The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War in the United States, was the military rebellion against Great Britain of Thirteen American Colonies which joined together as the United States of America in July 1776. Originally limited to fighting in those colonies, after 1778 it also became a world war between Britain and France, Netherlands, Spain, and Mysore. The war had its origins in the resistance of many Americans to taxes imposed by the British parliament, which they held to be unlawful.