The American Revolutionary War, fought from 1775–1783 between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the thirteen "United Colonies", was the culmination of the political American Revolution, whereby the colonists overthrew British rule.
In early 1778, shortly after an American victory at Saratoga, France entered the war against Britain; Spain and the Netherlands joined as allies of France over the next two years. French involvement proved decisive, with a French naval victory in the Chesapeake leading to the surrender of a British army at Yorktown in 1781.
The Treaty of Paris in 1783 ended the war and recognized the sovereignty of the United States over the territory bounded by what is now Canada to the North, Florida to the South, and the Mississippi River to the west.