All wars are important, but the American Revolution has to be up there in terms of impact on global history. To think we could still be obsessing about a queen and tea instead of football and Disney World is a bit disconcerting. Anyway, here’s a quick numbers-style rundown on the war that made America independent. To help out, I used this book.
7
The number of years that the aptly titled Seven Years’ War lasted (1756-1763). This conflict between Great Britain and France for global dominance had a North American theater called the French and Indian War (that actually lasted nine years!). While the Brits were victorious—giving the French the boot from North America—they also ended up a bit strapped for cash.
King George III of Great Britain felt that the country’s American colonies should share in the costs of the war, imposing a series of highly unpopular taxes without providing the colonists representation in the British Parliament, giving rise to the rallying cry No taxation without representation. It’s safe to say that relations deteriorated over the subsequent decade.
1775
The year the American Revolution began, marked by the first military engagements between British soldiers and colonial militiamen at the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. One of the shots fired is occasionally referred to as the shot heard round the world (though other historical events have earned the same terminology). The night before these clashes was the famed Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (and others), during which he warned of British plans to seize military supplies that had been stockpiled by colonists in Concord, thus giving the militiamen ample time to prepare.
By the next year, a formal Declaration of Independence had been penned.
13
The number of American colonies involved in the war, namely Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia. As such, the first American flag had 13 stars and 13 stripes.
20
A rough estimate of the percent of colonists who remained loyal to the British throne during the American Revolution, giving rise to the term Loyalists (as opposed to the pro-independence Patriots) and explaining why some view the initial stages of the conflict as a civil war.
6
The number of countries involved in the war (keeping in mind that modern-day borders don’t exactly match those of the time). Obviously, the primary participants were what would become the United States and Great Britain, but the former also received help from the French, the Spanish, and the Dutch. The Brits, on the other hand, were assisted by hired German soldiers (see below). Native Americans were involved on both sides.
30,000
The approximate number of German troops hired by the British to fight on their behalf. As many of the mercenaries hailed from the German states of Hesse-Cassel and Hessel-Hanau, the moniker Hessian was applied.
20,000
An estimate regarding the number of African Americans who fought on behalf of the British in exchange for the promise of freedom from slavery. About 9,000 African Americans were on the Patriot side, many for the same reason.
1778
The year France became the first country to formally recognize the colonies as the independent United States of America. (You might be starting to see a pattern of the French trying to stick it to the British.) By 1781, the colonies had instituted the Articles of Confederation, a precursor of sorts to the US Constitution.
1783
The year of the official end to the war, marked by the Treaty of Paris. (Historians often place the unofficial end in 1781 after a decisive, French-assisted victory in Yorktown, Virginia.) By 1789, a young United States was operating under a government as outlined in the aforementioned Constitution, considered by some to now be the oldest active constitution in the world.
1
As in the first president of the United States, that being George Washington, unanimously elected in 1789 by the Electoral College (established by the Constitution) to fulfill that role. The rest, as they say, is history.
Epilogue: By 1959, the US had grown from 13 to 50 states, with a minor hiccup from 1861-1865 when 11 of them wanted to form their own country (also known as the other Civil War). The nation hasn’t forgotten its violent beginnings, currently serving as home to more guns than people. In keeping with the spirit of the American Revolution, the guns have yet to pay taxes.
4 Responses
Thank you so much for the information. Any estimate as to the number of people who gave their lives during this revolution?
The numbers are very approximate, as in perhaps 25,000 – 70,000 deaths on the American side from battle, disease, etc. Given the modest population of the time, those numbers are proportionately quite large. In terms of the British side, the numbers are just as approximate, with 25,000 being a guess.
this is a very informative article indeed, summarized in one page.
Thank you!