Until the Treaty of Paris signed in 1783 that recognized independence of the United States of America, the name 13 colonies was used in the Great Britain to refer to the 13 states of America. These states were founded in the years between 1607 and 1733.
They were colonized by Great Britain and were also known as British America. The colonies in the north started rebelling against the taxation rule imposed on them by the British rule in 1775 leading to the formation of a provisional government. This government proclaimed the independence of the states that occurred two years later in 1776 creating the first thirteen states of America. The Great Britain had other American colonies that did not join the rebellion such as West Indies.
In the latter years, the thirteen colonies gave rise to the present day eighteen states. The original states were: Delaware, New Jersey, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, New York, South Carolina, Rhode Island and North Carolina. The additional states include Kentucky, Vermont, Tennessee, Maine and West Virginia. Some of the additional states were as a result of splitting of the older ones into smaller ones. States such as Kentucky was part of Virginia. Before the attainment of independence, the 13 colonies governed themselves individually.