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.
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.
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."
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.
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
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.
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....
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: Life at Jamestown [Pdf]
An extensive collection of resources for learning about the colony of Jamestown. Includes essays, lesson plans, biographies, the economics of tobacco, information about laws, leadership, and a culminating project where students design a...
Yale University
Avalon Project: Mayflower Compact 1620
Read the actual words of these earliest Americans and their attempt at self-government with the writing of the Mayflower Compact. Link directly to other colonial charter pages.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Britain in the New World: Jamestown Settlement
Jamestown, although not a financial sucess, was the first succesful English colony in North America. Find out how the colony was financed, what the first colonists hoped to find, how the colony was governed, and the hardships that were...
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Lindley S. Butler: Carolina
A concise summary of the establishment of the Carolina colony in 1663.
Other
The Genealogy Forum: Georgia Important Dates
This websire provides eight important events starting with George II's granting of a charter to Georgia's secession from the Union.
Curated OER
Etc: Maps Etc: The Thirteen Colonies at the End of the Colonial Period, 1774
A map of the British Thirteen Colonies at the end of the colonial period in 1774. The map shows the boundaries of the colonies and notes the uncolored territory east of the Mississippi and south of the Great Lakes as claimed by Georgia,...
Curated OER
Etc: Types of Colonial Governments, 1682 1730
A series of three maps of the British colonies in North America showing the types of colonial governments between 1682, 1692, and 1730, and the shift from charter colonies electing their own governors to the colonies with councilors...