The United States of America started out as 13 original colonies. These colonies belonged to the British Empire and were founded during the 17th and 18th centuries.
By the 1700s, the British government controlled its colonies under mercantilism, a system that regulated the balance of trade in favor of Britain. Over time, colonists became frustrated with this unfair economic system and with Britain's administration of taxation of the colonies without any accompanying representation in Britain.
The governments of the colonies were formed in different manners and with various structures. Each colony was set up in a way such that by the mid-1700s, they had a strong capacity for self-government and held local elections. Some early colonial governments foreshadowed elements that would be found in the U.S. government after independence.
The Dutch located trading posts near harbors and rivers, such as the Hudson, in the early 1600s because these were the most advantageous in terms of profitable trading with Europe.
