Lifelong Learning Institute at Waubonsee Community College

Most of us know the American side of the Revolutionary War i.e. "taxation without representation", but what historical events shaped the English, the Colonies and the rest of Europe that led to the breach and war? How did the evolution of the English Monarchy affect the government of the colonies? How did the colonies reach a point where they thought they could take on the most powerful country in the world? Why did other European countries (most notably France and Spain) support the revolution? That support eventually would come back to haunt them. Why did the British suddenly start to tax the colonies and why did the colonist object to it so strongly?