The American Revolution

For the British, an expanded empire meant new responsibilities and new costs. The British government wanted to tap American revenues to pay for American necessities, and consequently increased taxation with the Stamp Act (1765). Although the British considered the act to be perfectly fair, many American colonists saw it as a violation of their rights. After riots in the colonies, the Stamp Act was repealed, but other taxes soon replaced it, setting off a controversy in which the colonies united against Britain in the Continental Congress. A skirmish (['skɜ:mɪʃ] стычка) at Concord, Massachusetts, in April 1775 deteriorated into general fighting, and in July 1776 the Congress issued the Declaration of Independence. During the American Revolution that followed, the Congress controlled most of the land area, but the British were secure in their stronghold in New York until their position was weakened by a defeat at Saratoga [‘særə'təugə] (1777), which encouraged France to intervene on behalf of the rebellious colonists. British resistance ended at Yorktown, Virginia, in October 1781.

This defeat marked not only the end of the American war, but also the end of the First British Empire. Yet because France had not been able to challenge British supremacy at sea, Britain’s losses did not extend beyond the American colonies themselves. At the same time, the British presence in Canada was reinforced by the establishment of the colony of New Brunswick, resulting from the migration northwards of over 30,000 citizens of the American colonies who were still loyal to Britain.