What were the thirteen colonies of the United States?

When British settlers first arrived here, they settled along the Atlantic Coast and formed the thirteen colonies. These colonies were Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Settlers arrived from England seeking religious freedom and a better life, but they were not the first ones to arrive here. Native Americans were already living on the land, and explorers from European countries also established small settlements before the English established dominance of the area. The thirteen colonies were ruled by the King of England until they declared independence in 1776, but throughout colonial times, the colonies established a high degree of self-government. It was these thirteen colonies that eventually became the United States.