| UNITED STATES |
French-American alliance formed |
| Battle of Monmouth (June) |
| French-American forces fail to remove British from Newport, Rhode Island |
| GREAT BRITAIN |
British forces leave Philadelphia |
| FRANCE |
French-American alliance formed |
| France goes to war with Britain |
| French-American forces fail to remove British from Newport, Rhode Island |
| SPAIN |
Americans defeat British along Mississippi with Spanish munitions and aid |
| Spanish observers scout Pensacola for attack |
| DUTCH REPUBLIC |
|
| INDIA (MYSORE) |
British East India Company captures Pondicherry |
| UNITED STATES |
Battle of Stony Point, New York (July) |
| French-American forces fail to remove British from Savannah |
| U.S. privateer John Paul Jones captures HMS Serapis off Britain |
| GREAT BRITAIN |
|
| FRANCE |
French navy captures Grenada |
| French-American forces fail to remove British from Savannah |
| Joint French-Spanish expedition fails to invade Britain |
| SPAIN |
Spain joins France in war against Britain |
| Spanish capture Mobile and Baton Rouge |
| Joint French-Spanish expedition fails to invade Britain |
| DUTCH REPUBLIC |
|
| INDIA (MYSORE) |
British East India Company captures Mahé |
| UNITED STATES |
Continental Army surrenders Charleston to British |
| Patriot and Loyalist Americans in South begin fighting each other, resorting to guerrilla warfare tactics |
| GREAT BRITAIN |
Caribbean hurricanes destroy British fleet |
| Britain gains control of much of Georgia and South Carolina |
| FRANCE |
Caribbean hurricanes leave French and Spanish fleets largely intact |
| France sends army to United States under General Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau |
| SPAIN |
Spanish navy captures major British convoy in Atlantic |
| DUTCH REPUBLIC |
Britain declares war on Dutch Republic (December) |
| INDIA (MYSORE) |
|
| UNITED STATES |
Articles of Confederation ratified (March) |
| Battle of Yorktown (September–October) |
| GREAT BRITAIN |
British leave West Florida |
| Battle of Yorktown |
| FRANCE |
Battle of the Chesapeake (September) |
| Battle of Yorktown |
| SPAIN |
Spanish capture Pensacola |
| DUTCH REPUBLIC |
Britain captures Sint Eustatius in Caribbean |
| Dutch and British navies battle to a draw at Dogger Bank in North Sea (August) |
| INDIA (MYSORE) |
French support of Mysore collapses |
| British victory at Porto Novo (modern Parangapetti) |
| UNITED STATES |
United States begins separate peace negotiations with Britain |
| GREAT BRITAIN |
Britain agrees to give United States favorable peace terms |
| FRANCE |
British defeat French naval forces at Battle of the Saintes in Caribbean (April) |
| British capture Admiral François-Joseph-Paul de Grasse in Caribbean |
| SPAIN |
Spanish and French capture Minorca from British |
| Spanish and French forces fail to defeat Britain at Gibraltar |
| DUTCH REPUBLIC |
Dutch Republic recognizes United States |
| INDIA (MYSORE) |
French Admiral Pierre André de Suffren arrives in India to support alliance with Mysore |
| Joint French-Mysore campaign captures Cuddalore |
| Tipu Sultan succeeds his father, Hyder Ali |