Part of the great revolution that changed the destiny of Western civilization in the late

eighteenth century , the War of Independence of the United States ( American

Revolution ) opened a new era in human history . And the country emerged libertarian
movement that became a model and inspiration for the Ibero - American colonies in
their desire for emancipation from colonial powers .


Initiated in 1607, the British emigration to North America gave rise to the formation of
colonies , which in 1732 was already 13 . Among the causes that contributed to the war
of independence ( 1775-1781 ) Figure abandonment in which they were . The colonists
had therefore to solve their own problems , which gave them a position of autonomy
from the metropolitan government . Furthermore , the British were not well aware of the
conditions of the colonies , and worried about their own problems , not devoted much
attention to them .

Meanwhile , the increasing economic importance of the colonies , particularly after
Britain , victorious in the war against France ( Seven Years War ) , added to their
American possessions throughout Canada and the lands between the Appalachians and
the Mississippi River hills . After the conflict , finding themselves in difficult economic
and financial situation , Britain ruled the colonies require the observance of the Law of
Navigation ( Navigation Act ) , which limited most of these trade exclusively to the
metropolis . Also repressed - smuggling . Furthermore, the Sugar Act ( Sugar Act) of
1764, which regulated trade in sugar , increased the discontent of the colonists . And
that speculated on the land were affected in their interests by decree forbidding
colonization of areas beyond the Appalachians .
Faced with the need to maintain ten thousand British troops for the defense of the
colonies , in 1765 Parliament passed the Stamp Act ( Stamp Act ) , which established
several fees to pay for legal and official documents through which the colonists would
cover cost of maintaining British troops . The reaction was such that the Parliament had
to make void the decree the following year . But approved , then the Declaratory Act ,
which stated to have " full power and authority " to legislate over the colonies .
Boston Massacre . In 1767 , a new decree , the Townshend Act , has further strained
relations between the metropolis and the colonies . This decree established taxes on tea ,
lead , paper and glass , imported by American possessions . The money thus obtained
would be intended to pay British officials in the colonies . These were very badly seen
by the way they acted : apprehended goods from honest traders and often practiced
smuggling. The reaction of settlers intensified . Merchants refused to import British
goods , and revolutionary leader Samuel Adams raised the population of Massachusetts
.
On March 5, 1770 was called the Boston Massacre . Two British regiments that were
sent to contain the radicals of the city clashed with a crowd , killing several people . The
news spread across all other colonies , and again the British Parliament was forced to
retreat and annulled months later, the Townshend Acts

The Boston Tea Party

Crisis of tea . After three years of relative peace in 1773 was approved the Law of Tea (
Tea Act ) with the aim of helping the East India Company to sell its surplus tea in the
colonies . Besides the high price of the product , buyers still have to pay taxes , and
profit from your marketing revert largely in favor of the agents of the company. In
retaliation , the ships carrying tea to the colonies ceased to be unloaded, and had to
return to the metropolis . Boston was again assumed that the events more serious
character. On December 16, 1773 , many colonists disguised as Indians attacked three
ships in the harbor and threw their cargo overboard every tea . This incident , known as
the Boston Tea Party, triggered the revolution.
Britain then found itself faced with two choices: give in again or adopt severe measures
of repression . Deciding on the latter , voted that the settlers named Intolerable Acts (
Intolerable Acts ) , the most energetic of which determined the closure of the port of
Boston until the tea owners be compensated .
The colonists united to face the metropolis and , in 1774 , was held in Philadelphia the
First Continental Congress , attended by delegates from all the colonies except Georgia .
Then the Declaration of Rights and Grievances ( Declaration of Rights and Grievances )
, which demanded the repeal of the Intolerable Acts was passed . The Congress tried to
come to terms with the English government , but failed. With the assent of King George
III , the government decided to reinforce the British troops in the colonies in order to
ensure compliance with parliamentary decisions .
Gunfight . In April 1775 , General Thomas Gage , commander of British troops in
Boston , decided to hold two major American leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock
, and seize the ordnance collected by the colonists in Concord . In Lexington , Gage 's
forces clashed with armed groups and , after an exchange of gunfire , the British
proceeded to Concord , where they destroyed the existing ammo there . Back in Boston
, the colonists faced again and were dispersed by them . It was the beginning of the
American Revolution .
The Second Continental Congress , meeting in Philadelphia, appointed George
Washington to command the forces of the colonists . There was still hope that the crown
make concessions to avoid separation . But everywhere the royal authority was
collapsing : several governors took refuge aboard British ships and returned to London ;
others were imprisoned . The situation became in fact irreconcilable : the output was
total submission or independence . The liberating preaching encountered a vigorous
apstoloem Thomas Paine , whose pamphlet Common Sense ( 1776 ; Common sense )
attacked the very principle of hereditary monarchy , stating that one honest man is
worth more to society ' than all the crowned brigands that ever existed " .
Meanwhile , the fight continued. Ethan Allen , Vermont , and Benedict Arnold ,
Connecticut , drove the British Fort Ticonderoga , on the shores of Lake Champlain ,
where two days later Crown Point was taken. These victories gave the settlers a passage
of communication with Canada .
Appointed commander of the British troops , replacing Gage , General William Howe
decided to take Bunker and Breed 's Hills , near Boston , to strengthen his position . The
Battle of Bunker Hill ( Bunker Hill ) was fought in June 1775, and it took many losses
to the British that the colonists , though defeated, they considered it a victory .
George Washington took command of the troops surrounding Boston , and trained them
rigorously during 1775. During the same year , in Canada , General Richard
Montgomery , commanding the American troops occupied Montreal and moved to
Quebec . The attack on the latter city failed , and Montgomery was killed . The
withdrawal of the Americans was disastrous , and the British then went on the offensive
. The following year ( 1776 ) , Washington surrounded Dorchester Heights above
Boston , which led the enemy to leave the city without a fight , leaving weapons and
ammunition . Displaced troops headed to Halifax , and Washington concentrated his
forces in New York , waiting for the British offensive .
Declaration of Independence . After a year of debate , on July 4, 1776 Congress finally
adopted the Declaration of Independence , drafted by Thomas Jefferson , John Adams
and Benjamin Franklin . This document universal historical importance was inspired by
the advanced ideas of French and English thinkers . The statement says in its preamble :
" We consider self-evident the following truths : all men were created equal and
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights , among them life , liberty and
the pursuit of happiness , to secure these rights , are formed among men governments
derive their powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of this end , the people have the right to abolish it, and
to establish a new government ... "
More specifically , the declaration stipulated the right of the colonies to become " free
and independent states " , disconnected from any obligation of obedience to the crown
of Great Britain , with which all political union was broken .



Metropolis attempted an offensive against North Carolina, but were defeated at King 's
Mountain .
Daniel Morgan defeated British troops in Cowpens , ( 1781 ) , but the Marquis of
Cornwallis defeated General Nathanael Greene , commander of U.S. troops in the south
at Guilford Court House.Cornwallis went to Virginia in pursuit of a troop of settlers
under the command the Marquis de Lafayette and took Yorktown , concentrating its
military contingent there . George Washington , in front of an army of 16,000 men ,
attacked the enemy by land , while the French Admiral Francois de Grasse gave her
naval coverage. At the end of several weeks of fighting, Cornwallis surrendered with all
their troops . The war was almost over .

In March 1782, the head of British Government Lord North resigned . The Peace of
Versailles was formally ratified on September 3, 1783 , with the recognition of the
independence of the United States of America . That same year , Britain ceded Florida
peninsula to the Spanish crown , without, however , defining the boundaries , a fact that
would motivate intense territorial disputes in the southern United States for many years.

The colonies were founded between 1607 ( Virginia) and 1733 ( Georgia ) .
Contemporary documents usually list the 13 American ColniasNorte the Kingdom of
Great Britain in geographical order from north to south :
The Northern Colonies or New England
Province of New Hampishire later the state of New Hampshire
Province of Massachusetts Bay later the states of Massachusetts and Maine
Colony of Rhode Island later the state of Rhode Island
Colony of Connecticut later the state of Connecticut
The Central Colonies
Province of New York later states of New York and Vermont1
Province of New Jersey later the state of New Jersey
Province of Pennsylvania later the state of Pennsylvania
Colonies of Delaware later the state of Delaware
The Southern Colonies
Province of Maryland later the state of Maryland
Colony Dominion of Virginia later states of Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia
Province of North Carolina later the states of North Carolina and Tennessee
Province of South Carolina later the state of South Carolina
Province of Georgia later the state of Georgia