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It took about two days for somebody to change the designation in the conflict infobox here from "British Colonial War, 1775-84" to "American Revolutionary War". Technically, that was of course a very proper thing to do- but historically it's a bit problematic. Just as the French and Indian War which began in 1754 was an American component of what most historians call the Seven Years' War and the earlier Queen Anne's War was an American component of the War of the Spanish Succession (etc.), what is commonly called the American Revolutionary War was, to a very large extent, nothing to do with either Americans (in the modern sense) or revolution. Spain, the nation seeking control of Minorca, was absolutely dependent on the wealth generated in its own American empire, and therefore had no alliance in this conflict with the 13 former British colonies in America (not recognising their independence until February 1783), but had allied itself with France as a means to restore its own control over several former colonies. For France too, support for the Americans was essentially a device to weaken and divide British power so attacks could be made on British interests elsewhere. In effect, the Americans, who were well aware of all this, conspired with the British, from 1782-3, to turn a worldwide conflict for control of British colonies back into what it had been before the French, Spanish and Dutch participation began about the end of 1775. As a result, France and the Netherlands were brought to the edge of ruin, and within a generation or so, the United States was seen as a model for the independence of Spain's colonies, thus also wrecking the Spanish economy. David Trochos (talk) 19:44, 19 December 2007 (UTC)
