The French and Indian War (Seven Year War as it is known in Europe) (1756-1763) gained territories for England, but was very costly.  When Spain joined the French in that war, England Occupied Havana; the occupation lasted eleven months and did not extend to the rest of the country; at the end of The French and Indian War, Havana was exchanged for Florida.

To try to recoup the financial cost of The French and Indian War, England imposed various taxes to the 13 colonies, notably the Stamp Act of 1765, The Townshend Act of 1767 and the Tea Act of 1773.

The result was The Boston Massacre of 1770, where 5 colonists died, The Boston Tea Party of 1773, after which in reprisal, Britain passed the Coertive Acts.

The First Continental Congress of September 1774, where Washington of Virginia, John and Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, Patrick Henry of Virginia and John Jay of New York met to decide what to do, but before they met for the second time, hostilities broke out; on 18 April 1775  British troops marched from Boston to Concord to sieze a cache of arms, Paul Revere and others galloped ahead to give the alarm and they clashed on the following day, firing the “shot heard round the world” that meant the start of the Revolutionary War.

The Second Continental Congress, now with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson as additional delegates, voted to form a Continental Army, with Washington as its commander in chief. On June 17, in the first major battle, the colonial army inflicted heavy casualties on the British regiment of General William Howe at Breed’s Hill in Boston. The engagement, known as the Battle of Bunker Hill, ended in British victory, but was the baptism of fire for colonial forces. 

Washington kept the British in Boston; later, after capturing artillery piedces at Fort Ticonderoga, he was able to route them out of Boston.  The British evacuated the city in March 1776, with Howe and his men retreating to Canada.  

To crush the rebellion, Britain sent a large fleet and 34,000 troops; in August the attacked Long Island, in September Washington was forced to retreat across the Delaware river, but with a brilliant move, he counterattacked at Trenton, New Jersey, on Christmas Night, later on Princeton; both victories greatly elevated the morale of his troops, before retreating to winter quarters at Morristown.

General John Burgoyne’s army marched south from Canada, meeting with Howe’s forces on the Hudson River. Burgoyne retook Fort Ticonderoga, Howe went south to fight Washington near Chesapeake Bay. The British defeated the Americans at Brandywine Creek, Pennsylvania, on September 11 and entered Philadelphia on September 25. Whashington attacked Germantown before retreating to winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.   

Francisco de Miranda, born in Venezuela, graduate of the French Military Academy, admired by Napoleon, lover of Catherine The Great of Russia (of German origin), with access to all the European Courts, popular, good looking and withe gift of gab, was in Havana at this time and convinced Cuban ladies --who at the time had no access to cash or other assets-- to donate jewelry to the cause of the American Revolution.  He and others raised about 1.2 million Pound Sterling, delivered to George Washington at Yorktown, where his troups were in dire need:
https://medium.com/illumination/the-ladies-of-havana-dcfbc6e6badb

 General Horatio Gates defeated Burgoyne at Freeman’s Farm in the first Battle of Saratoga. After suffering another defeat on 7 October 1777 at Bemis Heights (the Second Battle of Saratoga), Burgoyne surrendered his remaining forces on 17 October 1777
France had been covertly  helping the Colonials since 1776, but after the Battle of Saratoga, when it was evident the tide had turned, they overtly proclaimed their aid and in June 1778 declared war on Britain, the revolution turned into an international war.   

While at Valley Forge, besides the financial support of The Ladies of Havana, Washington's troops benefitted from training by Baron Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian sent by the French and by the presence of French aristocrat Marquis de Lafayette. 

Henry Clinton had replaced Howe and when he left Philadelphia on 28 June 1778, Washington attacked near Monmouth, New Jersey, after that, there was a relative stalemate in the north.

Benedict Arnold's defection and a mutiny in the Continental Army were serious setbacks; British troops occupied Georgiaby early 1779 and captured Charleston, South Carolina in May 1780.  Lord Charles Cornwallis won a battle against General Gates at Camden in August, Colonial forces defeated loyalists in October at King Mountain, Nathaniel Green took over from Gates in December. General Daniel Morgan  won a battle against British Colonel Banastre Tarleton at Cowpens, South Carolina, on January 17 1781; by the fall of that year the Britsh had withdrawn to the Yorktown penninsula, where the York river ended near Chesapeake Bay. With the support of French General Jean Baptiste de Rochambeau, Washington moved against Yorktown with a total of around 14,000 soldiers, while a fleet of 36 French warships offshore prevented British reinforcement or evacuation. Trapped and overpowered, Cornwallis was forced to surrender his entire army on 19 October 1781. 

The forces of General Jean Baptiste de Rochambeau and his fleet of 36 ships blocking Yorktown were again in dire need of funds, troops had not been paid, so Francisco de Miranda and others once more raised much needed funds in Cuba and Haiti, act that helped keep then there while General Washington's 14,000 troops attacked the Yorktown Penninsula,what was in effect the last major battle of the war. 

On 3 September 1783, Great Britain formally recognized the independence of the United States in the Treaty of Paris. Britain signed separate peace treaties with France and Spain, which had entered the conflict in 1779, bringing the American Revolution to a close.