University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma College of Law: Connecticut Colony Charter of 1662
Complete text of the Connecticut Colony Charter of 1662 which provided the basis for Connecticut government until 1818.
University of Groningen
American History: Documents: Charter of Massachusetts Bay 1629
Provides background information and the complete text of the charter of the Massachusetts Bay 1629.
University of Groningen
American History: Documents: The Charter of New England 1620
View the complete text of the 1620 British Charter for the settlement of New England granting authority to colonize and govern.
University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma College of Law: The 1629 Charter of Massachusetts Bay
Complete text of the Charter of Massachusetts Bay, 1629.
Yale University
Avalon Project: Charter of Georgia: 1732
This website provides a full-text of the Charter of Georgia written in 1732. Includes link to webpage with links to other colonial charters.
Yale University
Avalon Project: Charter of Privileges to Swedish South Company; June 14, 1626
The charter given by Gustavus Adolphus to the Swedish South Company detailing its rights, privileges, and requirements in its permission to explore and set up colonies.
Other
Who We Are: Charter of Maryland: June 30, 1632
This is a copy of the actual Charter of Maryland from King Charles to Caecilius Calvert.
Yale University
The Charter of New England:1620
Read the online historical text written in 1620 establishing religious freedom, means of governing, and rule by law in the Plymouth colony and New England.
Other
Georgia Charter of 1732
This website provides "a copy of the original [Georgia] charter in the British Public Record Office."
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Robert J. Cain: Carolina Charters 1663 1665
A review and images of the Carolina Charters documented in 1663 and another in 1665.
Other
Study Notes: The New England Colonies
An outline of the important information to study on the establishment of the New England Colonies by the Puritans, first in the Massachusetts Bay area, and their evolution and expansion beyond that.
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: Company Charters and Challenges [Pdf]
When the Virginia Company of London began planning for its new colony in Virginia in 1607, leaders developed a 'wish list.' Over a period of seventeen years, King James I granted several charters to the Company, establishing an English...
Yale University
The Avalon Project: Charter of Carolina March 24, 1663
This is a full-text of the 1663 "Charter of Carolina" in which the settlement of the colony is discussed in detail. Includes discussion of religion, leadership, laws, goods, and the 8 proprietors.
Other
Time Page: 13 Originals: Founding the American Colonies
Information about each of the thirteen colonies with links to additional good quality resources.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: New England Colonies: Reaching to Connecticut
Read about how the colony of Connecticut grew from an expansion of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. See how Thomas Hooker's idea of government resulted in a model of colonial charters, and find out how two very different settlements in...
Yale University
Colonial Charters, Grants and Related Documents
Scroll to Massachusetts and link to the colonial documents establishing the colonies' earliest forms of government and laying the foundation for self-governing and eventual independence from England. Beginning with The Charter of England...
Yale University
Yale University: Avalon Project: Colonial Charters, Grants and Related Documents
Click on Connecticut for a list of and links to the colony's earliest government documents establishing its laws, religious toleration, and means of taxation.
Yale University
Avalon Project: Charter for the Province of Pennsylvania 1681
The complete text of the original land grant given to William Penn to settle Pennsylvania.
Other
Savannah Images Project: Timeline of Colonial Georgia
Time line beginning with the birth of James Oglethorpe and ending with his death. Focuses on major events in the history of colonial Georgia, including the granting of the charter by King George and the settlement in Savannah.
NSTATE
Net state.com: Introduction to Georgia
This NetState.com article describes the events that led up to Oglethorpe's settlement in Georgia which include the obtaining of a charter from George II.
Other
Swarthmore College: Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges
Read an excerpt of William Penn's Charter of Privileges- an early manifestation of religious freedom later to be enshrined in the U.S. Bill of Rights- that isolates the provisions Penn made for the free practice of religion in the colony.
Yale University
Explanatory Charter of Massachusetts Bay 1725
The Charter of Massachusetts Bay, digitized by the Avalon Project at Yale Law School.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Jamestown
The Library of Congress chronicles the Virginia Company and their settlement of Jamestown, in this fascinating site. Provides photos of the charter, a map drawn by John Smith, and a church tower from the colony.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Jamestown
The first of the British colonies to take hold in North America was Jamestown. On the basis of a charter which King James I granted to the Virginia (or London) company, a group of about 100 men set out for the Chesapeake Bay in 1607....