Please answer the following question: Given the following passage  "In fact, there was an eighth province, the County of Drenthe, but this area was so poor it was exempt from paying federal taxes and as a consequence was denied representation in the States General. Each province was governed by the Provincial States, the main executive official (though not the official head of state) was a raadspensionaris. In times of war, the stadtholder, who commanded the army, would have more power than the raadspensionaris.",  answer the following question. Note that the answer is present within the text.  Question: The Provincial States formed what?
A:
States General