British America

British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas from 1607 to 1783. Prior to the union, this was termed English America, excepting Scotland's failed attempts to establish its own colonies. Following the union, these colonies were formally known as British America and the British West Indies before the Thirteen Colonies declared their independence in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and formed the United States of America.[2]

Quick facts: British America and the British West Indies[1... ▼

British America and the British West Indies[1]
1585–1783
Top: Flag of Great Britain Bottom: Colonial Red Ensign Royal coat of arms
British colonies in continental North America (red) and the island colonies of the British West Indies of the Caribbean Sea (pink)
Status	Colonies of England (1585–1707) Colonies of Scotland (1629–1632) Colonies of Great Britain (1707–1783)
Capital	Administered from London, England
Common languages	English (de facto official) Spoken languages: English German French Spanish Dutch Swedish Finnish Welsh Cornish Irish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic Manks Ojibwe Indigenous languages West African languages (spoken among the imported African slaves in the beginning)
Religion	Anglicanism, Protestantism, Lutheranism, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Native American religions, Traditional African religions, Sunni Islam (practiced by some West African slaves in the beginning)
Demonym(s)	British American
Government	Constitutional monarchy
Monarch
• 1607–1625	James VI and I (first)
• 1760–1783	George III (last)
History
• Colony of Virginia	1585
• Newfoundland Colony and Province of Avalon	1610
• Bermuda	1614
• Plymouth Council for New England (Massachusetts Bay Colony)	1620
• Province of Maryland	1632
• Colony of Jamaica	1655
• Rupert's Land	1670
• Treaty of Utrecht	1713
• Treaty of Paris (French and Indian War)	1763
• American Revolutionary War	1775–1783
• Treaty of Paris	1783
Currency	Pound sterling, 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

After the American Revolution, the term British North America was used to refer to the remainder of Great Britain's possessions in North America. 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 (1839), generally known as the Durham Report.