Even many British histories of the war tend (understandably) to gloss over this subject
In the eighteenth century, the British Empire was the most powerful nation in the world. It had a powerful army and navy, and controlled massive amounts of territory. It greatly outnumbered the American rebels, and even had many American Loyalists on its side. Thus, one might have expected the British military to win the day in this struggle. Yet, at the end of this conflict, the British permanently lost their thirteen American colonies. Why is this? Many explanations have been proposed, such as the poor decision-making on the part of their military leaders – and I should acknowledge that this was indeed a factor. Other factors have also been cited, such as the British failure to win the hearts and minds of the American people. But, for many historians, one factor stands out above all of the rest. This was the series of alliances between the American rebels and certain of the major European powers. The most famous of these alliances is probably that which the Americans would form with the French. However, the Spanish and the Dutch would also eventually be joining the war on the American side. The British even had to face a few enemies in India, and fight a world war in many different places.
The Royal Navy relief at the Great Siege of Gibraltar – Europe, 1782
Thus, here’s the part of the American Revolution that your history classes never told you
The standard histories of the American Revolution usually avoid covering these things, or mention them only in passing. Even Richard Holmes’ “Rebels & Redcoats: How Britain Lost America” focuses almost entirely on the North American campaigns. Thus, Mr. Holmes only covers the French participation … when it becomes relevant to these more prominent campaigns in North America. For example, Holmes covers the naval battle of the Chesapeake, which was off of the coast of Virginia. Mr. Holmes also covers the French participation in the final battle at Yorktown, which was on land. But campaigns elsewhere in the world are mentioned only in passing in his own history. Therefore, even many of the standard British histories have tended to pass over this turbulent international context. This is understandable, because the campaigns in North America have tended to be the most prominent – even for the British. But their wars elsewhere in the world saw some ferocious battles and campaigns for the British, and a clash of empires on a massive scale. Indeed, the war was actually fought on four different continents. Thus, I would like here to dive into the Revolution’s fascinating international context. In so doing, I will try to offer my own perspective … on why America was ever able to gain her independence, at this time or at any other. This will also help to explain why the mighty British Empire ultimately lost the American Revolution.
A British sortie in the Great Siege of Gibraltar – Europe, 1781
Background on prior British wars with the Dutch, the Spanish, and the French
Our story begins back in the seventeenth century. In that eventful century, England fought a series of three wars with Holland, mostly on the high seas. England had also fought many wars with Spain in centuries past. And, as you may know, England had also fought near-countless wars with the French (as I describe here). The English and the French then duked it out in the Nine Years’ War. They would then fight each other again in the “War of the Spanish Succession.” This also involved an English conflict with Spain. In this latter conflict, the English managed to take the strategic location of Gibraltar. To put it bluntly, this was a bitter loss for the Spaniards. During this same conflict, England and Scotland were united together into the “Kingdom of Great Britain.” After this same war, Britain would fight Spain again in the “War of the Quadruple Alliance.” Britain would also fight Spain again in the late 1720s. Britain then faced France again in the War of the Austrian Succession. This also involved the “War of Jenkins’ Ear,” where Britain yet again faced Spain. Most importantly, the British and the French faced each other again in the Seven Years’ War. Among other places, they clashed at the Battle of Plassey in India. The British and their local Indian allies won the day in this famous battle. Thus, the French had now been kicked out of India. In 1759, the British and the French also clashed in Canada. It was called the “Battle of the Plains of Abraham.” Again, the British military carried the day in this struggle. Thus, with the stroke of a pen, Canada was turned from a French colony into a British colony. The French had now been kicked out of Canada as well. In many ways, the French were thus smarting from their wounds. Starting in 1762, the Seven Years’ War also involved another brief war between Britain and Spain. But this larger “Seven Years’ War” soon ended. Thus, there was a Treaty of Paris in 1763. This was soon followed by a British war in India, with the local “Sultanate of Mysore.” It was called the First Anglo-Mysore War. This war would last from 1767 to 1769.
The British seize Gibraltar from Spain, 1704 – during the War of the Spanish Succession
A British war in India breaks out in 1775, a month before the North American war
But it was another local Indian power … that would be the next to occupy Britain’s attention. This was the “Maratha Confederacy.” Specifically, the First Anglo-Maratha War broke out in March of 1775. The war in America broke out roughly a month later, in April of 1775. Specifically, its first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord. Thus, the British campaigns in North America were already coinciding with a war in distant India. From the British perspective, this war in India might have seemed like a fairly minor war. Initially, the British even had reason to see the war in America as a fairly minor war. But the American ambassador, Benjamin Franklin, soon arrived in Paris after independence was declared. Franklin had been humiliated by the British some years earlier, in a part of Parliament known as the Cockpit. Now, it was the perfect time for Franklin to get his revenge on his former countrymen. Specifically, Franklin was on a mission to get France to enter the war on the American side. In this period, Benjamin Franklin thus tried to lay the groundwork for some later American diplomacy with France.
A British officer surrenders to the Maratha Confederacy – India, during the Anglo-Maratha War
After a British army surrenders, France agrees to support the Americans in 1778
But Franklin’s diplomacy initially fared somewhat badly. Although the French people personally liked Dr. Franklin, King Louis the Sixteenth was initially somewhat skeptical that the Americans could win. But the king’s mind was soon changed in 1777, after two battles at Saratoga. At the end of these two battles, an entire British army surrendered to the Americans. Thus, King Louis the Sixteenth formally received Benjamin Franklin into his court. Therefore, France finally entered the war on the American side, starting in June of 1778. For France, it was the perfect moment to get their revenge for the earlier Seven Years’ War. As mentioned earlier, France had been kicked out of India and Canada. Now, God willing, the British would likewise be kicked out of America. The French even began to send some financial aid to the besieged Americans. But the Americans later sent another ambassador: John Adams. To put it bluntly, John Adams caused some friction with the French in this role. Thus, the Continental Congress eventually sent Adams to negotiate with Holland instead. More about that Dutch diplomacy later on in this post. In the meantime, the French started to press the British hard, in many other parts of the world. The battlegrounds eventually ranged from the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean … to the somewhat-more-distant East Indies.
The Battle of Martinique between British and French fleets – Caribbean, 1779
Spain enters the war in 1779, and the Great Siege of Gibraltar begins soon afterwards
In June of 1779, Spain decided to join the war on the American side. Thus, the Spaniards struck the British at Gibraltar in that same month. It was the beginning of the “Great Siege of Gibraltar.” By number of combatants, this would be the largest battle of the war. It is also the longest siege ever endured by the British military, lasting for more than three years. In September of 1779, John Jay became the first American ambassador to Spain. In this capacity, John Jay eventually convinced the Spaniards to financially support the Americans. Eventually, the Spanish would try to take West Florida from the British, and even support the Patriot side in the nearby American South. And the French would ultimately send some reinforcements to the Spanish at Gibraltar. As Wikipedia puts it, Spain would also eventually fight the British in the Bahamas and Central America. (see source) The Spaniards would also fight the British in Louisiana, Alabama, Missouri, Illinois, and Arkansas (among many other places). These last five places would later become part of the United States.
The sortie made by the garrison of Gibraltar in 1781, as painted by John Trumbull
Holland enters the war in 1780, affecting Southern Africa – and the war changes in India
Eventually, John Adams’ aforementioned diplomacy with the Netherlands started to bear fruit. Thus, the Dutch entered the war on the American side in 1780. The Dutch military also financially supported the Americans. The British now had yet another foe. They would face the Dutch military again in India, Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka), and Sumatra (which is in Indonesia). The British would also face the Dutch military in the Caribbean, and in the Cape Colony in Southern Africa. At this moment, Britain was still fighting the Maratha Confederacy in India. And, in that same year, another war broke out for the British in India. It was with another old enemy, the aforementioned “Sultanate of Mysore.” Specifically, the Second Anglo-Mysore War would break out in 1780. This was probably the low point of the war for the British cause. They were now fighting two local powers in India, plus the rebels in America and three major powers in Europe. This had some important consequences for the Royal Navy out at sea. Specifically, there were some naval conflicts in many of the world’s oceans and seas. There was also some land fighting, on a number of Caribbean islands. In the Mediterranean, the French and the Spaniards took the island of Minorca in 1781. In May 1782, the British were then able to make a peace with the Maratha Confederacy in India. But they still had their hands full from fighting these powerful European foes. Moreover, Britain’s other war with the local “Sultanate of Mysore” was still going on in India.
The British capture of St Eustatius (a Dutch island in the Caribbean), 1781
In 1783, the Americans, the French, and the Spaniards each make their separate peace
Benjamin Franklin was initially opposed to making a separate peace with the British. Franklin liked the French, and was reluctant to cut them out of the deal. But the French soon proved ready to negotiate away American independence at the bargaining table. Thus, John Adams and John Jay were soon able to convince Dr. Franklin to make a separate peace with the British. Therefore, the Americans finally managed to do so in September of 1783. It was called the “Treaty of Paris.” As Wikipedia puts it, Great Britain ceded generally “all mainland territories east of the Mississippi River, south of the Great Lakes, and north of the Floridas to the United States.” (see source) King Louis the Sixteenth was initially furious about how the Americans had made this separate peace with the mutually-hated British. But Benjamin Franklin somehow managed to smooth things over with the French king – a better subject for another post. When Franklin had signed the peace treaty with Britain here, he wore the same clothes that he had worn when the British government humiliated him in the Cockpit in Parliament. Referring to his clothes, Franklin thus said that he was now “giving them some revenge” (or words to that effect). But, later in that same month, the French then made their own peace with the British. Like many other treaties, it was called the “Treaty of Versailles” (not to be confused with a later, more infamous, treaty). In this treaty, the British also ceded the Caribbean island of Tobago to France. Later on, the British would also be ceding the African territory of Senegal to France. Also in September of 1783, the Spaniards were likewise making their own peace with Britain. Thus, the British ceded Minorca, West Florida, and even East Florida to Spain. Thus, many European powers were now getting their revenge on the British.
The Battle of Pollilur (India, 1780) – part of the Second Anglo-Mysore War there
France fights the British in the Battle of Cuddalore – Indian Ocean, 1783
But the war with the Dutch continues until 1784, as does Britain’s leftover war in India
The British war with the Netherlands dragged on until 1784. Finally, in that same year, the British were able to make peace with Holland. And the British were somewhat more successful in their negotiations with the Dutch. That is, the Dutch Republic ceded Nagapatnam (a town in India) to the British Empire. This may have been because the Dutch were now basically fighting the British on their own at that point, and had to take what they could get. Also in India, the British were finally able to make peace with the “Sultanate of Mysore” in that same year: 1784. In 1786, Britain made another treaty with Spain. This was the “Convention of London.” In this treaty, the Mosquito Coast and the Bay Islands (in what are now Nicaragua and Honduras) were ceded to Spain. Eventually, a region in Central America (modern-day Belize) was also demilitarized as a result of these treaties. Britain’s leftover wars from the American Revolution … were now finally over. However, there would soon be some other conflicts in India in the years to come – including more conflicts with the Mysore and the Maratha. In Europe, the French would soon become embroiled in their own revolution at home. And Britain and France would soon be facing each other again, in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Other British wars with Spain were fought during and since these last two conflicts.
Another Royal Navy relief at the Great Siege of Gibraltar – Europe, 1782
Conclusion: The British definitely had their hands full during the American Revolution
Our Revolution’s international context is usually forgotten today. And, again, even many serious historians are often compelled to gloss over it. But the British had made many enemies in the previous few decades. And, during the American Revolution, it started to catch up with them. These are some of the many places where these great conflicts were fought. The British Empire thus found itself a little over-extended during this war. To me, these are the most important reasons that the British permanently lost their thirteen American colonies. This is a fascinating topic in its own right. It helps you to understand many things, including the Revolution’s effects elsewhere in the world. It’s rife with its own brand of human drama, both for the Europeans and for their former colonies. And it helps to explain why the thirteen colonies were eventually able to gain their independence from the British Empire. The war was ultimately a great victory for the United States, which benefited from having so many allies at the crucial moment of its birth.
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Part of a series about
British military history
Korean War 1950-1953
Other wars to be covered later
Other wars to be covered later
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