[1] The state was founded in January 1777, when delegates from 28 towns met and declared independence from the jurisdictions and land claims of the British colonies of Quebec, New Hampshire, and New York.

The republic remained in existence for the next fourteen years, albeit without diplomatic recognition from any foreign power.

[3][4] In a response to this, members representing Vermont conducted negotiations to join the Province of Quebec, which were accepted by the British, who offered generous terms for the republic's reunion.

After 1749, Benning Wentworth, the Royal Governor of New Hampshire, granted land to anyone in a land-granting scheme designed to enrich himself and his family.

The "Green Mountain Boys", led by Ethan Allen, was a militia force from Vermont that supported the New Hampshire claims and fought against the British during the American Revolution.

[12] On June 2 of that year, the name was officially changed to "Vermont" (from the French, les verts monts, meaning the Green Mountains)[13] upon the suggestion of Thomas Young,[14] a member of the Sons of Liberty, a Boston Tea Party leader, and mentor to Ethan Allen.

[17] As historian Christian Fritz notes in American Sovereigns: The People and America's Constitutional Tradition before the Civil War: They saw themselves as a distinct region outside the legitimate jurisdiction of New York.

[19] During its time as an independent state, the government issued its own coinage and currency and operated postal service.

[8] The governor of Vermont, Thomas Chittenden,[21] with consent of his council and the General Assembly, appointed commissioners to the American government seated in Philadelphia.

Vermont's coins minted in 1785 and 1786 bore the Latin inscription "STELLA QUARTA DECIMA" (meaning "the fourteenth star").

Vermont's negotiators insisted on also settling the real-estate disputes rather than leaving those to be decided later by a federal court.

[24] The Vermont General Assembly then authorized a convention to consider an application for admittance to the "Union of the United States of America".