How & why exactly did the Revolutionary War start?
The war actually started long before the colonists declared it a revolution. Many of the colonies had been upset with Britain over taxes being levied for everyday items such as paper (playing cards, writing paper, etc.), while they were receiving no representation in British government. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the tax on tea. Remember the Boston Tea Party? The Battle of Lexington was the first of the shots fired. Many of the colonists hoped for a resolution with Britain. Many colonists did not want to break with Britain. Only after the colonists realized that Britain was fully intending to invade the colonies, and force their cooperation at gunpoint, did the colonists decide that Britain could not be negotiated with.
