Rhode Island has the second lowest number of counties of any U.S. state; only Delaware has fewer, with three counties. Rhode Island does not have any local government at the county level; instead, local government is provided by the eight cities and thirty-one towns. The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was established in the 17th century and was the first of the thirteen original American colonies to declare independence from British rule in 1776, signaling the start of the American Revolution. The counties were all established before the Declaration of Independence. The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) is used by the United States government to uniquely identify states and counties. Rhode Island's code is 44, which would be written as 44XXX when combined with any county code.