In 1763, after the close of the Seven Years War, the French military threat was eradicated, and land was ceded to the British Empire. This marked the start of the American Revolution, as the British implemented harsh taxes to display authority. In 1765, the Parliament introduced the Stamp Act, which was met with great anger by the American colonists. In 1772, groups of colonists came together and created committees of correspondence, which led to Provincial Congresses, and in 1775, the colonist held their own Continental Congress, and in 1776, the colonists declared themselves independent from the British Empire. This led to the American Revolutionary War, which Britain lost, and the United States of America was formed.