The American Revolutionary War or American War of Independence (1775–1783) began as a crisis within the British Empire and developed into a war for sovereignty. Thirteen colonies in British North America resisted imperial taxation, tighter parliamentary control, and restrictions on colonial self-government after the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763). What began with protest and resistance escalated into armed conflict at Lexington and Concord (April 1775), followed by the creation of the Continental Army under George Washington (1732–1799; commander-in-chief, 1775–1783) and the formal declaration of independence at Philadelphia on 4 July 1776.
















