The British Crown <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_New_York" id="mwcQ" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Province of New York">colony of New York</a> is subdivided into 12 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_counties_in_New_York" id="mwcg" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="List of counties in New York">counties</a>.