Install Raid for Free ✅ IOS/ANDROID/PC: pl.go-ga.me/laj2whyd and get a special starter pack with an Epic champion ⚡Knight Errant⚡ Available only for new players 🎃 Take part in the Halloween event and get your gift at raidyard.plarium.com/ 👻 Sign up for Armchair History TV today! armchairhistory.tv/ Merchandise available at store.armchairhistory.tv/ Armchair Historian Video Game: store.steampowered.com/app/1679290/Fire__Maneuver/ Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/armchairhistorian Discord: discord.gg/thearmchairhistorian Twitter: twitter.com/ArmchairHist
"As the ship lay in Boston Harbor, a party the colonists dressed as red Indians boarded the vessel, behaved very rudely, and threw all the tea overboard, making the tea unsuitable for drinking. Even for Americans."
One could argue that the reason the colonies were slipping away was because of the leeway they were offered as compared to other colonies (India for example)
@@TheRealForgetfulElephant Absolutely not, the Management of India was horrific and a massive net negative that still sours indian-british relations to this day. The Americans wanted to remain part of the British Empire but Parliament had other ideas.
William Pitt the Elder, one of if not the greatest British Prime Minister, responsible for steering Britain to victory in the 7 Years War, supported America. He wholeheartedly sympathised with the colonies, opposed conflict, and tried to give the Ammericans what they wanted. "You cannot conquer America. If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foriegn troop was landed in my country, I would never lay down my arms, never! Never! Never!" "I rejoice that America has resisted." - William Pitt the Elder.
@@Joker-no1uh William Pitt the Elder did aknowledge that Americans were Americans, but he also acknowledged they were subjects of the British crown, himself saying he would never take up arms against a fellow subject.
I knew this guy, John H. Davis, who was my history teacher during high school and he introduced me to his book that he wrote, World Upside Down: The Road to Yorktown, 1781 in which it details the British perception of the American Revolutionary War. It was a fantastic read and really opened my perception on history!
When I was writing my senior thesis for my degree in history, I found a very good source on the war. It was a 2 volume set published in the 1880's-1890's. It was very interesting on its views on the British, the Americans, and people like Benedict Arnold.
Then at Yorktown, Cornwallis claimed to be too sick to offer the surrender so he sent someone else out to do it. That one then tried to surrender to the French general, who refused and directed him to Washington. Washington jn turn refused and directed him to a General Lincoln. Cornwallis was eventually sent to command a British army in Ireland and took out his humiliation on the Irish.
I very much appreciate that the Great Siege of Gibraltar got a big mention. This is one of the most overlooked aspects of the American War of Independence and had a huge impact on the wider conflict. Would love to see a video about the siege!
As a Brit who lives near Gibraltar, I very much agree. I've been there many times and it's truly an awesome place to visit (especially the rock tunnels)
The most overlooked aspect of the American War of Independence is the fact that more Americans died as British prisoners of War than on the battlefield. The horrific British prison ships have been largely airbrushed out of American history.
@@warrenpaine Many colonists actually fought on the British side during the war (I say can colonists instead of Americans because they technically were still British at the time)
@@oliversherman2414 The people may have been under British rule but the population itself was already a melting pot even in those days. Predominantly English yes, but the colonies also had sizeable numbers of people of Dutch, German, Irish, French Huguenot and Scotch ancestry.
I think what a lot of Brits ignore about the stamp act is that it wasn’t just that you had a tax to get the stamp on your paper goods. The stamp was only placed on goods in Britain so the burgeoning paper industry in the Americas could no longer sell their product locally. Instead, their only option was to ship to Britain at whatever price the British wanted. For consumers of paper, instead of buying locally they instead had to import British paper from across an ocean. Paper ends up being bulky and heavy so the shipping costs alone were astronomical. So while the people back in Britain had to pay a similar tax on paper goods, the tax was only a small portion of the cost incurred. So while some will argue people in Britain were paying more in taxes than those in America, this ignores the fact that the British economy was set up to keep prices low in Britain and extremely high everywhere else.
I wouldn't call that the most important part of it... it more importantly directly put jobs under the aegis and whims of british officials as anything published, books, newspapers and anything written to a court or governor including anyrthing done by the local parliaments as they were had to be on stamped (actually watermarked) paper or they could shut down your business. That amounts to an enormous power increase to any attempts at censorship... Now think back how many American "Founding Fathers" had either a stake in publishing (e.g. Benjamin Franklin) or were Lawyers...
The paper nonsense was ridiculous, yeah. I still feel that the colonies were much more opportunistic than noble and righteous, as people in Britain weren't really represented or taxed fairly, and the simple quantity of space afforded to the colonists for the same kind of life British folks had; with the protection of the superpower's military and stability; seems like a frankly excellent deal for that time in the world.
One thing to remember is that many colonists incurred debts during and after the Seven Years War. Mainly due to militia service, financing the war effort, wars with Native Americans, and reconstruction. This is something the British Parliament didn't factor with the taxes, with those most affected eventually joining the Patriot side and less affected individuals being more Loyalist.
They also didn't factor in how British mercantilism caused heavy economic stagnation in the colonies, making the tax burden have a greater impact against the already struggling colonists.
The United States and France were joined by Spain in 1779 and the Dutch Republic, while Britain had no major allies of its own, except for the Loyalist minority in America and German auxiliaries. Opposition to the costly war was increasing, and in June 1780 contributed to disturbances in London as the Gordon riots.
This is very misleading. The crown employed nearly 30,000 Hessians, 25,000 Loyalists, and 13,000-15,000 Native Americans. While no "major" European powers took up arms in support of the crown, to suggest these were minor allies is disingenuous. The Continental Army and Navy already had to contend with the best army and navy of the era, on top of the tens of thousands of auxiliaries employed by the British through their allies. These allies were extremely important to the British war effort from the onset of the war, whereas the French joined almost two years in, and only after the Continental victory at Saratoga.
@@DirtyMikeandTheBoys69 So 30,000 auxiliaries, extra British troops essentially, 25,000 of their own subjects and 14,000 Indians versus America, France, Spain and the Dutch? Hmmmm.
France, Spain, and Dutch didn't participate in the war. Their contribution was financial only, and like France only contributed militarily in the final few years in few battles. For almost all of the war, it was actually just Americans fighting against the British Empire including the Loyalists and the Canadas, the Iroquois Confederacy, and the Holy Roman Empire that contributed with 7 of it's states sending Hessian troops. Just America against other Americans called Loyalists in a civil war and against Great Britain and two other nations, Holy Roman Empire and Iroquois. That is a massive allied advantage for the British. The French barely participated, meanwhile the Spanish and the Dutch never participated.
I wish you talked more about the effect the events the revolutionary period had on colonists too. The governor of Massachusetts at the time, who actually leaned pro-independence, was forced from his home by a riotous mob and had to flee to England on Evacuation Day along with many others. Benjamin Franklin’s son was governor of New Jersey and a Loyalist and the two would become estranged. There was a lot of neighbor vs neighbor fighting between Loyalist colonists and Patriots and some pitched battles between militias, most significantly at King’s Mountain.
Then you add the Southern theater where most of the war was a personal civil war. Where you joined one side or the other because the guy you hate joined the other.
@extantfellow46 Yeah you're definitely right and I was hoping they do other parts of history. Hell maybe a little of prehistory like the Neolithic era would be kind of cool.
@@extantfellow46 Or maybe a video about native Americans and how conflicts were fought in North America before nations or countries came in to colonize it.
I really like your highlighting of the French involvement. After France and Spain declared war, the American theatre became far less important, Britain had to keep a large number of troops in the home islands to prevent a French invasion, and had to defend the West Indies. I remember one statistic, I shall have to look up the source, that 90% of the American muskets at the Battle of Saratoga were French, before official French involvement in the War. The French foreign minister Vincennes has established a shell corporation that funneled money and weapons to the Americans as early as 1776, and the Yorktown campaign was not Washington's plan. Washington wanted to continue to attack New York, and it was the commander of the French reinforcements who convinced him to march on Yorktown and trap Cornwallis. American independence would have been impossible without French involvement
@@revs81 No he's right it would have been impossible. With the British Army winning multiple victories and a large chunk of the colonies population being loyalist, the end result would have been a British victory. Throw in two world powers like France and Spain, then it becomes possible for the rebels to win
Don't forget that the Spanish did the same thing in 1775 with a company specifically set up to send muskets, cannons, uniforms, and silver. In fact, De Grasse was stuck in Havanna and could not sail to Yorktown because he had run out of money to pay his sailors. The legend is that the Spanish ladies of Cuba sold their jewelry to finance the French fleet that eventually defeated the British. The real story was that the ladies held several fund-raising parties and basically passed the hat around. So, remember the Victory of Yorktown was facilitated by the French fleet, paid for by Spanish ladies of Cuba.
@@arwing20 which is why when people say if it wasn't for US the UK would be speaking German my response is without France you still would be subjects of the crown
Another key factor that devastated the war effort was the capture of a large British convoy bound for the southern colonies by Admiral Cordova in 1780. This forced two things to happen: 1- Cornwallis moves to Yorktown and 2- the Spanish take back Florida in the battles of Mobile and Pensacola. Also, it was Spanish money that allowed the French West Indies fleet to move out of Saint Domingue under Spanish protection and fund the Yorktown campaign
As a Brit who lives near Gibraltar, I love that you mentioned the Great Siege of 1779 - 1783. Many people (especially Americans) seem to forget that there was active fighting in Europe as well as North America at the time
@@oliversherman2414 Yes they would, the 2 wars in india they had in that time period included more enemies then the british fielded. The second Anglo-Mysore war and 1st Anglo-Maratha war
@@oliversherman2414 Oh in America specifically certainly however I would point out that the only way to win in America is to have naval superiority which sure means France and Spain (and the Dutch) but we shouldn't ignore the naval resources having to be diverted to fight 2 wars thousands of miles from home in the opposite direction.
As a Brit that recently got my US Citizenship, I realize just how much the place you inhabit can have an impact on how you view your allegiances/values/culture. One example is that I’m convinced that the natural (mostly rural) environment of the US informed a lot of views that colonial Americans held towards the industrial mother country. It’s much alike how the South (rural) saw the North (urban) in the US civil war. Unless they’ve lived it, the other side will never truly understand their opponent and there will naturally be disagreements despite the shared ethnicity, etc.
I totally get it. I emigrated to the Appalachians, and I’m now working in DC. I miss the mountains a lot. There’s something very special about being in touch with nature like that, as well as having the ease of access and lack of stress that come from small towns. Colonial America was like 80% rural while it was quite literally the opposite in the UK. I totally would not want some inbred noble trying to infringe on already established norms and values. And I totally understand now that this is why rural areas distrust government so much due to the origin story of their relationship with it and the colonial government. It’s the only “real” America in my eyes for that reason.
I've lived in the big city and the rural country. The latter is far better in all aspects. Never wish to return to the city. In rural America, you meet some of the most down to earth, friendly, and passionate people. America is still alive in it's rural areas. Welcome to the United States, btw!
Love that you included Pontiac's Rebellion in this video, an event waaay too often forgotten, which exaccerbated those financial troubles listed, and lead to actions like the Proclamation of 1763 which was King George's bold idea to prevent future attacks on colonists which obviously backfired.
I love there's no intro this time. Just straight to the meat of it. From the pacing to the quality of the animation, alit has improved so much over the years and I'm glad channels like this is still going strong.
Growing up mostly in American schools, when students asked the teachers why anyone at the time would have been a loyalist, the answer was typically something like "The British and the loyalists saw the British as having taken care of the colonies like a father would care for his son, and so they perceived the rebels as ungrateful and traitorous"
@@tiagodecastro2929But that's just it, any group of responsible human beings don't want their government to be a mother or a father figure. We aren't children, we can determine our own economic and social policies dependent on our unique circumstances. If anything the ideal position of a government in society is that of an employee, tasked with carrying out the will of the people from whom they derive what power they have. That's how it works in America, that's why we've been so successful.
We don't care really as you're still our Anglophonic brothers even if we fought a couple wars against you a few hundred years ago. At the end of the day, it was our ancestors who fought not us personally and so I think most Brits would say publicly they don't like Americans but really no one actually cares. There are of course select people who do hold grudges but those people will find themselves left behind in a world of increased globalisation. Just because you might see the British public making fun of Americans doesn't mean we hate you at all. We do it to all cultures, just as they do it to us for our past transgressions in history. I hope our two countries going forward can carve a world of peace and prosperity of the doomed world of imperialism. Love from England.
Britain was so powerful, they could move their armies and send reinforcements across the Atlantic, using their naval fleets, even 250 years ago! You have armies today, that won’t be able to organize an amphibious landing of a single battalion, let alone be able to actually make it happen. Whereas, those guys were sending redcoats across the Atlantic in the 1770s and 1780s. Damn! That’s impressive.
We get it, the US military is massive and the British Armed Forces are small but to say we couldn't land a single battalion? We have an entire amphibious commando brigade, 5 amphibious assault ships and 2 aircraft carriers. Moreover, the Falklands War and the Second Gulf War show that we very much can conduct large amphibious operations. Just nowhere as big as the US.
Funny that today they control a small island or however you want to label it. After dominating and controlling 2/3’s of the planet just a few hundred years ago.
@@willfakaroni5808 I’m not disputing that. The Proclamation of 1763 covers the entirety of the Appalachians. Not just the Allegheny as the video states.
There’s Plan Red which was a planned war on Britain. Even after fighting a war against the Central Powers, there was that like what the person above me mentioned
@@als3022 They make plans for literally anything and everything. The US military even has a plan for a zombie apocalypse. They're just kind of practice scenarios created by junior officers.
Can we please get an animated history of the civil war in El Salvador? I only know some things that I’ve heard from my family, but I never ask out of respect/not wanting to bring up their traumatic memories.
Maybe some Scandinavia wars in the future? Outside of our viking history I feel like we are quite forgotten despite all those conlicts we had against each other.
You might be surprised at how many people know about the wars Sweden has been involved in, and their conflicts with Russia. And of course there are many families from the American Midwest that had blood ties to Scandinavia. In the east, not far from me in New Jersey is Swedesboro, famous for having been founded by Swedes and Finns decades before the United States became a country.
History buffs would know, but I don't think most Americans could name a single war that Sweden was a part of. All they know about is the Vikings.@@majorsynthqed7374
I actually teach this history of the British empire. On the Sugar Act (Molasses Act), you neglect a few points. Firstly, it was introduced by George Grenville in 1763, in which the tax was cut from sixpence to three pence. Additionally, this indirect tax, mainly affected those in port cities, in British North America, concerning rum industry.
My family was one of those that fled to Canada from what was then Massachusetts but is now Maine. We didn't return until the 1820s. Funny this episode comes out now, I'm going to Boston next weekend to go see the sights.
Hope it's fun. I have a friend who her family were the Acadians and instead of running to New Orleans and becoming Cajuns, they ran to the frontier of Maine. And stayed there every since.
I will be fighting the battle of Camden this upcoming weekend. So perfect timing. Though few things missing here that are normally. 1. How split Parliament was on the taxation. William Pitt the Elder was a supporter of the Americans and there are theories that if he had been in better health and in the Commons rather than the House of Lords, he could have prevented it. Depends. 2. Spain paid for everything. Even the French fleet off Yorktown was paid by Spanish silver. France went bankrupt WAY before the end of the war. Spain not being a direct ally of the US, rather an ally of France gets left out. Under Bernardo de Galvez they conquered New Orleans and Pensacola. Would love to see a video on the Spanish influence during the Revolution. Also in 2014 Galvez was awarded honorary US Citizenship for his contribution.
Well told. Kudos! One thing that is often forgotten is the role of disease, especially in the southern colonies. Cornwallis had his army size reduced by 1/2 from disease alone.
"British citizens would be forced to do most of the heavy lifting in the form of a series of new and higher taxes" .... are we still talking about the 1700's here?
A British General when asked about the Americans said he was very impressed with how proficient the Americans were with their Muskets. They seemed to be able to load faster and shoot more accurately than their British counter parts. He attributed this to Americans being frontier people who handled weapons from a young age and had to shoot to live.
One fairly big error: the colonial territory map (starting at 0:26) shows Richmond as the capital of colonial Virginia, when in fact it was Williamsburg. Richmond was a small settlement during the colonial period and it wouldn't be until 1780, during the war, that the capital of an independent Virginia was formally moved to Richmond.
This was an amazing video by almost every measure! I really liked the background animations and the cool detail about Gibraltar. However, I feel like a lot of significant details of the conflict were skipped over. For example, the horrific winters of the revolutionary army at Valley Forge and... that other place a year or two later that I forgot the name of. This and some other details of just how close the colonials/Americans were to losing or at least suffering huge losses at many points might have put things into better context. Of course some of this may not be strictly relevant from the "British Perspective," but it seemed very odd to me that the Olive Branch proposal and the Declaration of Independence were hardly seconds apart, and then a little later a few years of the conflict are skipped by. A lot of characters and actions seem to step in out of nowhere without context or introduction, and some more details about how America was doing may have been more helpful for the viewer, even if the British may not have had much direct knowledge of it themselves historically. Again, great video, it just sometimes felt like a lot was missing.
I'm a Birt, I went to visit my sister who lives in the states a few years ago and happened be there on the 4th of July. It was so mental how many Americans seem to think that Brits are bothered about them becoming independent. I remember a girl saying "it must have been so embarrassing learning about it in school". I just laughed and said "no more than you learning about Vietnam". I explained that most Brits didn't care and that at the time of the war many in Britain felt for the 13 colonies. It's also interesting that many Americans seem to think that this was when the British empire began to fall, but we were not a global superpower at this point, that wouldn't come until after the Napoleonic wars. Ill just never forget how so many people on the 4th of July celebrations I went too could not believe a brit would show their face. Its such a strange thing to think someone would be bothered about. I suppose its a massive park of American history, but such a small part of ours.
@walsh451 well there's no doubt things can get lost in translation between different cultures and groups. Even groups that people assume are close or similar. The differences in comedy between the UK and the US are a perfect example.
It's good to see a broader perspective on the founding of America. Schools tend to teach an incredibly skewed version of this history, and it's up to independent creators such as these to fill in the gaps.
Yeah almost like countries tend to focus on teaching mainly their own view of things.. Brits from what I hear often online hardly learn anything at all about it.
That's why I rarely used any history text when teaching. Any teacher teaching from the book isn't doing their job. Any teacher who can't go beyond the book shouldn't be in a classroom.
@@majorsynthqed7374 ay fellow history teacher! this person gets it. Keep doing that good work. I'm sadly out of the profession but it's nice to hear there's history teachers out there putting in the hard work, because finding your own sources to teach with and research is really hard work.
As an American, I had an American History class in college that better explained the reasonings behind our separation from Britain than any history class I'd had before. The fundamental issue was the concept of representation in Parliament. The Colonists didn't feel like they were being fairly represented since they didn't get to send anyone to [the British] Parliament. Whereas the British government had the viewpoint that each member of Parliament represented everyone in the British Empire, so of course the American colonies were represented.
What about the stories of being post-[story]? Portions of the[ ]system can only be [marketed] with stories of college. Are you still able to try to avoid human slavery? Dont accept [reward].
The narration sucks…he talks in short, stilted sentences that are almost rhythmic. People just don’t talk like that. It comes across as if it were AI generated. However, the animation is great.
I'm Canadian, some of my ancestors were United Empire Loyalists who fled up here during the Revolution. While we stuck with the British Empire, I can empathize with the point of view of the American revolutionaries as well.
It has to be a tough spot, who are you more loyal to the country you always loved or the one you live in starting its own. Was probably easier for those who never even lived in England grew up in America.
@@mrhumble2937 Yeah, I don't know what it was like for my Loyalist ancestors, but it could be dangerous. If you were caught in the wrong place and the wrong time being loyal to the Crown, you could get tarred and feathered.
A slight aside: technically, the Seven Years War began in Europe in 1756, but hostilities had already been going on in North America between the French and British colonies and their Native allies since 1754. So, technically, the war started in the colonies and spread to the home countries.
Excellent video! I research the hell outta conflicts ranging all throughout history and this is absolutely the best UA-cam video explaining in detail the American revolution!
The video forgot to mention the important role of spanish forces in the american continent. They attacked british positions in the south and captured West Florida from Britain in the siege of Pensacola. This secured the southern route for supplies and closed off the possibility of any british offensive through the western frontier of the United States via the Mississippi River. Spain also provided money, supplies, and munitions to the American forces and unlike the french, they didnt get heavily undebted.
I’m surprised they didn’t mention that either, considering how much the Spanish tied up British forces in the siege of Gibraltar, Spain’s importance shouldn’t be underestimated.
The stars really aligned for US independence, from the madness of King George rejecting peace early on, to 10,000 colonial militia being able to escape encirclement because of bad weather. Even the French deciding to commit to the conflict despite being in bad shape themselves. I feel like if there really are infinite parallel universes, then the US didn’t win the revolutionary war in most of them. Which makes it all the more interesting that it happened, such an enthralling bit of history, beautifully presented as always
The british did eventually get over loosing the colonies. However, they never got over loosing Mallorca and to this day, the British return to the island every year.
Being British today I fully support why Americans wanted independence. Americans deserve political representation if they paid taxes but from a modern day perspective can Americans really say they are representated today by their government, it seems today your government perfers their own interests and the interests of foreigners over their own people. And don't you pay more taxes now than ever before but watch your society decline even more every year. In all honestly it looks increasingly that you removed a tyrant King but replaced it with the tyranny of the American elites.
While I am no fan of the US "democratic" system, I am 100% sure it's better than the political mess you brits created for yourself when voting for Brexit. At least the US foreign policies harm their enemies. UK parliament's lies ruined their own country.
Depends on how you define a decline. American manifest destiny wasn’t a global cause. Considering how Europe handled the last 1000 years and how the United States reorganized the world order in 75 I would say we are still moving successfully. We chose to give up 50% of global GDP, we don’t need it to be stronger than everyone. To your point of taxes, yeah they are high, but it’s relevant. Most Americans still have access to more money than most citizens of anywhere.
Always learn something new when I watch your videos. Did not know the Brits were fighting over Gibraltar at the same time the US was fighting for independence.
Two things about the Boston Tea Party: 1) The tax on tea was also partly motivated by the British Parliament's bailout of the East India Company, which also included selling surplus teas by consignment to Colonial merchants. 2) There were also protests against the tea tax in New York, Baltimore, Charleston & other Colonial cities; Boston was the main focus bcoz of the destruction of tea.
As an Englishman, I’ve always respected the revolution. The only pet peeve is when modern day Americans act like they themselves beat us😂 The Americans who beat the British, were themselves British at the time and still heavily Anglo influenced
@@chickenfishhybrid44 so it’s quite obvious… majority of the settlers were English/British. They weren’t Americans till after independence Noting to do with ww2
Your pet peeve sounds suspiciously like you have a problem with admitting that Americans won a war against the British.
Рік тому+12
It was an interesting video, as it's always great to get both sides' perspectives. Although, I don't know why historians always tend to omit all Spanish aid in the war (as you also did here), when many of the supplies and weapons given to support the Continental Army came from the Spanish viceroyalties, added to: the capture of the English supply convoy on August 9 of 1780 (which deprived the army in North America of men and supplies) and the reconquest of Florida by Bernardo de Gálves in the Siege of Pensacola of 1781 (which opened another front to the south to the detriment of British troops), meaning that not all the aid was French in the American War of Independence. Now, you just need to make a video about the War of 1812, which is not usually explained much on UA-cam and would be an excellent complement to this video; By the way, I'm glad that you are returning to concentrating on talking about historical topics of the Modern Age.
In the last year or two of the war Spain was pretty much paying the entirety of the bill. France was flat broke before the war was even ended. In fact, Spanish silver paid for the De Grasse fleet at Yorktown. Cuban women raised the funds. Bernardo Galvez was even awarded an honorary US citizenship in 2014 because of his help. I think the reason Spain gets forgotten is because they were never an ally of the US. They were allies of France because of the Bourbon compact. But, while they did a ton for the US financially, Spanish troops never fought with Continentals like the French did.
Рік тому+2
@@als3022 It is not necessary to fight directly alongside your ally's troops to be and ally; There are several examples in history and that is why countries ally divide up Theaters of war (so that each one is in charge of an enemy zone) and you even give reasons that greatly justify that Spanish aid was equally or more important than French aid. Furthermore, in the 18th century, Spain was always an ally of all those who faced the United Kingdom, going so far as to ally with a person as treacherous as Napoleon, in order to resist the English attacks. But, the problem here is that the United States never wanted to continue its alliance with Spain and never had any intention of doing so: it did not help in the independence struggles of Latin America and it was also the only kingdom to which the United States applied its Monroe Doctrine in the war of 1898 (which they caused unilaterally); The Cold War had to come for them to finally become military allies. The United States knew after the War of 1812 that its only way to grow was at the expense of Spain and that is why it benefited it to get rid of it: the independence weakened its neighbors to the South, which made it easier for them to annex all the territory to the North of the present-day Mexico; The war of 1898 gave them control of the Caribbean and an opening of their influence in the Pacific with the Philippines; The desire of the Panamanians to separate from Colombia opened up control of transit through the most strategic area of the Central American isthmus (the United States is not to blame for everything, only for the disaster of 1898, but it totally benefited from its non-belligerency). Because of things like that, I believe that historically the United States has been uncomfortable with accepting out loud the aid and its primary alliance with Spain, since if it did so it would look like a treacherous ally, who did not pay them well for the aid. In any case, I doubt that in this century it is necessary to maintain appearances, the past can no longer be changed, but it is possible to give deserved justice in the present to something that an ally did for the United States, because recognition is more important than a public rebuke that will never happen.
As the Honourable East India Company, im greatly displeased at one of our largest customers to be not trading with us anymore Guess Ill have to shift this tea somewhere to Europe
Great video as always, minor nitpick; the use of "La Marseillaise" as the tune for French intervention is a bit anachronistic. Yes, the French Revolution was coming in a few years, but it wasn't there yet, and "La Marseillaise" is primarily a Revolutionary song.
It's crazy that at Guilford courthouse where he met green is now in Greensboro and there's a town called Greenville and I think a couple of other towns associated with him
I wish you had covered the Massachusetts Rebellion of 1774, especially events at Worcester. This is what led to the coercive acts including the repeal of home rule of the colony. Gage was not trying to stamp out a rebellion, all but Boston was under colonist control since September 1774. He was trying to take it back.
It’s curious as the 13 colonies were settled by the very people that fought against the king in the English civil war and absolute monarchy. By the time of the American revolution Britain was the constitutional monarchy that we still have to this day.
@@Swan_River_Cowboy Virginia was established over 35 years before the civil war and Charles the 1st rule. After the restoration of the monarchy the majority of the puritans in the Church of England migrated to the colonies. All in all the people who established and ensured the British people had a voice and the king reigned but did not rule absolutely are the American founding fathers and people who the British parliament should have listened to.
Good video, but as a few others have pointed out, the the large body of water in the center of the map at 8:45 did not exist until the 1930s. The Quabbin was created by flooding 4 towns, Greenwich, Dana, Prescott, and Enfield.
Install Raid for Free ✅ IOS/ANDROID/PC: pl.go-ga.me/laj2whyd and get a special starter pack with an Epic champion ⚡Knight Errant⚡ Available only for new players
🎃 Take part in the Halloween event and get your gift at raidyard.plarium.com/ 👻
Sign up for Armchair History TV today! armchairhistory.tv/
Merchandise available at store.armchairhistory.tv/
Armchair Historian Video Game: store.steampowered.com/app/1679290/Fire__Maneuver/
Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/armchairhistorian
Discord: discord.gg/thearmchairhistorian
Twitter: twitter.com/ArmchairHist
Sus timing
Could you do the polish soviet war next??
Eloo 🦦
Can your next video be about the war of 1812
Can you make a video about the haitian Revolution
"As the ship lay in Boston Harbor, a party the colonists dressed as red Indians boarded the vessel, behaved very rudely, and threw all the tea overboard, making the tea unsuitable for drinking. Even for Americans."
Atleast the fish in Boston can drink it
How barbaric
Impossible
Nice reference to Mary Poppins
@@The_whales*GULP* *GULP* *GULP*
Can’t believe he didn’t mention a crucial part to American independence: the 2009 Dodge Challenger 😔
Ik absolutely barbaric.
Ikr 😞
Truly a key to victory.
I'm British and this is funny
I get the reference, but not even a Mustang? Pfft.
I would love to see the Mexican independence from Spanish perspective
Idiots! The King should have accepted being King of Mexico!
Same
Same
Same
Same
Imagine if Parliament had allowed even a handful of American MPs. The British empire would be expanding across the Galaxy by now.
Maybe not.
One could argue that the reason the colonies were slipping away was because of the leeway they were offered as compared to other colonies (India for example)
@@TheRealForgetfulElephantImagine if brave heart had an American accent and it was some dude from Boston in 1916 fighting back the British! Lol
@@agentmuelleri think there already is one it's called the Patriot whose main character is played by the one and only Mel.
@@TheRealForgetfulElephant Absolutely not, the Management of India was horrific and a massive net negative that still sours indian-british relations to this day. The Americans wanted to remain part of the British Empire but Parliament had other ideas.
William Pitt the Elder, one of if not the greatest British Prime Minister, responsible for steering Britain to victory in the 7 Years War, supported America. He wholeheartedly sympathised with the colonies, opposed conflict, and tried to give the Ammericans what they wanted. "You cannot conquer America. If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foriegn troop was landed in my country, I would never lay down my arms, never! Never! Never!" "I rejoice that America has resisted." - William Pitt the Elder.
Yes, but back in 1776, there wasn't a united American identity. They were British subjects or identified with their state rather than the nation
@@Joker-no1uh William Pitt the Elder did aknowledge that Americans were Americans, but he also acknowledged they were subjects of the British crown, himself saying he would never take up arms against a fellow subject.
Lord Palmerston is slightly better, in my opinion. But it's more of a 1A and 1B.
Lol how very Tory. He's no Clement Attlee.
@@jackdoyle7453 Clement Atlee's my personal favourite.
I knew this guy, John H. Davis, who was my history teacher during high school and he introduced me to his book that he wrote, World Upside Down: The Road to Yorktown, 1781 in which it details the British perception of the American Revolutionary War. It was a fantastic read and really opened my perception on history!
I read that last year for history it saved me
When I was writing my senior thesis for my degree in history, I found a very good source on the war. It was a 2 volume set published in the 1880's-1890's.
It was very interesting on its views on the British, the Americans, and people like Benedict Arnold.
Then at Yorktown, Cornwallis claimed to be too sick to offer the surrender so he sent someone else out to do it. That one then tried to surrender to the French general, who refused and directed him to Washington. Washington jn turn refused and directed him to a General Lincoln. Cornwallis was eventually sent to command a British army in Ireland and took out his humiliation on the Irish.
@@mattosullivan9687 that was general Rochambeau
Thanks @@adammissildine8027
Thank you for the amazing video as always!
Wait you’re here? Also how do you have so little likes and no comments 😭
Yooo wassup mrspherical!
sup!@@vickylee3144
4th reply
sup
I very much appreciate that the Great Siege of Gibraltar got a big mention. This is one of the most overlooked aspects of the American War of Independence and had a huge impact on the wider conflict. Would love to see a video about the siege!
As a Brit who lives near Gibraltar, I very much agree. I've been there many times and it's truly an awesome place to visit (especially the rock tunnels)
The most overlooked aspect of the American War of Independence is the fact that more Americans died as British prisoners of War than on the battlefield. The horrific British prison ships have been largely airbrushed out of American history.
@@warrenpaine Many colonists actually fought on the British side during the war (I say can colonists instead of Americans because they technically were still British at the time)
Hear hear!
@@oliversherman2414 The people may have been under British rule but the population itself was already a melting pot even in those days. Predominantly English yes, but the colonies also had sizeable numbers of people of Dutch, German, Irish, French Huguenot and Scotch ancestry.
I think what a lot of Brits ignore about the stamp act is that it wasn’t just that you had a tax to get the stamp on your paper goods. The stamp was only placed on goods in Britain so the burgeoning paper industry in the Americas could no longer sell their product locally. Instead, their only option was to ship to Britain at whatever price the British wanted. For consumers of paper, instead of buying locally they instead had to import British paper from across an ocean. Paper ends up being bulky and heavy so the shipping costs alone were astronomical. So while the people back in Britain had to pay a similar tax on paper goods, the tax was only a small portion of the cost incurred. So while some will argue people in Britain were paying more in taxes than those in America, this ignores the fact that the British economy was set up to keep prices low in Britain and extremely high everywhere else.
Much like the USA today
I think a lot of Americans tend to ignore that aswell and only pay attention to the war side of it
I wouldn't call that the most important part of it... it more importantly directly put jobs under the aegis and whims of british officials as anything published, books, newspapers and anything written to a court or governor including anyrthing done by the local parliaments as they were had to be on stamped (actually watermarked) paper or they could shut down your business. That amounts to an enormous power increase to any attempts at censorship...
Now think back how many American "Founding Fathers" had either a stake in publishing (e.g. Benjamin Franklin) or were Lawyers...
The paper nonsense was ridiculous, yeah. I still feel that the colonies were much more opportunistic than noble and righteous, as people in Britain weren't really represented or taxed fairly, and the simple quantity of space afforded to the colonists for the same kind of life British folks had; with the protection of the superpower's military and stability; seems like a frankly excellent deal for that time in the world.
One thing to remember is that many colonists incurred debts during and after the Seven Years War. Mainly due to militia service, financing the war effort, wars with Native Americans, and reconstruction. This is something the British Parliament didn't factor with the taxes, with those most affected eventually joining the Patriot side and less affected individuals being more Loyalist.
Do explain.
They also didn't factor in how British mercantilism caused heavy economic stagnation in the colonies, making the tax burden have a greater impact against the already struggling colonists.
@@johnnotrealname8168Basically the British taxed people already in debt
@@skylerthompson8652 The British provided the ships that protected the merchant's shipping.
@@just1rando How is this different with any other population?
The United States and France were joined by Spain in 1779 and the Dutch Republic, while Britain had no major allies of its own, except for the Loyalist minority in America and German auxiliaries. Opposition to the costly war was increasing, and in June 1780 contributed to disturbances in London as the Gordon riots.
And the league of neturality, kingdom of mysore.
This is very misleading. The crown employed nearly 30,000 Hessians, 25,000 Loyalists, and 13,000-15,000 Native Americans. While no "major" European powers took up arms in support of the crown, to suggest these were minor allies is disingenuous. The Continental Army and Navy already had to contend with the best army and navy of the era, on top of the tens of thousands of auxiliaries employed by the British through their allies. These allies were extremely important to the British war effort from the onset of the war, whereas the French joined almost two years in, and only after the Continental victory at Saratoga.
@@DirtyMikeandTheBoys69 So 30,000 auxiliaries, extra British troops essentially, 25,000 of their own subjects and 14,000 Indians versus America, France, Spain and the Dutch? Hmmmm.
France, Spain, and Dutch didn't participate in the war. Their contribution was financial only, and like France only contributed militarily in the final few years in few battles.
For almost all of the war, it was actually just Americans fighting against the British Empire including the Loyalists and the Canadas, the Iroquois Confederacy, and the Holy Roman Empire that contributed with 7 of it's states sending Hessian troops.
Just America against other Americans called Loyalists in a civil war and against Great Britain and two other nations, Holy Roman Empire and Iroquois. That is a massive allied advantage for the British.
The French barely participated, meanwhile the Spanish and the Dutch never participated.
@@ozarkian Your confidence in your ignorance is quite entertaining.
It’s insane that the Americans won by sending 10 million bald eagles to attack Britain.
Epic part of history of all time
The great american bald eagle attack of the 1700s was truly a dark time in british history. Worse than the blitz of ww2
@dbz9393
"My queen, there's a second eagle coming!"
Our secret weapon.
They scalped the Red coats till they were bald. And that my friends is how the bald eagle got its name.
Great video! It's been a while since visiting this topic, thanks for the refresher
it is so refreshing seeing NON-WW2 videos for a while
I was so tired of them.
Finally more colonial content
I wish you talked more about the effect the events the revolutionary period had on colonists too. The governor of Massachusetts at the time, who actually leaned pro-independence, was forced from his home by a riotous mob and had to flee to England on Evacuation Day along with many others. Benjamin Franklin’s son was governor of New Jersey and a Loyalist and the two would become estranged. There was a lot of neighbor vs neighbor fighting between Loyalist colonists and Patriots and some pitched battles between militias, most significantly at King’s Mountain.
New Jersey your facts need a serious double checking.
Would that not be beside the point of the video? "From the British perspective"
@@dannytallmage2971 so I misremembered which state calm down
@@m.nielsen1539 the Loyalist colonists considered themselves British
Then you add the Southern theater where most of the war was a personal civil war. Where you joined one side or the other because the guy you hate joined the other.
I never knew that America's road to independence started with Raid: Shadow Legends
I’m so happy we are getting more videos from across history and not just ww2. As always, well done
It's really refreshing
@@extantfellow46 yes, I 100% agree with you
@extantfellow46
Yeah you're definitely right and I was hoping they do other parts of history. Hell maybe a little of prehistory like the Neolithic era would be kind of cool.
@extantfellow46
Right but I'm down with any era they make a video about.
@@extantfellow46
Or maybe a video about native Americans and how conflicts were fought in North America before nations or countries came in to colonize it.
I really like your highlighting of the French involvement. After France and Spain declared war, the American theatre became far less important, Britain had to keep a large number of troops in the home islands to prevent a French invasion, and had to defend the West Indies. I remember one statistic, I shall have to look up the source, that 90% of the American muskets at the Battle of Saratoga were French, before official French involvement in the War. The French foreign minister Vincennes has established a shell corporation that funneled money and weapons to the Americans as early as 1776, and the Yorktown campaign was not Washington's plan. Washington wanted to continue to attack New York, and it was the commander of the French reinforcements who convinced him to march on Yorktown and trap Cornwallis. American independence would have been impossible without French involvement
Ah, so the Lend-Lease Act of the day.
It wouldn't have been impossible just would have taken longer.
@@revs81 No he's right it would have been impossible. With the British Army winning multiple victories and a large chunk of the colonies population being loyalist, the end result would have been a British victory. Throw in two world powers like France and Spain, then it becomes possible for the rebels to win
Don't forget that the Spanish did the same thing in 1775 with a company specifically set up to send muskets, cannons, uniforms, and silver. In fact, De Grasse was stuck in Havanna and could not sail to Yorktown because he had run out of money to pay his sailors.
The legend is that the Spanish ladies of Cuba sold their jewelry to finance the French fleet that eventually defeated the British. The real story was that the ladies held several fund-raising parties and basically passed the hat around.
So, remember the Victory of Yorktown was facilitated by the French fleet, paid for by Spanish ladies of Cuba.
@@arwing20 which is why when people say if it wasn't for US the UK would be speaking German my response is without France you still would be subjects of the crown
Another key factor that devastated the war effort was the capture of a large British convoy bound for the southern colonies by Admiral Cordova in 1780. This forced two things to happen: 1- Cornwallis moves to Yorktown and 2- the Spanish take back Florida in the battles of Mobile and Pensacola. Also, it was Spanish money that allowed the French West Indies fleet to move out of Saint Domingue under Spanish protection and fund the Yorktown campaign
I thought the fleet was in Havanna, not Santo Domingo. And Spain saved many American ships by opening their ports to them.
As a Brit who lives near Gibraltar, I love that you mentioned the Great Siege of 1779 - 1783. Many people (especially Americans) seem to forget that there was active fighting in Europe as well as North America at the time
And India, The British in 1783 where outnumered at least 12-1 but it's likely closer to 16-1
@@Delogros Britain wouldn't have been outnumbered if France and Spain stayed out of it
@@oliversherman2414 Yes they would, the 2 wars in india they had in that time period included more enemies then the british fielded. The second Anglo-Mysore war and 1st Anglo-Maratha war
@@Delogros I still think France and Spain were the primary factor of Britain's defeat in America
@@oliversherman2414 Oh in America specifically certainly however I would point out that the only way to win in America is to have naval superiority which sure means France and Spain (and the Dutch) but we shouldn't ignore the naval resources having to be diverted to fight 2 wars thousands of miles from home in the opposite direction.
As a Brit that recently got my US Citizenship, I realize just how much the place you inhabit can have an impact on how you view your allegiances/values/culture. One example is that I’m convinced that the natural (mostly rural) environment of the US informed a lot of views that colonial Americans held towards the industrial mother country. It’s much alike how the South (rural) saw the North (urban) in the US civil war. Unless they’ve lived it, the other side will never truly understand their opponent and there will naturally be disagreements despite the shared ethnicity, etc.
I'm a guy who wants open roads and small towns.
My views are most definitely influenced by this.
I totally get it. I emigrated to the Appalachians, and I’m now working in DC. I miss the mountains a lot. There’s something very special about being in touch with nature like that, as well as having the ease of access and lack of stress that come from small towns. Colonial America was like 80% rural while it was quite literally the opposite in the UK. I totally would not want some inbred noble trying to infringe on already established norms and values. And I totally understand now that this is why rural areas distrust government so much due to the origin story of their relationship with it and the colonial government. It’s the only “real” America in my eyes for that reason.
I've lived in the big city and the rural country. The latter is far better in all aspects. Never wish to return to the city. In rural America, you meet some of the most down to earth, friendly, and passionate people. America is still alive in it's rural areas. Welcome to the United States, btw!
@@blitzcrieg101but how about them Wendingos and skin Walker
@@culturedman1310 no, those were in the War of 1812
Love that you included Pontiac's Rebellion in this video, an event waaay too often forgotten, which exaccerbated those financial troubles listed, and lead to actions like the Proclamation of 1763 which was King George's bold idea to prevent future attacks on colonists which obviously backfired.
I love there's no intro this time. Just straight to the meat of it. From the pacing to the quality of the animation, alit has improved so much over the years and I'm glad channels like this is still going strong.
The British side sounds very reasonable once you put it like you did in the intro. They never really teach from the British perspective
Growing up mostly in American schools, when students asked the teachers why anyone at the time would have been a loyalist, the answer was typically something like "The British and the loyalists saw the British as having taken care of the colonies like a father would care for his son, and so they perceived the rebels as ungrateful and traitorous"
@@tiagodecastro2929But that's just it, any group of responsible human beings don't want their government to be a mother or a father figure. We aren't children, we can determine our own economic and social policies dependent on our unique circumstances. If anything the ideal position of a government in society is that of an employee, tasked with carrying out the will of the people from whom they derive what power they have. That's how it works in America, that's why we've been so successful.
Ain't no success here in America with the vast corruption all over politics, having a two party system was a big bad@@kidfox3971
@@kidfox3971that how it’s supposed to work. But as it was then and what it is now, what’s supposed to be and what is are two very different things.
@@kidfox3971 doesnt more than half your population live on or below the poverty line? Wowza meowza what a success batman
You should do the the Indian Wars from the Native perspective.
Wouldn’t that be kinda hard to do? I’m not saying the native Americans didn’t keep records, but I don’t think they detailed everything down.
@@V1nce_man
...or partially because we [United States] might have burned everything.
Great suggestion.
@@stevemc01nah. They didnt have records. Almost no nomadic groups in history held records, especially one still in the stone age
I think Settlers destroyed most of their perspectives
Ive always wondered what the Brits thought about our independence. Purely out of curiosity.
Same
We don't care really as you're still our Anglophonic brothers even if we fought a couple wars against you a few hundred years ago. At the end of the day, it was our ancestors who fought not us personally and so I think most Brits would say publicly they don't like Americans but really no one actually cares. There are of course select people who do hold grudges but those people will find themselves left behind in a world of increased globalisation. Just because you might see the British public making fun of Americans doesn't mean we hate you at all. We do it to all cultures, just as they do it to us for our past transgressions in history. I hope our two countries going forward can carve a world of peace and prosperity of the doomed world of imperialism. Love from England.
More of a side show of French rivalry throughout the 18th century. By if France can't have nice things, so Britain can't have nice things policy.
Treachery.
Obviously.
@@schwoondogglewe make fun of each other it's kinda our thing.
Britain was so powerful, they could move their armies and send reinforcements across the Atlantic, using their naval fleets, even 250 years ago!
You have armies today, that won’t be able to organize an amphibious landing of a single battalion, let alone be able to actually make it happen. Whereas, those guys were sending redcoats across the Atlantic in the 1770s and 1780s. Damn! That’s impressive.
We get it, the US military is massive and the British Armed Forces are small but to say we couldn't land a single battalion? We have an entire amphibious commando brigade, 5 amphibious assault ships and 2 aircraft carriers. Moreover, the Falklands War and the Second Gulf War show that we very much can conduct large amphibious operations. Just nowhere as big as the US.
😅 try to re-read my comment, dude!
@@khalidalali186 Ah...Yeah, my bad. Apologies.
No worries 😉
Funny that today they control a small island or however you want to label it. After dominating and controlling 2/3’s of the planet just a few hundred years ago.
You always put so much effort into making videos. I appreciate it.
The mountains you mentioned as the boundary for the Proclamation of 1763 weren't the Allegheny range. It was the Appalachians.
The Allegheny are part of the Appalachians
@@willfakaroni5808 I’m not disputing that. The Proclamation of 1763 covers the entirety of the Appalachians. Not just the Allegheny as the video states.
What are you some kind of mountain expert?
@DiviAugusti it's quite interesting to see that many people are actually interested in niche things other deem as 'random'
@@Stoic-Waziri I was only joking around.
Whatever our past, I love Brits today.
-From an American student
we love you too man
🇺🇲🤝🇬🇧
I'm glad that Britain and America were able to get past their feud and are now buddies.
Not sure, I mean even by the 1930's after we fought a war together; there was a plan on war with Britain. Plan Red, its fascinating to research about.
There’s Plan Red which was a planned war on Britain. Even after fighting a war against the Central Powers, there was that like what the person above me mentioned
@@als3022Rubbish, all countries had these war plans against each other, different war scenarios and war games, it was normal.
@@als3022
They make plans for literally anything and everything. The US military even has a plan for a zombie apocalypse. They're just kind of practice scenarios created by junior officers.
Another good one! Most people never looked at the British veiw on this.
Another great ep, maybe do one about Bolivar and the liberation wars against the spanish?
I just love how the quality is always improving on this channel!!!!
Can we please get an animated history of the civil war in El Salvador? I only know some things that I’ve heard from my family, but I never ask out of respect/not wanting to bring up their traumatic memories.
Maybe some Scandinavia wars in the future? Outside of our viking history I feel like we are quite forgotten despite all those conlicts we had against each other.
You might be surprised at how many people know about the wars Sweden has been involved in, and their conflicts with Russia. And of course there are many families from the American Midwest that had blood ties to Scandinavia. In the east, not far from me in New Jersey is Swedesboro, famous for having been founded by Swedes and Finns decades before the United States became a country.
History buffs would know, but I don't think most Americans could name a single war that Sweden was a part of. All they know about is the Vikings.@@majorsynthqed7374
You arent forgoten in my country thats for sure
I actually teach this history of the British empire. On the Sugar Act (Molasses Act), you neglect a few points. Firstly, it was introduced by George Grenville in 1763, in which the tax was cut from sixpence to three pence. Additionally, this indirect tax, mainly affected those in port cities, in British North America, concerning rum industry.
I would love to see a video about the Russo-Japanese war
Kamchatka: do you see torpedo boats
The what?
@@MASTEROFEVIL it’s a history joke between amateur naval historians and otherwise. Look up the second pacific sqaudron
My family was one of those that fled to Canada from what was then Massachusetts but is now Maine. We didn't return until the 1820s. Funny this episode comes out now, I'm going to Boston next weekend to go see the sights.
Hope it's fun. I have a friend who her family were the Acadians and instead of running to New Orleans and becoming Cajuns, they ran to the frontier of Maine. And stayed there every since.
I will be fighting the battle of Camden this upcoming weekend. So perfect timing. Though few things missing here that are normally.
1. How split Parliament was on the taxation. William Pitt the Elder was a supporter of the Americans and there are theories that if he had been in better health and in the Commons rather than the House of Lords, he could have prevented it. Depends.
2. Spain paid for everything. Even the French fleet off Yorktown was paid by Spanish silver. France went bankrupt WAY before the end of the war. Spain not being a direct ally of the US, rather an ally of France gets left out. Under Bernardo de Galvez they conquered New Orleans and Pensacola. Would love to see a video on the Spanish influence during the Revolution. Also in 2014 Galvez was awarded honorary US Citizenship for his contribution.
It doesn't get left out Lafayette was just a "don't ask questions" kind of guy
Well told. Kudos!
One thing that is often forgotten is the role of disease, especially in the southern colonies. Cornwallis had his army size reduced by 1/2 from disease alone.
"British citizens would be forced to do most of the heavy lifting in the form of a series of new and higher taxes"
.... are we still talking about the 1700's here?
😂
A British General when asked about the Americans said he was very impressed with how proficient the Americans were with their Muskets. They seemed to be able to load faster and shoot more accurately than their British counter parts. He attributed this to Americans being frontier people who handled weapons from a young age and had to shoot to live.
Citation?
This has to be the most fair and accurate version of the war I have seen in media. Great Work.
Its really admirable how much great content you are able to put out on a regular basis. Thank you!
One fairly big error: the colonial territory map (starting at 0:26) shows Richmond as the capital of colonial Virginia, when in fact it was Williamsburg. Richmond was a small settlement during the colonial period and it wouldn't be until 1780, during the war, that the capital of an independent Virginia was formally moved to Richmond.
You’re a loyalist to the crown
t@@BlakeWheelersBurnerAccount this is such a hilarious reply I love it
This was an amazing video by almost every measure! I really liked the background animations and the cool detail about Gibraltar. However, I feel like a lot of significant details of the conflict were skipped over. For example, the horrific winters of the revolutionary army at Valley Forge and... that other place a year or two later that I forgot the name of. This and some other details of just how close the colonials/Americans were to losing or at least suffering huge losses at many points might have put things into better context.
Of course some of this may not be strictly relevant from the "British Perspective," but it seemed very odd to me that the Olive Branch proposal and the Declaration of Independence were hardly seconds apart, and then a little later a few years of the conflict are skipped by. A lot of characters and actions seem to step in out of nowhere without context or introduction, and some more details about how America was doing may have been more helpful for the viewer, even if the British may not have had much direct knowledge of it themselves historically.
Again, great video, it just sometimes felt like a lot was missing.
The british grenadiers in the background is awesome
I'm a Birt, I went to visit my sister who lives in the states a few years ago and happened be there on the 4th of July. It was so mental how many Americans seem to think that Brits are bothered about them becoming independent. I remember a girl saying "it must have been so embarrassing learning about it in school". I just laughed and said "no more than you learning about Vietnam". I explained that most Brits didn't care and that at the time of the war many in Britain felt for the 13 colonies.
It's also interesting that many Americans seem to think that this was when the British empire began to fall, but we were not a global superpower at this point, that wouldn't come until after the Napoleonic wars. Ill just never forget how so many people on the 4th of July celebrations I went too could not believe a brit would show their face. Its such a strange thing to think someone would be bothered about. I suppose its a massive park of American history, but such a small part of ours.
Not just that but the West Indies were more economically important to Britain at this point than the 13 colonies.
"So mental". You probably take people too literally. You were probably being Trolled.
@@chickenfishhybrid44 I'm quite down to earth and know the difference between people trolling and being serious.
@walsh451 well there's no doubt things can get lost in translation between different cultures and groups. Even groups that people assume are close or similar. The differences in comedy between the UK and the US are a perfect example.
Well to be fair, for Britain it was a loss of a colony. For the Americans it was the birth of a nation. Britain's I guess would be Hastings? Not sure.
It's good to see a broader perspective on the founding of America.
Schools tend to teach an incredibly skewed version of this history, and it's up to independent creators such as these to fill in the gaps.
Yeah almost like countries tend to focus on teaching mainly their own view of things.. Brits from what I hear often online hardly learn anything at all about it.
That's why I rarely used any history text when teaching. Any teacher teaching from the book isn't doing their job. Any teacher who can't go beyond the book shouldn't be in a classroom.
@@majorsynthqed7374 ay fellow history teacher! this person gets it. Keep doing that good work. I'm sadly out of the profession but it's nice to hear there's history teachers out there putting in the hard work, because finding your own sources to teach with and research is really hard work.
@@chickenfishhybrid44 Tbf, British schools have 2000 years of history to cover just for their own country.
@HivefleetMagoladon it's not really a criticism. I just dont think many Americans know that it seems like Brits spend very little time on it at all.
In depth video about the American Revolution. We needed this
As an American, I had an American History class in college that better explained the reasonings behind our separation from Britain than any history class I'd had before. The fundamental issue was the concept of representation in Parliament. The Colonists didn't feel like they were being fairly represented since they didn't get to send anyone to [the British] Parliament. Whereas the British government had the viewpoint that each member of Parliament represented everyone in the British Empire, so of course the American colonies were represented.
No the fundamental issue was westward expansion and the economic rewards $$$$$$$$$
@@crowbar9566 I'm talking strictly the American Revolution.
Westward expansionism came later.
Shoulda let you turn French, so ungrateful
What about the stories of being post-[story]?
Portions of the[ ]system can only be [marketed] with stories of college.
Are you still able to try to avoid human slavery?
Dont accept [reward].
@@bunk95 What?
I love these videos from different perspectives, keep up the good work!
Thanks so much for this, @HC.
Perspective is often sought, but, rarely found.
You should made the Video about Boxer Rebellion.
I think it quite ironic how how an increase in taxes in thr us caused the uk to lose the war mainly due to the increase in taxes back in the uk
Your videos are great! Narration & animation are awesome!
The narration sucks…he talks in short, stilted sentences that are almost rhythmic. People just don’t talk like that. It comes across as if it were AI generated. However, the animation is great.
I needed this for my 8th grade History class.
About time someone made a video on the topic, glad it was you
More of this era would be awesome!
Victoria 2 soundtrack overheard
spunkgun !!
Time to watch one of my favorite history Channel on the internet!
I'm Canadian, some of my ancestors were United Empire Loyalists who fled up here during the Revolution. While we stuck with the British Empire, I can empathize with the point of view of the American revolutionaries as well.
It has to be a tough spot, who are you more loyal to the country you always loved or the one you live in starting its own.
Was probably easier for those who never even lived in England grew up in America.
@@mrhumble2937 Yeah, I don't know what it was like for my Loyalist ancestors, but it could be dangerous. If you were caught in the wrong place and the wrong time being loyal to the Crown, you could get tarred and feathered.
Such is the complexity of war and loyalty
5 ads for a 20 min video is CRAZY
For the algorithm great video thank you
Skip ad 3:47
❤
I don't remember Raid Shadow Legends being in the American Independence War..
A slight aside: technically, the Seven Years War began in Europe in 1756, but hostilities had already been going on in North America between the French and British colonies and their Native allies since 1754. So, technically, the war started in the colonies and spread to the home countries.
The Seven Years War was started by George Washington when he lead British troops in an attack of a French garrison in what is today Ohio.
Excellent video! I research the hell outta conflicts ranging all throughout history and this is absolutely the best UA-cam video explaining in detail the American revolution!
Glad to see an American Revolution video again, more of these would be greatly appreciated!
Imagine if the British sent more than 1% of its military strength to fight the war of Independance. The world would be so different today.
The video forgot to mention the important role of spanish forces in the american continent. They attacked british positions in the south and captured West Florida from Britain in the siege of Pensacola. This secured the southern route for supplies and closed off the possibility of any british offensive through the western frontier of the United States via the Mississippi River.
Spain also provided money, supplies, and munitions to the American forces and unlike the french, they didnt get heavily undebted.
I’m surprised they didn’t mention that either, considering how much the Spanish tied up British forces in the siege of Gibraltar, Spain’s importance shouldn’t be underestimated.
There is so much more that is missing. but yeah.
Galvez capture of Mobile is impressive. He lays the blue print for how Andrew Jackson lead a multi lingual army in the gulf south
The stars really aligned for US independence, from the madness of King George rejecting peace early on, to 10,000 colonial militia being able to escape encirclement because of bad weather. Even the French deciding to commit to the conflict despite being in bad shape themselves.
I feel like if there really are infinite parallel universes, then the US didn’t win the revolutionary war in most of them.
Which makes it all the more interesting that it happened, such an enthralling bit of history, beautifully presented as always
I love the victoria 2 music over the 18/19 century videos
Lol hearing you say „let’s open up some shards!“ is funny af
The british did eventually get over loosing the colonies. However, they never got over loosing Mallorca and to this day, the British return to the island every year.
Britain never owned Mallorca, it was its neighbouring island Menorca
Ah yes, when debt was taken seriously by nations
Yep the good ole days
Being British today I fully support why Americans wanted independence. Americans deserve political representation if they paid taxes but from a modern day perspective can Americans really say they are representated today by their government, it seems today your government perfers their own interests and the interests of foreigners over their own people. And don't you pay more taxes now than ever before but watch your society decline even more every year. In all honestly it looks increasingly that you removed a tyrant King but replaced it with the tyranny of the American elites.
Long live the King
How was anyone to predict what would happen after the Crimean War?
The King was not a tyrant, parliament's authority was at issue.
While I am no fan of the US "democratic" system, I am 100% sure it's better than the political mess you brits created for yourself when voting for Brexit. At least the US foreign policies harm their enemies. UK parliament's lies ruined their own country.
Depends on how you define a decline. American manifest destiny wasn’t a global cause. Considering how Europe handled the last 1000 years and how the United States reorganized the world order in 75 I would say we are still moving successfully. We chose to give up 50% of global GDP, we don’t need it to be stronger than everyone. To your point of taxes, yeah they are high, but it’s relevant. Most Americans still have access to more money than most citizens of anywhere.
Excellent video! Thanks for rounding out what was happening around the Atlantic and whys and reasons for each action. Kudos dude.
Learning about this in school rn! This is a great help, thanks bro
Imagine being constantly insulted by a Nation of people who gave the literal definition to Self depreciation.
@@n1uk913 Context: Great Britain. England is incredibly depressing
You should cover the war of 1812 from the American perspective or just the war in general
I'm hoping that the timing of this video is linked to the imminent release of Ultimate General American Revolution!
Always learn something new when I watch your videos. Did not know the Brits were fighting over Gibraltar at the same time the US was fighting for independence.
Two things about the Boston Tea Party:
1) The tax on tea was also partly motivated by the British Parliament's bailout of the East India Company, which also included selling surplus teas by consignment to Colonial merchants.
2) There were also protests against the tea tax in New York, Baltimore, Charleston & other Colonial cities; Boston was the main focus bcoz of the destruction of tea.
As an Englishman, I’ve always respected the revolution.
The only pet peeve is when modern day Americans act like they themselves beat us😂
The Americans who beat the British, were themselves British at the time and still heavily Anglo influenced
Englishmen fighting for their rights as Englishmen. They couldn't be further away from Javier Gonzales fighting for his 10th cheeseburger of the day.
"They themselves". How do you mean? You mean the same way that many modern British people talk about winning WW2?
@@chickenfishhybrid44 so it’s quite obvious… majority of the settlers were English/British.
They weren’t Americans till after independence
Noting to do with ww2
Long live the Continental Congress, Vive La France, Viva Espana.
Your pet peeve sounds suspiciously like you have a problem with admitting that Americans won a war against the British.
It was an interesting video, as it's always great to get both sides' perspectives. Although, I don't know why historians always tend to omit all Spanish aid in the war (as you also did here), when many of the supplies and weapons given to support the Continental Army came from the Spanish viceroyalties, added to: the capture of the English supply convoy on August 9 of 1780 (which deprived the army in North America of men and supplies) and the reconquest of Florida by Bernardo de Gálves in the Siege of Pensacola of 1781 (which opened another front to the south to the detriment of British troops), meaning that not all the aid was French in the American War of Independence. Now, you just need to make a video about the War of 1812, which is not usually explained much on UA-cam and would be an excellent complement to this video; By the way, I'm glad that you are returning to concentrating on talking about historical topics of the Modern Age.
In the last year or two of the war Spain was pretty much paying the entirety of the bill. France was flat broke before the war was even ended. In fact, Spanish silver paid for the De Grasse fleet at Yorktown. Cuban women raised the funds. Bernardo Galvez was even awarded an honorary US citizenship in 2014 because of his help.
I think the reason Spain gets forgotten is because they were never an ally of the US. They were allies of France because of the Bourbon compact. But, while they did a ton for the US financially, Spanish troops never fought with Continentals like the French did.
@@als3022 It is not necessary to fight directly alongside your ally's troops to be and ally; There are several examples in history and that is why countries ally divide up Theaters of war (so that each one is in charge of an enemy zone) and you even give reasons that greatly justify that Spanish aid was equally or more important than French aid. Furthermore, in the 18th century, Spain was always an ally of all those who faced the United Kingdom, going so far as to ally with a person as treacherous as Napoleon, in order to resist the English attacks.
But, the problem here is that the United States never wanted to continue its alliance with Spain and never had any intention of doing so: it did not help in the independence struggles of Latin America and it was also the only kingdom to which the United States applied its Monroe Doctrine in the war of 1898 (which they caused unilaterally); The Cold War had to come for them to finally become military allies. The United States knew after the War of 1812 that its only way to grow was at the expense of Spain and that is why it benefited it to get rid of it: the independence weakened its neighbors to the South, which made it easier for them to annex all the territory to the North of the present-day Mexico; The war of 1898 gave them control of the Caribbean and an opening of their influence in the Pacific with the Philippines; The desire of the Panamanians to separate from Colombia opened up control of transit through the most strategic area of the Central American isthmus (the United States is not to blame for everything, only for the disaster of 1898, but it totally benefited from its non-belligerency). Because of things like that, I believe that historically the United States has been uncomfortable with accepting out loud the aid and its primary alliance with Spain, since if it did so it would look like a treacherous ally, who did not pay them well for the aid.
In any case, I doubt that in this century it is necessary to maintain appearances, the past can no longer be changed, but it is possible to give deserved justice in the present to something that an ally did for the United States, because recognition is more important than a public rebuke that will never happen.
As the Honourable East India Company, im greatly displeased at one of our largest customers to be not trading with us anymore
Guess Ill have to shift this tea somewhere to Europe
Really love how the maps look this video
Dude your videos are amazing! Keep up the great work man. I also can't believe I was here so early
Great content!
I hadn't realized hatred of taxation (both sides of the Atlantic) and thus inability to pay for the effort lost Britain the war in the end.
Great video as always, minor nitpick; the use of "La Marseillaise" as the tune for French intervention is a bit anachronistic. Yes, the French Revolution was coming in a few years, but it wasn't there yet, and "La Marseillaise" is primarily a Revolutionary song.
It's crazy that at Guilford courthouse where he met green is now in Greensboro and there's a town called Greenville and I think a couple of other towns associated with him
I wish you had covered the Massachusetts Rebellion of 1774, especially events at Worcester. This is what led to the coercive acts including the repeal of home rule of the colony. Gage was not trying to stamp out a rebellion, all but Boston was under colonist control since September 1774. He was trying to take it back.
Britain was also fighting in India at the time too which is often forgotten about.
My grandmother loves the revolutionary war, I know she’s gonna like this as well!
It’s curious as the 13 colonies were settled by the very people that fought against the king in the English civil war and absolute monarchy. By the time of the American revolution Britain was the constitutional monarchy that we still have to this day.
Me when the Virginia Colony was specifically settled with loyalists
@@Swan_River_Cowboy Virginia was established over 35 years before the civil war and Charles the 1st rule. After the restoration of the monarchy the majority of the puritans in the Church of England migrated to the colonies. All in all the people who established and ensured the British people had a voice and the king reigned but did not rule absolutely are the American founding fathers and people who the British parliament should have listened to.
Good video, but as a few others have pointed out, the the large body of water in the center of the map at 8:45 did not exist until the 1930s. The Quabbin was created by flooding 4 towns, Greenwich, Dana, Prescott, and Enfield.