Thirteen Colonies

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Original North American colonies that signed the Declaration of Independence from Britain in 1776. After the Continental Army (the first regular US fighting force, organized in 1775 to supplement local militias) defeated the British army in the American Revolution 1776–81, the 13 colonies became the original 13 United States of America: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia. They were united first under the Articles of Confederation and from 1789, the US Constitution.

English adventurer Walter Raleigh founded the first English colony in 1585, in the territory he named Virginia, after the ‘Virgin Queen’, Elizabeth I. The colony failed, but in 1607 a second Virginian colony was established at Jamestown, by John Smith. By 1649 Virginia had a royal charter and considerable self-government. Royalist exiles from the English Civil War began to settle in the colony around this time.

Yellow stands for mineral wealth. Green represents the country's vegetation and natural resources. Red recalls the blood spilt during the liberation struggle. Effective date: 18 April 1980. >>