american war of independence

For once, this page is relatively uncontroversial. It’s an oversimplification, but the general gist is right. The Americans got fed up of taxation without representation. Sugar was highly taxed thanks to the Molasses Act and the Sugar Act, as were printed doucments such as newspapers, thanks to the Stamp Act. War broke out in 1775 and the Declaration of Independence was signed on the fourth of July 1776 by thirteen states. The Americans then referred to their new country as the United States of America, but that wasn’t fully internationally recognised until the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which officially ended the war. And that didn’t stop the USA going to war with Britain again in 1812. As for New York, the British did indeed capture the city under the leadership of William Howe, and remained there until the end of the war. Diseases such as smallpox were a continual problem, with some estimating more soldiers died from disease than from the actual fighting. And in 1776, many of the prisoners of war captured by General Howe in New York died of starvation. As for the Iroquois - not so straightforward. Like the British and the colonialists, the Iroquois weren’t a single homogenous body with one mind. To start with, the Iroquois Confederacy tried to stay neutral, while allowing its member tribes to decide for themselves which side they might support. This naturally split the Confederacy. After the end of the war, thanks to an ill-thought-out treaty, the Iroquois Confederacy as a whole was forced to cede its lands in Pennsylvania and New York, while those who fought for the British were resettled in Canada to form what became the Six Nations of the Grand River. Like the previous couple of pieces, I’ve no idea when exactly it was written. All I know is it was before the end of my second term. Mainly because the next piece in the book was written at the beginning of my third. I briefly returned to the story of New York some time after that, in April or May. FURTHER READING American Revolution (1765-83) American Revolutionary War (1775-83) Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) Independence Day (July 4) New York and New Jersey Campaign (1776-77) Iroquois

September 1979 - March 1980

The American War of Independence

< Under English Rule

Manhattan Island Under English Rule The American War of Independence My Way to School Back to New York The Beginnings of Paris The Story of the Earth The Planets How the World is Changing Shape Rocks and Fossils The Seas How the Sea Shapes the Land The Nature Trail Way of Insect Watching What is Prehistory?