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Throughout the war, the British were able to use their naval superiority to capture and occupy a few coastal cities, but control of the countryside (where most of the population lived) largely eluded them. General [[George Washington]] built a new American army from scratch and made effective use of short-term militia volunteers as well. After a decisive American [[Battle of Saratoga|victory at Saratoga]] that turned the tide in 1777, France, with Spain and the Netherlands as its allies, entered the war against Great Britain. A French naval [[Battle of the Chesapeake|victory in the Chesapeake]] allowed Washington to trap the main British army at [[Siege of Yorktown|Yorktown]] in 1781. Its surrender effectively ended the land war. The [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] in 1783 recognized the independence of the United States.<ref>Higginbotham, ''The War of American Independence'' (1983) ; W. J. Wood, ''Battles of the Revolutionary War, 1775–1781''. (2003).</ref>
===Armies, militias, and mercenaries===
The [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriots]] (called also the "rebels", "Congress Men," "Whigs" or "Americans") had the active support of about 40 to 45 percent of the population. About 15 to 20 percent supported the British Crown during the war and were known as [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalists (known also as "King's Men" or "Tories")]]. Loyalists fielded perhaps 50,000 men during the war compared to 250,000 patriots. <ref>Percentage of Loyalists and Patriots: Robert M. Calhoon, "Loyalism and Neutrality" in ''The Blackwell Encyclopedia of the American Revolution'', p. 247; number of troops: Mark M. Boatner, ''Encyclopedia of the American Revolution'', p. 264, 663.</ref>mexico
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