American Revolution

American Revolution

Introduction

The American Revolution was the political turmoil started in the second half of 18th century in which the thirteen colonies of North America joined hands to secure their freedom from the rule of British Empire, combining into becoming a country that came to be known as the United States of America. The British colonies first declined to be ruled by the Parliament of Great Britain, who was governing them from overseas without any kind of representation, thereby leaving them in a state where they had no say state matters. As the tensions accelerated between the colonies and the British Empire, the American rebels expelled all the royal officials working on behalf of the Empire.

Resultantly, the Revolutionary War broke out between Britain and the thirteen colonies along the coast of Atlantic in North America. The war began in April 19, 1775, when American revolutionaries fought with the British in the cities of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, and lasted for the next eight years. The war concluded on September 3, 1783, after the signing of the Treaty of Paris between Britain and the United States, in which the British Empire formally recognized the independence of the United States.

Background

After securing the victory in the Seven Years War of 1756-63, British Empire completely seized control of the North American continent. Now British Empire was the only dominant power in the 13 colonies of America along the Atlantic coast, but soon the French armed forces have regained control of the north - which constitute part of modern day Canada. However, after some time, the territories again fell into the hand of Britain who consolidated its power in the thirteen colonies of America. At the end of the 18th century, nearly 3 million people lived in the 13 American colonies with majority among them the immigrants from the UK. Mostly small settlements steadily evolved.

Philadelphia was the largest city with a population of 40,000 people, the second largest city was New York, with the population of 25,000 inhabitants. The northern lands were predominantly populated by merchants, fishermen and hunters. Whereas on the fertile lands of southern America, the majority of the inhabitants were farmers, whose main source of income was the production from their lands. These are the people who have played a crucial role in the subsequent revolution and to lay the foundations of the nation, which is now known as the United States of America.

Prelude to Revolution

During the period preceding the revolution, there has always been a friction between the electoral bodies of the colonists and the lords of London, who were in charge of running state affairs and carrying out the imperial orders in the thirteen colonies. The British government was too far away and could not really assess the needs of overseas settlers -nor did it want to. In the courts British Empire there was a perception that the overseas lands exist only for the benefit of the colonial powers. Resultantly, the British Empire imposed severe restrictions on the ...