American colonies

American colonies may refer to:

See also

Thirteen Colonies

The Thirteen Colonies were a group of British colonies on the east coast of North America founded in the 16th and 17th centuries that declared independence in 1776 and formed the United States. The thirteen were: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

The Thirteen Colonies had very similar political, constitutional and legal systems, and were dominated by Protestant English-speakers. They were only 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.