The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or the American War of Independence, was initiated by delegates from thirteen American colonies of British America in Congress against Great Britain. The war was fought over the issue of American independence from the First British Empire. Engagements took place in North America, the Caribbean Sea, and in the seas surrounding England: the North Sea, the Irish Sea, and the English Channel.
From their founding in the 17th century, British North American colonies were largely left to govern themselves under charters granted by the English Stuart Kings and guaranteed by the English, then the British Parliament. They traded with the Mother Country primarily in Boston, Philadelphia, Charleston, Bermuda, Bahamas, and Jamaica, and with various other colonies and European powers via their Caribbean entrepôts.
The Stamp Act and Townshend Acts provoked colonial opposition and unrest, leading to the 1770 Boston Massacre and 1773 Boston Tea Party.