Describe two key events that led colonists to declare independence from England.

The American Revolution was a revolution in the second half of the 18th century, during which the Thirteen British Colonies in America, which today form an area along the American east coast, seceded from Britain and established the United States of America as a federal republic.  

The events occurred as the colonies opposed increased taxation after the French and Indian War, when the military threat from France against the English colonies ceased. The colonies believed that they could not impose new taxes without consent. Britain believed that the colonies had to pay a significant part of the costs to defend them and therefore increased taxes. It was very unpopular, not least because the colonies were not represented in the British Parliament. The imposition of customs duties and stamp duties triggered a crisis and culminated in the Boston Tea Party in 1773, after which the British Parliament sent British troops to Boston and closed the city's harbor, curtailing Massachusetts' autonomy. This prompted the colonies to form the Continental Congress, which coordinated the resistance and gave George Washington the lead over hastily organized troops. During this period, the thirteen colonies rallied against the British Empire and began a period of armed conflict, known as the American Revolutionary War, between 1775 and 1783.