Who declared war on Great Britain?

Answer 1

The colonists of the British Thirteen Colonies declared war on Great Britain in the act of their decleration of Independence. When the decleration was made on the 4th July 1776 and rebelled against Great Britain. This means that the United States actually declared war on Great Britain, not the other way around.

The above is not really true. Neither the colonists nor the British government ever formally declared war on each other- the war just sort of "happened". The Declaration of Independence was not a declaration of war, it was a justification for the war that they were already fighting and for seeking independence from Britain. The war started in April 1775, and the Declaration was ratified in July 1776- over a year later.

The British saw the war as a rebellion against their rule, so if they had issued a formal declaration of war, it would've been a tacit admission that the Colonies were not part of their country (you don't declare war on yourself)- this is the same reason why the North did not declare war on the South during the Civil War almost a century later. The Colonists, on the other hand, had no reason to- they were already fighting, so issuing a declaration would've been a total waste of time.

However, other countries did join up and formally declare war on Great Britain or vice versa. In 1778, France made an alliance with the Colonies, and when they informed Britain of it, Britain declared war on them. The next year, Spain allied with France and declared war on Britain. The Dutch also joined the war, but I can't remember who declared war on who in that instance.