American colonial period

Thirteen Colonies
Colonies of England (1607–1707) Colonies of Great Britain (1707–1776)
1607–1776
Flag of Great Britain (1707–1776)
The thirteen colonies (shown red) in 1775.
Capital		Administered from London, England
Languages		English, German, many indigenous languages
Religion		Puritanism, Anglicanism, other Protestantism, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Native American religion
Government		Constitutional monarchy
Monarch
•	1607–1625	James I & VI (first)
•	1760–1783	George III (last)
History
•	Roanoke Colony	1585
•	Virginia Colony	1607
•	New England	1620
•	King Charles II charter for Rhode Island and Providence Plantations	1663
•	Rupert's Land	1670
•	Treaty of Utrecht	1713
•	Treaty of Paris	1783
Population
•	1625 est.	1,980
•	1775 est.	2,400,000
Currency		Pound sterling, colonial money, bills of credit, commodity money.
Preceded by New Netherland
Today part of		United States
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Flag of Great Britain (1707–1776)

The Thirteen Colonies were a group of British colonies on the east coast of North America founded in the 17th and 18th centuries that declared independence in 1776 and formed the United States. The thirteen were (roughly north to south): New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

The Thirteen Colonies had very similar political, constitutional, and legal systems, and were dominated by Protestant English-speakers. They were part of Britain's possessions in the New World, which also included colonies in present-day Canada and the Caribbean, as well as East and West Florida. In the 18th century, the British government operated its colonies under a policy of mercantilism, in which the central government administered its possessions for the economic benefit of the mother country. However, the Thirteen Colonies had a high degree of self-government and active local elections, and increasingly resisted London's demands for more control. In the 1750s, the colonies began collaborating with each other instead of dealing directly with Britain. These inter-colonial activities cultivated a sense of shared American identity and led to calls for protection of the colonists' "Rights as Englishmen", especially the principle of "no taxation without representation". Grievances with the British government led to the American Revolution, in which the colonies established a Continental Congress and declared independence in 1776.