The correct answer is D. English colonists had some limited representative self-government.
The Thirteen Colonies had very similar political, constitutional and legal systems, and were established by settlers from Great Britain, mostly Protestants. They formed a part of Britain's possessions in the New World, which also included colonies in present-day Canada and the Caribbean, as well as in East and West Florida. In the eighteenth century, the British government operated its colonies under an economy based on mercantilism, in which the central government administered their possessions for the economic benefit of the metropolis. However, the Thirteen Colonies had a high degree of autonomy and local elections, and progressively began to resist with greater force the demands of the British government. In the 1750s, they began collaborating with each other, instead of dealing directly with Britain. These inter-colonial activities cultivated a sense of shared American identity and led to requests for protection of rights as Englishmen from the settlers, especially the principle of "no taxes without representation". Complaints against the British government led to the American Revolution, in which the colonies assembled in a Continental Congress declared independence on July 4, 1776.
