Thirteen Colonies, The

The Thirteen Colonies are a group of British colonies on the east coast of North America founded in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that declare  independence in 1776 and form the United States of America.

The Thirteen Colonies have very similar political, constitutional, and legal systems, and are dominated by Protestant English-speakers.

They are part of Britain's possessions in the New World, which also includes colonies in Canada and the Caribbean, as well as East and West Florida.

In the eighteenth century, the British government operates its colonies under a policy of mercantilism, in which the central government administers its possessions for the economic benefit of the mother country.

However, the Thirteen Colonies has a high degree of self-governance and active local elections, and resists London's demands for more control.

In the 1750s, the colonies begin collaborating with one another instead of dealing directly with Britain.

These inter-colonial activities cultivate  a sense of shared American identity and lead to calls for protection of the colonists' "Rights as Englishmen", especially the principle of "no taxation without representation".

Grievances with the British government lead to the American Revolution, in which the colonies collaborate in forming a Continental Congress which declares independence in 1776 and fight the American Revolutionary War (1775–83) with the aid of France, the Dutch Republic, and Spain.

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