When did the American Revolution begin?

Tensions between Britain and its 13 American colonies had grown for years over taxes and representation, including protests such as the Boston Tea Party of 1773. On 19 April 1775, British troops marched to seize colonial weapons at Concord, and fighting broke out at Lexington and Concord. The first shot is remembered as 'the shot heard round the world'. The colonies declared independence on 4 July 1776. The war effectively ended after the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781 and was formally concluded by the Treaty of Paris in 1783.