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The British colonization of the Americas describes the history of the establishment of control, settlement, and decolonization of the continents of the Americas by the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Scotland, and, after the union of those two countries in 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain.[a] Colonization efforts began in the late 16th century with unsuccessful efforts by the Kingdom of England to establish colonies in North America, but the first permanent English colony was established in Jamestown in 1607.[1][2] Over the next several centuries more colonies were established in the Americas. While the vast majority have achieved independence, a few remain as British Overseas Territories.
North America had been inhabited by indigenous peoples for thousands of years of prior to 1492.[3] European exploration of North America began after Christopher Columbus's 1492 expedition across the Atlantic Ocean.[4] English exploration of the continent commenced in the late 15th century, and Sir Walter Raleigh established the short-lived Roanoke Colony in 1585.[5] The English established their first successful, permanent colony in North America at Jamestown in 1607 on the Chesapeake Bay, which eventually grew into the Colony of Virginia.[6][7] In 1620, a second permanent colony at Plymouth was founded, followed in 1630 by the Massachusetts Bay Colony. These settlements in present day Virginia and Massachusetts gave the English a foundation to establish more colonies and resulted in significantly increased settlement activity.[8][9] At conclusion of the Seven Years' War with France, Britain took control of the French colony of Canada and several colonial Caribbean territories.[10][11]
With the assistance of France and Spain, many of the North American colonies gained independence from Britain through victory in the American Revolutionary War, which ended in 1783. Historians sometimes refer to the British Empire after 1783 as the "Second British Empire"; this period saw Britain increasingly focus on Asia and Africa instead of the Americas, and increasingly focus on the expansion of trade rather than territorial possessions. Nonetheless, Britain continued to colonize parts of the Americas in the 19th century, taking control of British Columbia and establishing the colonies of the Falkland Islands and British Honduras. Britain also gained control of several colonies, including Trinidad and British Guiana, following the defeat of France in the Napoleonic Wars.
In the mid-19th century, Britain began the process of granting self-government to its remaining colonies in North America. Most of these colonies joined the Confederation of Canada in the 1860s or 1870s, though Newfoundland would not join Canada until 1949. Canada gained full autonomy following the passage of the Statute of Westminster 1931, though it retained various ties to Britain and still recognizes the British monarch as head of state. Following the onset of the Cold War most of the remaining British colonies in the Americas gained independence between 1962 and 1983. Many of the former British colonies are part of the Commonwealth of Nations, a political association chiefly consisting of former colonies of the British Empire.
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