LE SOLEIL DE LA FLORIDE
Mensuel de juillet 2026 By: Gérard Charpentier Date: juin 22, 2026
Monthly edition July 2026 / englishNEWS
The title of this article may seem rather strange, since today it is common to consider July 4, 1776, as Independence Day in the United States of America, but this is not entirely accurate in terms of the chronology of events.
To properly analyze the historical significance of this date, it is important to put it into context, because in 2026, readers unconsciously imagine the event in relation to what the United States of America is today— that is, the world’s leading power, a vast territory—the third largest in the world—stretching from east to west from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, with a population of 340 million, and so on. But on July 4, 1776, the United States of America, as we know it today, did not exist. So what was the situation, more specifically?
1763: The Treaty of Paris brings an end to New France
In effect, it established Great Britain and Spain as the two dominant European colonial powers in the Americas. Overall, New France was divided between these two European powers.
The area west of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, extending to the Gulf of Mexico (the region of New France known as West Louisiana and the city of New Orleans), went to the Spanish, whose influence then extended to the southern tip of South America. The area east of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi (the eastern region of Louisiana, Canada, and Acadia, as well as other territories) went to the British, constituting “British North America,” which now encompassed the 13 English “Colonies” of America located along the Atlantic coast, which alone were home to more than one million people.
1765: Start of the uprising in the English “13 Colonies” of America
In 1763, the British Crown found itself with a vast colonial empire in North America, which would very quickly become difficult to manage—especially since the United Kingdom’s finances were at an all-time low following the Seven Years’ War and the wealthy colonists of the “13 Colonies ” (the states of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania) refused to pay more taxes to replenish London’s coffers. The conflict came to a head as early as 1765—just two years after the Treaty of Paris—with the declaration in the House of Commons of “No taxation without representation” and the convening of the “Stamp Act Congress”; following the failure of these parliamentary negotiations, the conflict spilled out into the streets.
A fratricidal struggle would ensue between two mercantile oligarchies: that of the wealthy American colonists—who, it must not be forgotten, were British subjects—and that of the British monarchy.
The revolution that followed had no ideological basis, but rather an economic one, which was quite different from the “class struggle”-type revolution that France would experience from 1789 to 1799.
Among the most violent events and clashes were:
– March 5, 1770: the “Boston Massacre”;
– June 9, 1772: the destruction of the “HMS Gaspee” in Rhode Island;
– December 16, 1773: the “Boston Tea Party”;
– April 19, 1775: the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, two events that marked the beginning of an armed conflict;
– September 1775 to January 1776: Failure of the attempt to invade Canada;
– March 1778: Defeat at the naval battle of Barbados.
July 4, 1776: Unilateral declaration of independence by the
“13 Colonies” of British America, which seceded from the British Empire.
Until 1783, when this independence was officially recognized, the terms “Continental Congress,” “Continental Army,” and “Continental Navy” were used, and one could even speak of the “Continental United States of America” to refer to the structures of this emerging new state comprising the 13 Colonies.
Very quickly, France became indirectly and secretly involved with the insurgents, leading up to the signing in Paris on February 6, 1778, of the “Treaty of Alliance between France and the United States” and the “Treaty of Friendship and Commerce between France and the United States.” France, the only country to have supported the insurgents, now officially aided the American Revolution in its efforts, continuing to do so until the final victory.
Here are the key events to note:
– The first French expedition on American soil under the command of Admiral d’Estaing (July 1778 to November 1778 and September/October 1779);
– The Marquis de La Fayette enlisted in the Continental Army under George Washington’s command. First military campaign (June 1777 to January 1779) and
second military campaign (April 1780 to December 1781);
– The Hermione in the service of the insurrection (May 1780 to December 1781);
– Second French expedition to American soil under the command of the Count de Rochambeau. From July 13 to 19, 1780, the French army landed. A total of 12,000 people had to be landed and settled in Newport, RI, and the surrounding area—twice the local population. All the regiments would leave American soil in January/February 1782, following the victory at Yorktown.
1781: Convergence of land and naval forces toward Virginia. Siege and victory at Yorktown
– July/August 1781: Lafayette was in Virginia, where he surrounded the British commander Cornwallis
stationed at Yorktown;
– September 4 and 5, 1781: Washington’s and Rochambeau’s armies joined forces with Lafayette’s army in Williamsburg, having been joined by Admiral de Grasse and General Saint-Simon the previous month.
– September 29, 1781: The combined forces march to encircle Cornwallis’s British army at its encampment;
– October 19, 1781: Surrender of Marquis Charles Cornwallis, commander of the
British army at Yorktown, after 21 days of fighting. The war is over.
September 3, 1783: Official birth of the United States of America with the simultaneous signing of three treaties in Paris and Versailles
– Treaty of Paris: signed at the Hôtel d’York, 56 rue Jacob, Paris 6th arrondissement, between the British government and the “13 Colonies.”
Article 1 of the treaty recognizes the 13 colonies as free and sovereign states, thereby ending the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783).
– Treaties of Versailles: signed at the Palace of Versailles. They ended the wars between Great Britain and France (1778–1783), Spain (1779–1783), and the Netherlands (1780–1784).
It would not be until:
– April 30, 1789, that George Washington, the first president of the United States of America—comprising the 13 colonies—officially took office under a constitution that had been carefully drafted over the previous six years;
– March 4, 1791, that Vermont became the 14th state of the United States of America;
– February 27, 1801, for the District of Columbia and the city of Washington to officially become the capital of the United States;
– 1945, for the United States of America to become the world’s leading power following World War II, thanks to its economic and military superiority;
– August 21, 1959, when Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States of America.
Sources: Le marquis de Lafayette, la France et l’Amérique by Gérard Charpentier (2020) and http://www.wikipedia.org
Ordre Lafayette - USA 