The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of

Independence,[43] was a war between Great Britain and its Thirteen Colonies which declared
independence in July 1776 as the United States of America. [N 1]
After 1765, growing constitutional and political differences strained the relationship between
Great Britain and its American colonies. Patriot protests against taxation without
representation followed the Stamp Act and escalated into boycotts, which culminated in
1773 with the Sons of Liberty destroying a shipment of tea in Boston Harbor. Britain
responded by closing Boston Harbor and passing a series of punitive
measures against Massachusetts Bay Colony. Massachusetts colonists responded with
the Suffolk Resolves, and they established a shadow government which wrested control of
the countryside from the Crown. Twelve colonies formed a Continental Congress (with the
exception of Georgia) to coordinate their resistance, establishing committees and
conventions that effectively seized power.[44]
British attempts to disarm the Massachusetts militia in Concord led to open combat and a
British defeat on April 19, 1775. Militia forces then besieged Boston, forcing a British
evacuation in March 1776, and Congress appointed George Washington to command
the Continental Army. Concurrently, the Americans failed decisively in an attempt to invade
Quebec and raise insurrection against the British. On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental
Congress voted for independence, issuing its declaration on July 4. Sir William
Howe launched a British counter-offensive, capturing New York City and leaving American
morale at a low ebb. However, victories at Trenton and Princeton restored American
confidence. In 1777, the British launched an invasion from Quebec under John Burgoyne,
intending to isolate the New England Colonies. Instead of assisting this effort, Howe took
his army on a separate campaign against Philadelphia, and Burgoyne was decisively
defeated at Saratoga in October 1777.

Burgoyne's defeat had dramatic consequences. France formally allied with the
Americans and entered the war in 1778, and Spain joined the war the following year as
an ally of France but not as an ally of the United States. In 1780, the Kingdom of
Mysore attacked the British in India, and tensions between Great Britain and the
Netherlands erupted into open war. In North America, the British mounted a "Southern
strategy" led by Charles Cornwallis which hinged upon a Loyalist uprising, but too few
came forward. Cornwallis suffered reversals at King's Mountain and Cowpens. He retreated
to Yorktown, Virginia, intending an evacuation, but a decisive French naval victory deprived
him of an escape. A Franco-American army led by the Comte de Rochambeau and
Washington then besieged Cornwallis' army and, with no sign of relief, he surrendered in
October 1781.
Whigs in Britain had long opposed the pro-war Tories in Parliament, and the surrender gave
them the upper hand. In early 1782, Parliament voted to end all offensive operations in
America, but the war continued overseas. Britain remained under siege in Gibraltar but
scored a major victory over the French navy. On September 3, 1783, the belligerent parties
signed the Treaty of Paris in which Great Britain agreed to recognize the sovereignty of the
United States and formally end the war. French involvement had proven decisive, [45] but
France made few gains and incurred crippling debts. Spain made some territorial gains but
failed in its primary aim of recovering Gibraltar. [46] The Dutch were defeated on all counts
and were compelled to cede territory to Great Britain. In India, the war against Mysore and
its allies concluded in 1784 without any territorial changes.