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The Thirteen Colonies were 13 British colonies in North America, separately chartered and governed that signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and formally broke with the Kingdom of Great Britain, leading to the American Revolutionary War and the establishment of the United States of America.
Other British North American possessions—the former French colony of Quebec and the colonies of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island—remained loyal to the British Crown and much later were united as Canada. The colonies of East Florida and West Florida also remained loyal during the American Revolution.
Britain held several other colonies in North America and the Caribbean in 1776 which did not join the 13 in their American Revolution against the Crown.