Consequences of the American Revolution

This 1796 map shows Canada's emerging borders, created by the successful defence of the provinces of Québec and Nova Scotia during the American Revolution.
By William Faden, 1796
Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada, NMC 24667

In 1778, France joins the war and sends fleets and regiments across the Atlantic to help the Americans. Following a major Franco-American victory at Yorktown in 1781, the British government decides that the war has been lost. They open negotiations with the Americans, and recognize American Independence at the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

In Canada, British victories at Québec City and Fort Cumberland had saved the provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia from conquest, annexation and defined the border with the United States. In the next century, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Upper and Lower Canada united to form the new Dominion of Canada.