The American Revolution was a war in which the 13 American colonies won their independence from Great Britain. It started in 1775 and ended in 1783. The revolution led to the founding of a new nation, the United States of America.

 

Background and Causes of the War

When the first settlers came to the new world in the 17th century they were on their own.  They had to choose their own leaders and solve the problems that they faced.  Great Britain was not really interested in the colonists and, in addition, faced problems at home too.

In the middle of the 18th century Britain defeated France in a war that spread to the New World. Britain’s victory gave it control over most of the territories in North America. They ruled the New World from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. However fighting against France cost a lot of money and the British government decided that the colonies in America should also pay for this war.

Colonists were angry at the British rulers, not only because they wanted more money from them, but because they also forbade them tosettle in areas west of the Appalachian Mountains. These regions were reserved for the Indians, whom the British did not want to make angry

 

Taxes

After the end of the war with France Great Britain started to make the colonists pay more money in the form of taxes. One of these laws, the Stamp Act, put a tax on documents and newspapers. The colonists got even angrier because they were not represented in British parliament and had no way of expressing their ideas. They wanted to be treated in a fair way and believed they had certain rights that others should respect.

At the beginning of the 1770s Great Britain sent soldiers to keep order in the American colonies. While many tax laws were abolished a tax on tea remained. In 1773 colonists, disguised as Indians, went aboard British ships and dumped all the tea into the harbour of Boston. This event became known as the Boston Tea Party.

During the 1770s the relationship between Britain and the colonies became worse. The settlers started boycotting everything that the British wanted to sell to them.

 

The beginning of the war

In 1775 the colonists decided that they had had enough of British rule. They got ready to fight.  American soldiers fought the first battle of the war at Lexington, Massachusetts.  In the next few months the Americans formed their own army under the leadership of George Washington.

Not all the colonists were in favour of going to war against the British. Those who wanted to stay with Great Britain were called loyalists; those who were in favour of independence were called patriots.

The American colonies were not prepared for war. They were not united and had no central government. As soon as the war stareddelegates of all 13 colonies formed a national congress, at which they met.