). Permanent settlement came with Jamestown, Virginia (1607), the first lasting English colony, followed by the Plymouth Colony (1620, the Pilgrims) and Massachusetts Bay (1630, the Puritan "Great Migration").
When did the English Colonial Empire exist?: The English Colonial Empire existed 1583–1707. On this map it is drawn 1609–1761, 1763–1779.
How large was the English Colonial Empire?: At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the English Colonial Empire covered about 228,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
Who ruled the English Colonial Empire?: The colonies were governed through a patchwork of royal, proprietary, and corporate charters, with elected assemblies (beginning with Virginia's House of Burgesses, 1619) coexisting with crown-appointed governors. Their economies diverged sharply: plantation staples (tobacco in the Chesapeake, rice and indigo in the Carolinas) worked increasingly by enslaved Africans; mixed farming, fishing, and shipping in New England; and grain and trade in the Middle Colonies.
How did the English Colonial Empire end?: England's North American possessions were consolidated under the Kingdom of Great Britain after the Act of Union of 1707 merged England and Scotland — the date the source table uses to close the "English" empire, after which it becomes the British Empire. That British Empire went on to expel France from the continent in the Seven Years' War / French and Indian War (1754–1763), only to lose thirteen of its colonies in the American Revolution.

Sources

This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory, and states that it was written from established reference works with targeted checks on current facts, rather than from a fresh multi-source research pass. It names the English Wikipedia article for each polity and its key figures as the basis of these profiles, supplemented by Encyclopaedia Britannica, the US National Park Service and the World History Encyclopedia. The article this entry is anchored on:

Wikipedia — English overseas possessions en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_overseas_possessions

This entry was last updated 12 September 2026.

This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made

Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.

Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).

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