American Revolutionary War
Template:WPtimeline Template:War The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War for Independence or the Revolutionary War, began as a conflict between the British Empire and the Colonies in North America, soon developing into a clash on a global scale that involved many of the great European powers. Following its conclusion, many of the European powers officially recognised the independence of the newly formed United States of America.
Background
The war was a result of the political revolution stemming from the Stamp Act of 1765, which the colonists held as unconstitutional because of their lack of representation in the Parliament of Great Britain. The colonists claimed that there could be not taxation without representation, while the Parliament claimed that they represented all citizens of the British Empire, granting them "virtual representation."
Thus, Parliament continued to tax the colonists, until the tax on tea led to the Boston Tea Party in 1773, which was followed promptly by the Intolerable Acts as a punishment for the movement.
Conflict and Declaration of Independence
The armed conflict began when, in 1775, the governor of Massachusetts General Thomas Gage learned of arms being gathered in Concord for the local militia known as the "minutemen".
General Gage sent British troops to seize and destroy the weapons, which resulted in the armed confrontations in Lexington and Concord.
After the battles at Lexington and Concord, as well as numerous pleas from the Continental Congress for royal intervention, the Congressional delegates were announced traitors by royal decree. This caused the Congress to declare American Independence on July 4, 1776.
The Treaty of Paris
The war would last until 1783 when the Peace (or Treaty) of Paris of 1783 was signed, in which the United States of America was recognized by all parties as an independent sovereign nation.
The new nation was then granted all lands east of the Mississippi River, with the exception of Florida and the territories of East and West Florida, which were ceded by Great Britain to Spain.
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