THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

 The European countries, Spain, Portugal, France, Holland and England were vying for colonies after the industrial revolution. In 1497 John Cabot had landed on the Northern part of America and 27 years later in 1524 Giovanni Verrazano has visited these coasts. While Cabot sailed under the English flag, Verrazano sailed under the French flag but both were Italians. So England and France proclaimed themselves as the owners of the continent.

During the 17^th century initially 10 English colonies have been formed between Maine and the Carolinas. They were generally a refuge for colonies of sects of English dissenters. The Puritans founded the colony of New England (the current states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut & Rhode Island) in the year 1620 and the Quakers founded the colony of Pennsylvania in 1681. They were initially small colonies bordering the sea where people wanted to start a new life away from Royal interference.  As for the French colonies, they always remained under the French crown. The English colonies therefore represented an advance over their French counterparts. They were freemen nominally recognizing the suzerainty of England.

While English colonies represented the English middle class who wanted to settle in the country, the French colonies were represented by crown representatives of France who wanted to later go back to France.

The French had discovered the mouth of Saint Lawrence in the 16^th century. From the region of the Great lakes they worked their way down the continent to Mississippi and built several fortifications along that line. After a century of exploration about 60 French forts have cut the English colonies from the interior of the continent to the west of them.

The English land grants made to various trading companies mentioned the continent from sea to sea. However, this is merely on paper and the English hold ended where the French fortifications began.

As long as the Stuarts reigned over England there was no problem between England and France. The Stuarts needed the Bourbons in France to cut the power of the Parliament and make themselves autocratic.

In 1689 the last of the Stuarts rule has ended in England and it fell in the hands of the Dutch William III who was a great enemy of Louis XIV of France. From then onwards till the treaty of Paris in 1763, England and France fought for possessions in North America as well as India. During these wars the English navy always beat the French navy, so by the time the war ended French had lost most of their possessions in North America and virtually the entire continent fell into British hands.

Only a small part of this vast continent was inhabited. From Massachusetts in the North to the Carolinas and Virginia (the tobacco raising provinces) stretched a thin line of sparsely populated territory. The men who lived there are totally different from the citizens of England who lived in the home country. They learnt self reliance and independence. They are hard working people because no ordinary person could sustain the hard travails that may befall them in the long sea journey to North America.

The British government started annoying the colonists by trying to control them. They in turn started annoying the British government. The colonists ultimately took to arms to have their own say in their affairs. King George III, the then English monarch hired German soldiers to subdue the American colonists.

In June 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed a motion in the continental Congress to the effect that they are now left the allegiance to the British crown and all relations with them are dissolved. This motion was seconded by John Adams of Massachusetts. That was followed by the declaration of Independence which was the work of Thomas Jefferson. 

The first 13 colonies which started the war:

1.       1. New Hampshire

2.       2. Massachusetts

3.       3. Rhode Island

4.       4. Connecticut

5.       5. New York

6.       6. New Jersey

7.       7. Pennsylvania

8.       8. Delaware

9.       9. Maryland

1       10. Virginia

1       11. North Carolina

1       12. South Carolina

1       13. Georgia.

There were 7 men who were its ideologues and founders of the current USA. Among them the first 4 listed served as the first 4 Presidents of the United States. They are

1.       1. George Washington

2.       2. John Adams

3.       3. Thomas Jefferson

4.       4. James Madison

5.       5. Alexander Hamilton

6.       6. John Jay

7.       7. Benjamin Franklin

The war between England and the American colonies started in 1776 and lasted 7 years. During the war the victory of the colonists seemed doubtful. A great number of people in the cities proved to be loyal to the English king. They wanted to compromise and were willing to sue for peace. However, George Washington stood guard like a colossus on the side of the colonists thwarting any such bid.

Well assisted by some brave men he used his determined but poorly equipped armies to fight with the king. Whenever defeat seemed certain, his strategy turned the tide of battle. His men were not properly fed and did not have any winter clothing and shoes and lived in dugouts. But their trust in Washington was absolute and they stuck with him till the time of victory unquestioningly.

While Washington was winning victories with his armies, it was Benjamin Franklin who looked on the money side. He was in Europe getting money from the French Government and the Dutch bankers in the first year of the revolution.

The news of this reached Europe along with news of the adoption of a constitution in 1787 (first of all written constitutions). At that time Europe was a place where the lower sections are held in check with great power by the nobility and the kings. The dynasties of kings were at the Zenith of their power. The success of the American Revolution gave great hope those oppressed peoples. This in turn had an electrifying effect on the people of France who then had their revolution in 1789.