English overseas possessions

English overseas possessions were territories beyond England ruled or controlled by the English Crown, including colonies, trading settlements, and dependencies. They preceded and helped form parts of the later British Empire.

English colonization of the Americas: The establishment of English settlements and colonies in the Americas from the late sixteenth century onward. Atlantic colonies became the most extensive and durable part of England’s overseas possessions.
Royal charter: A formal grant issued by a monarch that establishes rights, powers, or privileges. The Crown used charters to authorize companies and define their powers in overseas territories.
British Empire: The worldwide system of territories and dependencies ruled or controlled by Britain. English possessions formed the core of the empire after the crowns and kingdoms were united.
Portuguese Empire: A global empire built by Portugal through maritime trade, settlement, and colonial rule. Its earlier maritime network provides a comparison for England’s later overseas expansion.
Jamestown: The first permanent English settlement in North America, founded in Virginia in 1607. Its survival established a lasting English foothold on the North American mainland.
Roanoke Colony: An English settlement on Roanoke Island, founded in 1585 and abandoned by 1590. Its failed settlement exposed the early risks of establishing English rule across the Atlantic.
Proprietary colony: A colony granted by a sovereign to an individual or group with authority to govern it. Proprietary grants delegated local rule while keeping the territory under the Crown’s authority.
British colonization of the Americas: The settlement and political expansion of British colonies in the Americas after 1707. Many English colonies continued under British rule and became part of a larger imperial system.
Spanish Empire: A global empire established by Spain through conquest, colonization, and control of overseas territories. Spanish claims and settlements often competed with English expansion in the Americas.
Plymouth Colony: An English colony founded in present-day Massachusetts in 1620 by Separatist settlers. It illustrates how religious migration contributed to English settlement overseas.

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