1776: American Independence

When Britain imposes a series of taxes on its North American colonies, a violent protest movement erupts. Parliament's forceful attempts to quell the unrest only enflame the once-loyal colonists, and they take their first steps toward independence.

Slavery is still legal across all thirteen American states in 1776, and tens of thousands of Black Americans take matters into their own hands by fleeing from bondage, sparking the largest slave rebellion in modern world history up to this point.

To crush the rebellion, Britain assembles the largest invasion force ever to set sail from Europe. Outgunned and outnumbered, the American army battles for survival, while General Washington contemplates the possible collapse of the American cause.

Thanks to the diplomacy of Benjamin Franklin, France comes to America's aid. When Benedict Arnold turns traitor, he sets off the final desperate campaign of the war: a British invasion into the heart of Virginia.

Long-running tensions between Native nations and North American colonists erupt into open warfare. Although some Indigenous people side with the Americans, the majority see Britain as the better ally in a desperate fight for sovereignty.

The British surrender at Yorktown, and 60,000 war refugees flee North America. In treaty negotiations that follow, the United States gains control over a vast swath of the continent as Native nations and European powers reckon with a new world order.