You are 14 years old and living in Virginia in 1775. Your family came from England almost 150 years ago. Now they have a good farm in one of Britain’s 13 successful American colonies.
Are you British, or are you American? Well, you are both. But soon you may have to pick a side. Why? Britain and its American colonies are heading for war. It wasn’t always like this. For much of the 1600s and early 1700s, Britain and the colonies got along great. The colonists sold raw materials, such as lumber, to Britain. The British sold manufactured goods, such as fine furniture, to the colonists. Everyone made money. But things started to go bad in the 1760s. From 1754 to 1763, the British had fought a war against the French in America. Britain won, but the war had cost a lot of money. Britain wanted the colonies to help pay. Many colonists did not like that. Inspired by ideas from the Enlightenment, they rebelled.
