Territorial evolution of the United States 1976, the transferred land was minuscule (ranging in size from 1 acre to 646 acres) and uninhabited. Territorial evolution of the United States The United States of America was created on July 4, 1776, with the declaration of independence of thirteen British colonies. Their independence was recognized by Great Britain with the Treaty of Paris of 1783, following the American Revolutionary War. This effectively doubled the size of the colonies, now able to stretch west past the Proclamation Line to the Mississippi River. This land was organized into territories and then states, though there remained some conflict with the sea-to-sea
British Empire In the Second World War, Britain's colonies in East and Southeast Asia were occupied by Japan. Despite the final victory of Britain and its allies, the damage to British prestige helped to accelerate the decline of the empire. India, Britain's most valuable and populous possession, achieved independence as part of a larger decolonisation movement in which Britain granted independence to most territories of the empire. The transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997 marked for many the end of the British Empire. Fourteen overseas territories remain under British sovereignty. After independence, many former British colonies joined the Commonwealth of