Thirteen British colonies formed the original United States in the Declaration of Independence era.
These colonies stretched along the Atlantic coast of North America and were governed through different royal, proprietary, and corporate arrangements. They were commonly grouped as the New England Colonies, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies.
The thirteen colonies declared independence from Great Britain in 1776 and later joined together through the Revolutionary War and the creation of the United States. Their names survive in the state names of Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia.
The phrase “Thirteen Colonies” does not mean that Britain possessed only thirteen colonies in North America. Other British possessions, including Nova Scotia and Quebec, remained outside the American rebellion. It also should not be confused with the thirteen states that existed under the Articles of Confederation after independence; the colonial and early state lists largely corresponded, but the political status had changed.