Types of Colonies

English colonies were one of three types of colonies. The first being a joint-stock colony. In this type of colony the king of England would grant a charter to a joint-stock company that would ensure settlers the same rights as Englishmen. Joint-stock colonies were only meant to last a few years. After which, stockholders hoped to earn a profit. Many people were attracted with the promise of gold. The second type was a royal colony. This type of colony was directly controlled by the king. The king appointed a governor and a council which served as an advisory body to the governor. The council had an the upper house of the colonial legislature and the highest court in the colony. The lower house was a bicameral legislature and was elected by property holders who met voting qualifications. Laws passed by the legislature had to be approved by the king. Finally, was the proprietary colony. A Proprietary Colony is a colony in which the king gave land to people called proprietors. Most of these colonies are run under a charter agreement. Private land owners picked governors to rule the colonies. Governors then chose a council and colonist elected representatives to an assembly. This type of colony resembled feudalism. The plantation colonies included Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia. They were financed by the English crown and made proprietary colonies except for Virginia which was financed through the Virginia Company and was a joint-stock colony. The colonies were founded for different reasons. Virginia was founded in search of gold. North and South Carolina was founded to grow foodstuffs and to export non-English products. Maryland was founded for religious freedom. Georgia was founded to be a "buffer" against Spanish expansion from Florida and to be a haven for people in debt and prisoners of England. The plantation colonies exported agricultural products such as the cash crops indigo, tobacco, and rice. These colonies