The New England Colonies of British America included Connecticut Colony, the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, and the Province of New Hampshire, as well as a few smaller short-lived colonies.

Join, or Die. a 1754 political cartoon by Benjamin Franklin published in The Pennsylvania Gazette in Philadelphia, addresses the disunity of the Thirteen Colonies during the French and Indian War; several decades later, the cartoon resurfaced as one of the most iconic symbols in support of the American Revolution.

The eight components of the snake signify New England (encompassing modern-day New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut) and seven other colonies, denoted by the initials printed alongside each section.

The flag of New England has two prominent symbols: a pine tree and red color. Other features, like the St. George's Cross , are not always displayed on the flag, but the pine almost always is. There is a blue ensign and a red ensign variant.

When the New England colonies were started, England was a kingdom, ruled by a king. Before the English Civil War (1649-1660) the King effectively “owned” the country. His flag, the flag England, was a white field with the red cross of St. George.