Thirteen British colonies united in declaring independence in 1776.
These colonies occupied much of Britain’s Atlantic seaboard possessions in North America. They ranged from New Hampshire in the north to Georgia in the south and became the original states of the United States after independence.
The colonies did not all have identical economies, religions, or political interests. New England, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies developed distinct regional patterns, yet opposition to British policies helped bring their representatives together in the Continental Congress.
The phrase “thirteen colonies” refers to the colonies that became the United States, not every British possession in North America. East and West Florida, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and other territories remained outside the union formed by the Declaration’s signatories.