I suppose a crash course in American Revolutionary History is in order.
It is to this day an absolute miracle and an act of providence that 13 colonies beat the worlds greatest army. It was a 50-1 long shot and they staked their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor for the remote possibility of self governance.
https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/american-revolution
The following is from the link above.
"The American Revolution was an epic political and military struggle waged between 1765 and 1783 when 13 of Britain’s North American colonies rejected its imperial rule. The protest began in opposition to taxes levied without colonial representation by the British monarchy and Parliament. As the political disagreements grew, they triggered a perpetual cycle of defiant acts and punitive laws that led to open rebellion. With the assistance of France, the American colonies were able to defeat the British, achieve independence and form the United States of America.
From 1754 until 1763, the British colonies and France fought an expensive land war on the North American continent known as “The French and Indian War.” To recoup these expenses and raise funds to replenish their coffers, the British government enacted a series of new taxes. Until the Stamp Act of 1765, some taxes were proposed, and others were enacted and withdrawn. This was the first tax imposed directly on the 13 American colonies. Benjamin Franklin testified before Parliament that the tax was too high and that the colonies had already done more than enough to support the French and Indian War. That same year, the group known as the Sons of Liberty was established.
In 1767, Parliament imposed the Townshend Acts, which placed a duty on several essential goods, including tea. A year later, the Liberty, a sloop owned by John Hancock, was seized on suspicion of smuggling. The growing unrest following this event led to the Occupation of Boston by British troops in 1768. The tensions in Boston came to a head on March 5, 1770, as a mob gathered around a group of soldiers guarding the Custom House. The unruly protestors threw snowballs and other debris at the soldiers. Amid the chaos and without a direct order, the soldiers fired into the crowd, killing five men and wounding six others in what would be known as the Boston Massacre. John Adams successfully defended the soldiers, but patriots like Samuel Adams, John’s cousin, used the event to garner support for the independence movement.
The Tea Act was passed in 1773 to financially assist the struggling British East India Company (EIC) by placing a small tax on tea. Many colonists opposed the tax and continued to support James Otis Jr.’s position of “taxation without representation is tyranny.” The EIC secured passage of the tea via consignees in the American colonies. Seven ships were sent to the colonies carrying the cursed tea. While attempts in other cities were successful to send these ships back to England, three ships landed in Boston. Over a three week period, many town meetings were held to discuss the volatile standoff between citizens and Governor Hutchinson. On December 16, 1773, the final town meeting moved from Faneuil Hall to Old South Meeting House because of the overwhelming crowd size. Numerous speakers, including Samuel Adams, debated the issue. Toward the end of the meeting, after sensing no resolution, the crowd headed to Griffin’s Wharf. Members of the Sons of Liberty, some loosely disguised as Mohawk Indians, climbed aboard the ships and threw 340 tea chests overboard. This act of defiance later became known as the Boston Tea Party.
The British responded to the Boston Tea Party by passing the Coercive, or Intolerable Acts, as they were known in the American colonies. Not everyone agreed with Boston’s actions, causing the other colonies to rally in defense. Patrick Henry would give a speech in Spring of 1774 in the Virginia House of Burgesses supporting the cause of freedom, which included the oft-quoted passage, “Give me liberty or give me death.” The cause of independence was also championed in later writings, such as Thomas Paine’s 1776 pamphlet, Common Sense.
The growing tensions prompted the British monarch to declare Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion and ordered that the American patriots be disarmed. A British unit left Boston Common and marched on nearby Lexington to capture rebel leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock as well as their cache of weapons and ammunition. A prearranged signal of light from the steeple of the Old North Church, “One if by land, two if by sea,” alerted Paul Revere and William Dawes to ride toward Lexington and Concord to spread the alarm that the British soldiers were on the way. Minutemen first engaged the British in open combat on April 19, 1775 on Lexington Green where “the shot heard ‘round the world” was fired. Prior to this skirmish, Captain John Parker uttered the phrase, “if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”
Two months later, colonists fortified Bunker Hill in Charlestown. During the assault by British forces, the Continental Army soldiers were steadied with the order, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” A lack of ammunition forced the colonists to withdraw. It was during the battle that Joseph Warren, the physician who sent Paul Revere on his ride, was killed. George Washington assumed leadership of the Continental Army on the Cambridge Common on July 3, 1775. "
Technically, the revolution starts when those leading the revolt 'declare' their independence. That does not happen until 1776 when all 13 colonies sign their covenant called the Declaration of Independence.
