Separate Myth From Fact in This Quiz on the 13 Colonies

The first colonial legislature convened in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619 — a year before the arrival of Puritans at Plymouth Rock.

Although Connecticut is nicknamed the “Constitution State” for other reasons, Delaware was in fact the first state to ratify the Constitution on December 7, 1787.

Although all colonies were united in the fight for freedom, New York abstained from the vote until a later date as the colony’s delegates awaited instruction from Albany.

In one of the darker periods in colonial history, the Salem Witch Trials targeted men and women alike, with 25% of the convicted being men (usually relatives or defenders of the falsely accused women).

The name Rhode Island is an anglicized version of the Dutch “Roodt Eylandt,” meaning “red island,” a reference to the red clay found along the state’s shoreline.

Although heavily associated with Pennsylvania's largest city, Benjamin Franklin was actually born in Boston.

All 13 American colonies perpetuated slavery, with Vermont (the 14th state) being the first U.S. region to ban the heinous practice in 1777.

Although Jamestown was the first permanent settlement in the U.S., the English previously set up shop in Roanoke, North Carolina, in 1585, only for its inhabitants to mysteriously disappear.

William Penn was a practicing Quaker who similarly suffered persecution in England before founding the American colony of Pennsylvania.

Georgia was the last of the 13 colonies to be created when it was established in 1732 by former British soldier James Edward Oglethorpe.

Although many know of New York’s original Dutch name, New Amsterdam, the colony was briefly rechristened as “New Orange” in 1673, only to revert back to New York a year later.

As it turns out, even the commonly accepted number of colonies is partially a myth, as Delaware was actually considered a part of Pennsylvania before declaring itself an independent state in 1776.

Viriginia’s Jamestown was primarily founded as a moneymaking venture, and Puritans banned Catholics and other non-Puritans from their colony of Massachusetts.

Although the tale of the first Thanksgiving dinner as we know it is a myth, the Wampanoag did help Puritans hunt and plant crops — likely to gain allies against the rival Narragansetts.

Although New York is bigger today, the largest of the 13 colonies was actually Virginia, whose territory at the time included the land that eventually became West Virginia.