America at 250: how royalists became revolutionaries

As part of our series marking 250 years since American independence, we feature British historian Adam Smith. In 1775, war broke out between the British and the American colonists. The following year, the former colonies declared themselves independent and in 1783, following a prolonged and bloody war, Britain was forced to recognise the independence of the United States. Adam Smith discusses why a former colony, populated overwhelmingly by loyal British-Americans, became revolutionaries.