Thirteen Colonies

The Thirteen Colonies were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America during the 17th and 18th centuries. Grievances against the imperial government led the 13 colonies to begin uniting in 1774, and expelling British officials by 1775. Assembled at the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, they appointed George Washington as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army to fight the American Revolutionary War. In 1776, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence as the United States of America. Defeating British armies with French help, the Thirteen Colonies gained sovereignty with the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

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Thirteen Colonies
1607–1776
Flag of British America (1707–1775) Flag of Thirteen Colonies (1776–1777)
Anthem: God Save the King
The Thirteen Colonies (shown in red) in 1775 with modern borders overlaid
Status	Colonies
Government	Various colonial arrangements
Monarch
• 1607–1625	James I & VI (first)
• 1760–1776	George III (last)
History
• Roanoke Colony	1585
• Virginia Colony	1607
• New England	1620
• Rhode Island Royal Charter	1663
• New Netherland ceded to England	1667
• Treaty of Utrecht	1713
• Province of Georgia	1732
• French and Indian War	1754–1763
• Articles of Association	1774
• Independence declared	1776
• Treaty of Paris	1783
Population
• 1625	1,980[1]
• 1775	2,400,000[1]
Preceded by Succeeded by Pre-colonial North America New Netherland United Colonies
Today part of	United States

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The Thirteen Colonies in their traditional groupings were: the New England Colonies (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut); the Middle Colonies (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware); and the Southern Colonies (Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia).^[2] These colonies were part of British America, which also included territory in The Floridas, the Caribbean, and what is today Canada.^[3]

The Thirteen Colonies had similar political, constitutional, and legal systems, and each was largely dominated by Protestant English-speakers. The first of the colonies, Virginia, was established at Jamestown, in 1607. The New England Colonies, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, were substantially motivated by their founders' concerns related to the practice of religion. The other colonies were founded for business and economic expansion. The Middle Colonies were established on the former Dutch colony of New Netherland.

Between 1625 and 1775, the colonial population grew from 2 thousand to 2.4 million, largely displacing the region's Native Americans. The population included people subject to a system of slavery, which was legal in all of the colonies. In the 18th century, the British government operated under a policy of mercantilism, in which the central government administered its colonies for Britain's economic benefit.

The 13 colonies had a degree of self-governance and active local elections,^{[lower-alpha 1]} and they resisted London's demands for more control over them. The French and Indian War (1754–1763) against France and its Indian allies led to growing tensions between Britain and the 13 colonies. During the 1750s, the colonies began collaborating with one another instead of dealing directly with Britain. With the help of colonial printers and newspapers, these inter-colonial activities and concerns were shared and led to calls for protection of the colonists' "Rights as Englishmen", especially the principle of "no taxation without representation".

Conflicts with the British government over taxes and rights led to the American Revolution, in which the colonies worked together to form the Continental Congress and raised the Continental Army. They fought the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) with the aid of the Kingdom of France and, to a much lesser degree, the Dutch Republic and the Kingdom of Spain.^[6]