Editing British Empire (section)

=== Loss of the Thirteen American Colonies ===
{{Main|American Revolution|American Revolutionary War|Decolonization of the Americas|British North America|History of Canada (1763–1867)|War of 1812|}}
During the 1760s and early 1770s, relations between the Thirteen Colonies and Britain became increasingly strained, primarily because of resentment of the British Parliament's attempts to govern and tax American colonists without their consent.{{Sfn|Ferguson|2002|p=84}} This was summarised at the time by the colonists' slogan "[[No taxation without representation]]", a perceived violation of the guaranteed [[Rights of Englishmen]]. The [[American Revolution]] began with a rejection of Parliamentary authority and moves towards self-government. In response, Britain sent troops to reimpose direct rule, leading to the outbreak of war in 1775. The following year, in 1776, the [[Second Continental Congress]] issued the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] proclaiming the colonies' sovereignty from the British Empire as the new [[United States of America]]. The entry of [[France in the American Revolutionary War|French]] and [[Spain and the American Revolutionary War|Spanish forces]] into the war tipped the military balance in the Americans' favour and after a decisive defeat at [[Siege of Yorktown|Yorktown]] in 1781, Britain began negotiating peace terms. American independence was acknowledged at the [[Peace of Paris (1783)|Peace of Paris]] in 1783.{{Sfn|Marshall|1996|pp=312–223}}

The loss of such a large portion of [[British America]], at the time Britain's most populous overseas possession, is seen by some historians as the event defining the transition between the first and second empires,{{Sfn|Canny|1998|p=92}} in which Britain shifted its attention away from the Americas to Asia, the Pacific and later Africa.<ref>For a review of the historiography of the concepts of the first and second British Empires, see: Robin Winks and Wm. Roger Louis (eds.), [https://academic.oup.com/book/7007 ''The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume V: Historiography'' (Oxford Academic:  1999)], chapter 2 ([[P. J. Marshall]], "The First British Empire"), and chapter 3 ([[Christopher Bayly|C.A. Bayley]], "The Second British Empire").</ref> [[Adam Smith]]'s ''[[The Wealth of Nations|Wealth of Nations]]'', published in 1776, had argued that colonies were redundant, and that [[free trade]] should replace the old [[Mercantilism|mercantilist]] policies that had characterised the first period of colonial expansion, dating back to the [[protectionism]] of Spain and Portugal.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pagden|2003|p=91}}; {{Harvnb|James|2001|p=120}}.</ref> The growth of trade between the newly independent [[United States]] and Britain after 1783 seemed to confirm Smith's view that political control was not necessary for economic success.<ref>{{Harvnb|James|2001|p=119}}; {{Harvnb|Marshall|1998|p=585}}.</ref>

The war to the south influenced British policy in Canada, where between 40,000 and 100,000{{Sfn|Zolberg|2006|p=496}} defeated [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalists]] had migrated from the new United States following independence.{{Sfn|Games|2002|pp=46–48}} The 14,000 Loyalists who went to the [[Saint John River (New Brunswick)|Saint John]] and [[Saint Croix River (Maine – New Brunswick)|Saint Croix river]] valleys, then part of [[Nova Scotia]], felt too far removed from the provincial government in [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], so London split off [[New Brunswick]] as a separate colony in 1784.{{Sfn|Kelley|Trebilcock|2010|p=43}} The [[Constitutional Act 1791]] created the provinces of [[Upper Canada]] (mainly [[English Canada|English speaking]]) and [[Lower Canada]] (mainly [[French Canadians|French-speaking]]) to defuse tensions between the French and British communities, and implemented governmental systems similar to those employed in Britain, with the intention of asserting imperial authority and not allowing the sort of popular control of government that was perceived to have led to the American Revolution.{{Sfn|Smith|1998|p=28}}

Tensions between Britain and the United States escalated again during the [[Napoleonic Wars]], as Britain tried to cut off American trade with France and boarded American ships to [[Impressment|impress]] men into the [[Royal Navy]]. The [[United States Congress]] declared war, the [[War of 1812]], and invaded Canadian territory. In response, Britain invaded the US, but the pre-war boundaries were reaffirmed by the 1814 [[Treaty of Ghent]], ensuring Canada's future would be separate from that of the United States.<ref>{{Harvnb|Latimer|2007|pp=8, 30–34, 389–392}}; {{Harvnb|Marshall|1998|p=388}}.</ref>