The British ruled over the colonies by bringing over British leaders and later they used their soldiers to rule with martial law. The British treated the colonists very unfairly, they would tax all the American goods and import British goods. The British soldiers have murdered many of the citizens. The colonists felt like the British were trying to enslave them. The British took away many of the Americans freedoms and even though most of them came from Great Britain they were not considered to be British citizens. All the citizens were forced to pledge allegiance to the British crown. This is what led to the outbreak of the war in 1775. The war started as the colonists decided to revolt from Great Britain's rule.