It was just meant to be a night out

America’s Revolutionary War was formalised on 4 July 1776, when the original group of 13 North American British colonies unanimously adopted and proclaimed the Declaration of Independence. This was no precipitous or impulsive act, however. Instead, it was the culmination of a series of events that spanned more than a decade. While history records Paul Revere’s famous journey from Boston to Lexington in 1775, it largely ignores the fact that two other men rode with him. Image: Alamy The initial tensions were felt in 1763, after the French and Indian War, as the Crown increased its burden on the colonies to help pay for the conflict, while also imposing other hardships and injustices