Was Arizona One of the 13 Original Colonies? No – Here's Why

Arizona was not one of the 13 colonies. The 13 colonies were British settlements along the Atlantic coast, founded 1607–1732, that declared independence in 1776.

The 13 Colonies (North to South)

1. New Hampshire
2. Massachusetts (incl. Maine)
3. Rhode Island
4. Connecticut
5. New York
6. New Jersey
7. Pennsylvania
8. Delaware
9. Maryland
10. Virginia
11. North Carolina
12. South Carolina
13. Georgia

Arizona's Timeline

• Pre-1540: Indigenous nations (Hohokam, Ancestral Puebloans, Apache, Navajo, Tohono O'odham, etc.)
• 1540: Coronado expedition (Spanish) – first Europeans.
• 1690s: Jesuit missions (Eusebio Kino) in Pimería Alta.
• 1776: Spanish presidio at Tucson founded – same year as Declaration of Independence.
• 1821: Mexican independence – Arizona part of Sonora, then Alta California.
• 1848/1854: Mexican Cession + Gadsden Purchase – becomes US territory.
• 1863: Arizona Territory created (separated from New Mexico Territory).
• 1912: Statehood (48th state, last contiguous).

Why the Confusion?

• "Colony" sometimes used loosely for any early settlement.
• Spanish colonial presence (missions, presidios) was real but distinct from the British 13.
• Arizona's "Five Cs" (Copper, Cattle, Cotton, Citrus, Climate) drove its later economy.