<P> Between 1625 and 1775, the colonial population grew from roughly 2,000 to over 2.5 million, often displacing American Indians . 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 . Slavery was introduced during the colonial period . The Thirteen Colonies had a high degree of self - governance and active local elections, and they resisted London's demands for more control . Indeed Rhode Island and Connecticut had always elected their own governors . Before the fighting started in 1775 the majority Whigs and the minority Tories, who both favored the connection with the Mother Country and were Loyal to the Crown, were opposed to Parliamentary interference in local affairs . </P> <P> The French and Indian War (1754--63) against France and its Indian allies led to growing tensions between Britain and the Thirteen Colonies . In the 1750s, the colonies began collaborating with one another 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 collaborated in forming the Continental Congress . The colonists fought the American Revolutionary War (1775--83) with the aid of France, the Dutch Republic, and Spain . </P> <P> In 1606, King James I of England granted charters to both the Plymouth Company and the London Company for the purpose of establishing permanent settlements in North America . The London Company established the Colony and Dominion of Virginia in 1607, the first permanently settled English colony on the North American continent . The Plymouth Company founded the Popham Colony on the Kennebec River, but it was short - lived . The Plymouth Council for New England sponsored several colonization projects, culminating with Plymouth Colony in 1620 which was settled by the English Puritans, known today as the Pilgrims . The Dutch, Swedish, and French also established successful North American colonies at roughly the same time as the English, but they eventually came under the English crown . The Thirteen Colonies were complete with the establishment of the Province of Georgia in 1732, although the term "Thirteen Colonies" became current only in the context of the American Revolution . </P> <P> In London beginning in 1660, all colonies were governed through a state department known as the Southern Department, and a committee of the Privy Council called the Board of Trade and Plantations . In 1768, a specific state department was created for America, but it was disbanded in 1782 when the Home Office took responsibility . </P>

Which was the first of the original thirteen colonies