Discover the Uncharted: Top 10 Intriguing Fun Facts About the 13 Colonies

1. New Amsterdam's Language Smorgasbord

Talk about a babel of bustle: in the 1630s, New Amsterdam (now known as New York) was a linguistic smorgasbord with up to eighteen European and Native American languages spoken on its streets, thanks to the Dutch West India Company's melting pot approach to European settlement, which included Germans, English, French, enslaved and free Africans, and even Sephardic Jews from Brazil.
Source => americanhistory.si.edu

2. Connecticut: Revolution's Supply Depot

Fasten your seatbelts, ladies and gentlemen, for the Nutmeg State's grand entrance on the Revolutionary stage: Connecticut was pivotal in the American Revolution, providing essential supplies to George Washington's troops and legislators who helped forge the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution.
Source => portal.ct.gov

Did you know the southern colonies flourished with a massive population growth in the 17th and 18th centuries? Discover the surprising reasons behind this expansion!

=> Fun Facts about The-Southern-Colonies

3. Roger Williams' Rhode Island Spirituality Bash

Roger Williams: the original party planner! When he couldn't find the perfect venue for his ultimate religiosity mixer in Massachusetts, he took his unconventional beliefs and appetizers to Rhode Island, crafting a splashin' shindig for Baptists, Quakers, and Jews alike: By kicking off the trend of religious liberty and separation of church and state, our visionary host not only created a haven for diverse faiths but also founded the first Baptist church in America. Narra-gansett, party people—bring your spiritual appetizers!
Source => history.com

4. Middle Colonies' BYOR (Bring Your Own Religion) Vibes

Party in the Middle Colonies: Where the witch trials couldn't cramp their diverse style, and "bring your own religion" was the trendsetter of the time. Serious reveal: Known for their ethnic and religious diversity, the Middle Colonies hosted immigrants from Dutch, German, English, French, and Polish backgrounds, with various religious congregations coexisting peacefully under English rule after the Dutch peacefully surrendered in 1664.
Source => womenhistoryblog.com

5. New Hampshire: Rent-Free Wonderland

Feeling rental distress in your Virginia penthouse? Fear not, for there was a time when this land offered a free-for-all paradise and boasted a flashier name: Initially dubbed North Virginia, New Hampshire became a safe haven for common folk looking to escape high rents, and was later renamed in honor of the scenic English county that spawned its benefactor, Captain John Mason.
Source => nh.gov

6. Convicts on the Chesapeake

Fancy swapping out the soap opera drama of your favorite reality TV show for some 18th-century escapades? We present to you "Convicts on the Chesapeake," sure to be a hit: Did you know that the British government transported around 50,000 convicts to their colonies in the Americas during the 18th century? Most landed in the Chesapeake Colonies of Maryland and Virginia, and some arrived in Georgia, which was initially an ambitious attempt at a "Debtor's Colony." Sadly, the dream of prisoners working off their debts via handy trades went up in a puff of New World smoke, and Georgia never became the penal colony it was envisioned to be.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

7. The Epic Dutch-Swedish Colonial Showdown

Before Ikea conquered the world with its lingonberries and flat-packed furniture, Sweden and the Dutch played the colonial version of "who wore it better" on the American East Coast: In the 17th century, New Sweden and New Netherland were rival colonies along the Delaware River, until New Netherland showed who's the boss by taking over New Sweden in 1655, lekkingly transforming the regional history.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

8. Sir George Carteret: The Name-Dropping Governor

If the old-timey governor was a '90s rapper, it'd be Sir George "Busy Naming States" Carteret, dropping his mixtape "Isle of Hip-Hop: From Jersey to Jersey": Carteret, previously a governor on the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel, bequeathed the name to New Jersey when the British put him in charge of the land, leading to the emergence of a strikingly ethnically diverse colony with a population peaking at 100,000.
Source => nj.gov

9. George Washington's Pre-Presidential Hangout

Before career politicians were even a thing, George Washington was hobnobbing with fellow power squad members in America's first legislative clubhouse: George Washington served in the Virginia House of Burgesses, a forerunner of the American Congress, where he shared ideas with notable peers such as George Mason, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson while refining his statesman skills in committees dedicated to election, religion, and grievances, among others.
Source => mountvernon.org

10. The Dramatic Split of the Carolinas

Once upon a time in a land of sweet tea and grits, eight Lords Proprietors thought they could have their cake and eat it too: North and South Carolina began as a single proprietary colony, but the struggles of political conflict, shady officials, and outright rebellion led to South Carolina being snatched back by England in 1719, turning it into a royal colony, with North Carolina following suit in 1729, as seven of the eight Lords Proprietors sold their shares to King George II, while John Carteret stubbornly clung to his one-eighth slice of the Carolina pie, known as the Granville District, despite lacking a seat at the table of power.
Source => ncpedia.org