American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War began when British troops marching from Boston to seize colonial military supplies clashed with militia at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. The Thirteen Colonies, which had protested taxation without representation in the British Parliament, formed the Continental Army under George Washington and declared independence in July 1776. After the American victory at Saratoga in 1777, France entered the war as an ally, followed by Spain and the Dutch Republic. The decisive moment came in 1781 when General Cornwallis surrendered his army at Yorktown, Virginia. By the Treaty of Paris, Britain recognised the independence of the United States, which then drew up its constitution.

Open on the timeline