The American Revolutionary War was a war fought between Great Britain and the original Thirteen Colonies in North America from 1775 to 1783. Most of the fighting was in North America and other places. The Continental Army, the rebel army, was led by George Washington and helped by France and Spain. They defeated the British Army after the British moved their attention to other matters. This happened as the British had far more lucrative colonies whilst America at the time had very little of value so they let America have it's independence so they could focus on what were richer colonies.