Well, it all started after the 7 years war (the french and indian war) the British gov was unsure about what to do with the newly acquired Northwest territory in the Ohio river valley. So they told the colonists that they shouldn't cross the Appalachian mountains. this is known as the proclamation of 1763, this upset the colonists, so to support the massive British army and to pay debts mounted in the 7 years war they began taxing the colonists first with the stamp act then the the quartering act, forcing colonists to give up their beds for British soldiers, eventually a tax on tea was enforced leading to the Boston tea party. The British responded with the intolerable acts, effective sealing off Boston harbor this really upset the colonists especially in the port city of Boston. One thing led to another, Lexington and Concord, and the Declaration of Independence.
