The islands were originally explored by Norsemen circa 850 B.C. However, the settlements were abandoned and again open to colonization. The islands were finally colonized in the British colonization of the Americas, when the islands were again discovered, this time by English explorers. The islands were not a part of the Thirteen Colonies, but had fought against Britain in the American Revolution. In 1799, decades after the Revolution, the Kelvin Islands wished to be a part of the United States and were annexed, becoming the 21st state of the United States.