the british lost the american colonies in 1763.
when did the british lose the american colonies?
1763
the american revolutionary war was a war between the nation of england and the 13 colonies in the north american continent. this war lasted from 1775 to 1783 and began with the battle of bunker hill, where over 1,150 british soldiers were killed or wounded. this equated to almost half of the entire british army that were present at the engagement. american casualties were far less severe, totaling an estimated at 450 killed and wounded. the british, however, were able to take the ground and push the newly formed continental army back to the city of boston, which also soon fell to british forces. before the battle of bunker hill, the battles of lexington and concord in april, 1775, saw british troops begin their assault into the american colonies. british troops were searching for colonist supply depots, however, were met by heavy resistance and the british forces were turned around at concord by outnumbering minutemen forces. on july 4, 1776 the declaration of independence was signed by the second continental congress and officially declared the colonies of north america to be a sovereign nation, free from england’s rule. also, the congress permitted funding for a continental army, which is the first instance of an american political body handling military affairs. the british were dominating in the beginning of the war, holding off continental regulars and militia and gaining vast amounts of territory throughout north america. however, the tide began to turn for the colonists in 1777 with their first major victory over british forces at the battle of saratoga. victory for the rest of the war pushed back and forth between the british and colonists, but the alliance with france in 1778 by the american colonists leveled the playing field and aided in the final push for the defeat of the british army and navy. in 1781, american and french forces were able to trap the escaping southern british army at yorktown, thus ending the major fighting of the revolution. the treaty of paris was signed in 1783, and recognized the american colonies as an independent nation. the newly formed united states would undergo numerous transitions to becoming one of the top economic and military powers in the world.
proto-globalization
in 1764, desiring revenue from its north american colonies, parliament passed the first law specifically aimed at raising colonial money for the crown. the sugar act increased duties on non-british goods shipped to the colonies. the same year, the currency act prohibited american colonies from issuing their own currency. these angered many american colonists and began colonial opposition with protests. by the end of the year, many colonies were practicing non-importation, a refusal to use imported english goods. in 1765 the british quartering act, which required the colonies to provide barracks and supplies to british troops, further angered american colonists; and to raise more money for britain, parliament enacted the stamp act on the american colonies, to tax newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, broadsides, legal documents, dice, and playing cards. american colonists responded to parliament's acts with organized protest throughout the colonies. a network of secret organizations known as the sons of liberty was created to intimidate the stamp agents collecting the taxes, and before the stamp act could take effect, all the appointed stamp agents in the colonies had resigned. the massachusetts assembly suggested a meeting of all colonies to work for the repeal of the stamp act, and all but four colonies were represented. the colonists also increased their non-importation efforts, and sought to increase in local production.
house of burgesses