The American Revolutionary War began in 1775 and officially ended when the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. On April 19th the first shots of the war were fired at Lexington, MA and six and a half years later, on October 19th, British forces surrendered to America at Yorktown, VA.
The conflict began as a fight for the rights of English people in the 13 colonies and ended in the creation of a new nation, the United States of America. This war is also called the American Revolution or the American War of Independence.
During the 1760's, Great Britain passed several laws that created high taxes for the colonists and limited their settlement and trade and these are reasons most often used to explain the war. The tea tax led to an American boycott of tea and subsequently on December 16, 1773 to the dumping of 342 cases of tea into the Boston Harbor. This famous event is known as the Boston Tea Party and was the work of several hundred Bostonians disguised as Indians.
From 1775 to 1777, the war was between Great Britain and the thirteen British colonies. It became a world war in 1777 when France, Spain and the Netherlands joined the side of the Americans. The war was fought by the Tories (or King's Men) who remained faithful to the British king and the Whigs (or rebels, Americans or Patriots) who opposed the king. The colonists were divided among themselves and neighbor fought neighbor in a bitter civil war between Loyalists and Patriots. Most American Indians east of the Mississippi River were affected by the war and joined the British side.
"No taxation without representation" was the cry that echoed throughout the colonies. One of the early battles of the war was Lexington and Concord when the Virginia patriot Patrick Henry coined the phrase: "Give me liberty or give me death." Another battle was Bunker Hill where one of the American commanders ordered the now infamous: "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." The taking of Bunker Hill by the British cost them many casualties. The last battle was preceded by a naval victory in the Chesapeake Bay which led to the British surrender on October 19, 1781 in Yorktown, VA where the Americans (led by Washington) and the French surrounded the British (led by Cornwallis).
The total loss of life from the war is unknown but the total American casualty figure has been estimated to be as high as 50,000. The peace treaty took two years to negotiate and was signed in Paris on September 3, 1783. American representatives included John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. The treaty extended the boundaries of the United States from the Allegheny Mountains to the Mississippi River and from the Great Lakes to the 31st parallel.
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