Originally Posted by GraniteForge

Vermont wasn't a colony at all, but rather was the area claimed by both NH and NY. The governments of both made land grants in the disputed zone. "Vermont" as a distinct entity came later and, briefly, was an independant country.

During the Revolution, there was a movement to form the towns on both sides of the Connecticut River (NH and VT) as a separate governance area, but Washington opposed it as NH made it plain that any towns taken by this scheme would be recaptured by military action.

Some in NH still refer to VT as "The Grants."