THE AMERICAN

REVOLUTION
Background
The 13 Colonies
The Founding of America
• Virginia – First colonised 1607
(named after Queen Elizabeth) by
the Virginia Company traded
mainly tobacco.
• New England – First colonised
1620 by Puritans fleeing
persecution in England and on the
continent.
• Pennsylvania – First colonised
1681 by William Penn a friend of
Charles II who wished to set up a
haven for all Christian religions.
• New York City – First colonised by
the Dutch in 1624 named ‘New
Amsterdam’ it was taken by the
British in 1664 and renamed after
Charles II’s brother James.
 Virginia
• Founded 1607 by the Virginia
company.
• First settlers established the colony
of James town named after James I.
• Disease and famine nearly killed the
colony off by 1609-10
• In 1624 the colony was taken over
by the Crown
• Virginia’s money was made on the
back of tobacco
• Indentured servants used to farm
the land but after the 1600s the
supply of these people faded and
instead Black Slaves started to be
used.
New England • First founded by Puritans seeking
a haven from religious persecution
in 1620.
• They arrived in ships (including
the Mayflower) that sailed from
Holland then Plymouth Harbour
and set up the town of Plymouth.
• Many died of disease and famine
and despite new arrivals by 1630
there were still only 1500 settlers.
• However, by 1640 this figure had
risen to 13,000 mainly due to the
actions of Laud.
• They set up religious communities
– the first led by John Winthrop
and promoted subsistence living
and the virtue of Puritanism.
The USA by 1701
Problems
• Although by now many of the 12
Colonies had come under the direct
control of the crown they still retained
a strong degree of independence
from England and were a Haven from
persecution back in Britain.

• The Colonies were surrounded by

those controlled by France who
Britain went to war with in 1688.

• Fighting between the British and

Dutch in the 1660s and 70s and
French after 1688 led to battles also
being fought in the New World often
also involving the Native Americans.
British possessions in America by 1756
• In 1733 Georgia the last of the 13
colonies was founded.
• The Hudson Bay company had
established a hold over much of the
North Canadian coast line though the
French still controlled most of
Canada and the land down the
Mississippi.
• Colonists flooded in from the
Netherlands, Germany, Scotland and
Ireland making the 13 colonies quite
‘multi-cultural’ though the English-
speakers were still by far the largest
group.
• At this point many settlers still
considered themselves ‘British.’
• There were also many religions now
settled in America including Baptists
and Methodists, though Anglicans
were still the largest group.
The Seven Year War 1756–63
• Action in America known as the
‘French and Indian Wars’
• Mainly fought in Canada between
the British and their Indian allies
(mainly the Iroquois) and the French
and their allies (including the
Wabanaki, Ottowa and Algonquin)
• Though fighting ranged all along the
boarder areas between Virginia and
Newfoundland
• Conflict started before the outbreak of
War in Europe in 1754.
• Initially the British were on the back
foot with setbacks at New York and in
Pennsylvania and defeat at the
Battle of the Monongahela (1755).
• However, after William Pitt became
PM in 1757 he dedicated more
resources to the campaign and the
British took the war to French held
Canada.
• Significant action included General
Wolfe’s capture of Quebec in 1759
after the Battle of the Plains of
Abraham
The End of the War
• While the war continued in Europe
and across the globe until 1763
fighting in America had effectively
ended by 1760
• By the end of 1763 the main
opponents to British expansion in the
USA – the French and the Indians
had effectively been defeated.
• Britain was now in control of large
areas of Canada and areas in
America previously held by the
French
• The British Empire had increased
significantly but so had their national
debt
• Colonists in America had benefited
from the war but unlike British
citizens they had not had to pay for it.
America by 1763
Revolution of War of Independence?
The American Revolution was a period of dramatic
political break with British rule which occurred in
America between 1765 and 1784.

Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed

independent, and open war broke out in 1775: the
the American Revolutionary War or American War
of Independence lasted from 1775–1783.
• British Army in America
(above) and American
Loyalist forces (right).
American
forces,
1775 –
militia and
uniformed
soldiers
Washington’s
‘Continental
Army’.

Washington
was
Commander
-in-chief
of the army.