4.Discuss the reasons, development and consequences of the War of Independence (1775-1783).

The Seven Years' War cost Britain a lot of money and a lot of politicians reasoned that the colonists should sustain (поддерживать) the expenses of the war effort. Heavy taxes were introduced on sugar, coffee, textiles and other imported goods. Britain was worried by America's growing economy and possible competition. So she did everything to harass['hærəs] (беспокоить) this development. The Quartering (деление) Act forced the colonies to house and feed British soldiers. The last of the measures of the new financial system was the Stamp Act of 1765 which provided that special stamps were to be attached to all newspapers, pamphlets, leases or other legal documents. It aroused the hostility (враждебность) of most of the American population. Representatives from nine colonies met and convened (созывать) the "Stamp Act Congress" demanding that "no taxes ever have been or can be imposed on them", and that it "sub­verted (свергать) the rights and liberties of the colonists". Opposition was so widespread that the British government was forced to repeal (анулировать) the Stamp Act. At the same time British soldiers were sent to Boston where tension was high. The most popular slogan of the day was "No taxation without representation". The colonists demanded that taxes only be introduced with the consent (согласие) of colonial assemblies. To defuse the situation the British government abolished many of the new taxes except that on tea. This led to new confrontation which served to drive the colonies into war against the Mother Country,

On the night of December 16, 1773, a band of men boarded three British ships lying at anchor ['æŋkə] (якорь) in Boston harbour and dumped 342 crates[kreɪt] of tea into the waters of the port. They took this step as a form of protest. The British parliament responded by imposing the "Intolerable (невыносимый) Acts" and closing the port of Boston to all shipping.

In September 1774, the First Continental Congress was convened in Philadelphia. The Congress urged colonists to boycott British trade and to organize units of militias [mɪ'lɪʃə] (народное ополчение) to oppose the British army. Quite soon the growing confronta­tion broke into open fire. On April 19,1775 the commander of the English garrison ['gærɪs(ə)n] (гарризон)in Boston sent a unit of sol­diers to the town of Concord to seize arms stored by the colonists. At the village of Lexington['leksɪŋtən] the first battle was. A major exchange of fire took place leaving 8 dead and 10 wounded. This was "the shot heard round the world" which led to the American War of Independence (1775 — 1783).

In May 1775, a second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and assumed the powers of a national government. It formed a Continental Army and Navy under the Command of Colonel George Washington. The Congress printed its own paper money and sought to establish diplomatic relations with foreign countries. On July 2,1776, the Congress finally decid­ed "that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states".

Thomas Jefferson, together with others, drafted a Declaration of Independence, which the Congress adopted on July 4,1776. The Declaration not only announced the birth of a new nation, but also set forth (вперед) the principles of human freedom. In particular, the philosophy of John Locke was universalized into the natural rights of humankind that men have a natural right to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit [pə'sjuːt] (стремление)of Happiness", that governments can rule only with "the consent of the governed", that any government may be replaced when it fails to protect the rights of the people. However, these inalienable (неотъемлемый) rights did not apply to millions of Negro slaves, and the institution of slavery continued to exist.

It was one thing to proclaim independence, but another to win independence. At first the war did not go well for the American army. At times it seemed that the British army of Redcoats would win, but little by little the situation changed when the American army was joined by thou­sands of volunteers. In October 1777 the British army under General John Burgoyne suf­fered heavy defeat at Saratoga in northern New York. After this victory France seized the opportunity to humble (унизить) Britain. A Franco-American alliance was signed in February 1778. The Americans began to receive financial and military help from France, and the French navy supported the Americans at sea.

In 1781 at Yorktown 8,000 British troops (войска) under General George Cornwallis were surrounded by a French fleet from the sea and a combined French-American army under George Washington. Soon after­wards the British government asked for peace. Britain finally recognized the independ­ence of the United States by signing the Treaty of Paris in September 1783. All the ter­ritory north of Florida which was returned to Spain, south of Canada and east of the Mississippi River formed the United States of America. The 13 colonies were now free and independent. The events of the War of Independence are also termed as the American Revolution because with the formation of the United States a republic was established as a result of the struggle of the American colonists who overthrew (свергать) a monarchy based on colonial exploitation and denial [dɪ'naɪəl (отказ)]of civil and political rights. The American people cherish the democratic gains of the American Revolution. Moreover, the American Revolution had a great impact on the development of events in Europe, helping to trigger['trɪgə] (инициировать) the French Revolution of 1789.