Well, the British may have had the superior Navy and more experience but the colonist had major geographical advantages. Also, supplies were very hard to get to the British because they had to travel over the Atlantic. Turns out war is also very expensive and a bunch of British citizens was not invested in it. One could argue that the Colonist won because of the emotional advantage, they had more to lose. Moreover, what led to the downfall of the British was blunders and tactical mistakes. The war ended at the Seige of Yorktown. Colonist was led by George Washington and French troops were led by Comte De Rochambeau.