The American Revolution ― Why the Colonists Broke Away from Britain and Formed a New Nation

The British colonies that became the United States of America originated in the 17th century. The early colonists were for the most part young men, looking to make their fortunes and then return home. So how – and why – did this disparate set of colonies unite to break the political link with Britain and form a new nation? Popular understandings of the American Revolution tend to be uncomplicated. For many Americans, it is the glorious story of the creation of the United States, a story marked by well-known events such the Boston Tea Party of December 1773, the first shots in the war between the Americans and the British in April 1775 and the Declaration of Independence in July 1776. But the true story of the revolution is clouded in myth – the anti-taxation Tea Party, for example, used the Boston Tea Party as its inspiration, few of its supporters realising that their ancestors objected only to taxation by the British Parliament, not to taxation in general. But no one doubts the importance of the American revolution. It divided the Anglo-world. It effectively ended the idea of a transatlantic British nation. Until the eve of independence, the colonists saw themselves as British; some continued to stress their common roots for many years afterwards while the new nation remained firmly in Britain’s shadow. Few would have predicted that eventually the revolution would lead to the birth of the most powerful nation the world has ever seen. 

Stephen Conway is a professor at UCL and a specialist in British and American history in the 17th and 18th centuries. He has published books on war, the state and society in Britain, Ireland and North America.