This discussion, primarily an interview with Professor Richard Bell, author of The American Revolution and the Fate of the World, summarizes the book's core argument: that the American Revolution was a World War characterized by global dimensions, multi-theater conflicts, and lasting worldwide consequences.
Key Themes of the Discussion
1. The American Revolution as a World War and Global Conflict
The conflict was multi-theater, extending far beyond the 13 colonies:
- Europe/Mediterranean: Featured the 3.5-year Siege of Gibraltar, the longest siege of the war, where the most troops in any European uniform were massed.
- Caribbean and Central America: Major theaters where France and Spain sought to gain islands and territory (including Belize, Honduras," or "Seven Years War part two," involving the three great 18th-century powers—Britain, France, and Spain—fighting "hammer and tongs".
The conflict was multi-theater, extending far beyond the 13 colonies:
- Europe/Mediterranean: Featured the 3.5-year Siege of Gibraltar, the longest siege of the war, where the most troops in any European uniform were massed.
- Caribbean and Central America: Major theaters where France and Spain sought to gain islands and territory (including Belize, Honduras, and Nicaragua).
- India: A major theater where Britain, France, and the Kingdom of Mysore contested for supremacy. Naval commanders engaged in five battles within six months.
- Africa: Included naval skirmishes in places like Cape Town, Cape Verde, and Senegal, and directly led to the foundation of Sierra Leone as a new British colony for resettled people.
- Australia: The loss of the American colonies as a dumping ground for convicts resulted in the foundation of Australia as a new penal colony (Botany Bay).
2. Reshaping International Alliances
The war created unexpected and "wild" alliances, forcing the Patriots to partner with nations they had previously despised:
- The Franco-Spanish Coalition: France (joined 1778) and Spain (joined 1779) allied with the American rebels, driven by geopolitical ambition to cause political instability in the British Empire, rather than ideological affinity.
- France's Role: France, under Count of Vergennes, sought territorial gains in the Caribbean and India, aiming to expand French trading posts and knock down King George to elevate King Louie. While the victory at Saratoga helped, the French had been preparing for over a year by rebuilding ships and recruiting.
- Spain's Role: Spain, led by King Carlos III, was primarily interested in regaining Florida and, critically, Gibraltar. Ideologically, Spain was hostile to the idea of supporting colonial rebels and therefore allied with France, keeping Spain's hands "clean" from dealing directly with the Continental Congress.
- Naval Supremacy: The combined French and Spanish fleets were numerically larger than the Royal Navy, forcing Britain to make "impossible naval choices" and divert ships from North America to protect vital holdings like Jamaica. This naval strain was critical to the success at Yorktown.
- Britain's Isolation: Unlike previous conflicts, Britain failed to secure major allies. King George was left relying on Hessians (hired "renter soldiers") and indigenous allies.
- Indigenous Actors: Indigenous people were central actors, functioning as sovereign nations making military alliances. Most sided with the King, believing he offered the best chance to hold back the encroachment of Patriot land speculators (like Washington and Jefferson) by upholding the Proclamation Line of 1763.
3. Global Origins and Ripple Effects
The discussion highlighted the complexity and global origins of the war, starting with the Boston Tea Party:
- The Tea Act: The event originated from Chinese tea leaves, transported by the British East India Company (an "India-based conglomerate"), which sought a British government bailout because it had mismanaged its business and was competing with Dutch tea smugglers.
- Free Trade vs. Monopoly: The protest became a discourse about "free trade" versus the monopolistic power of the East India Company, which colonists feared was a "stalking horse" for the British government to impose taxes and tariffs.
The war's result also created global consequences:
- Decolonization: Thomas Jefferson believed the Declaration of Independence was "pregnant with the fate of the world". It inaugurated the genre of declaration making by rebels and separatists worldwide, serving as the "starting gun for decolonization" that eventually replaced the world of empires with sovereign nation-states.
- Migration and Refugees: The war resulted in significant migration, including Black Loyalists (like Harry Washington, an enslaved man of George Washington who ended up in Sierra Leone) and Native Americans (like Molly Brandt, who ended up a dispossessed refugee in Canada).
In essence, the discussion concludes that viewing the American Revolution narrowly as "crown versus colonists" fails to capture the full, multifaceted, globally sourced, and multi-ethnic nature of this expansive 18th-century conflict.
Q&A:
The discussion concluded with a series of questions from audience members regarding the global legacy, structure, motivation, and military aspects of the American Revolution.
1. The Global Legacy of the Declaration of Independence (Bob)
Question: Bob asked if the Declaration of Independence was the most significant element of the Revolutionary War in shaping the "fate of the world," particularly because it was adopted by numerous other countries.
Answer: Professor Bell confirmed that the phrase "pregnant with the fate of the world" was used by Thomas Jefferson in 1826 to describe the significance of the Declaration.
- By 1826, 20 or 30 groups of rebels and separatists, including the Haitians from the French Empire and revolutionaries in South America, had authored their own declarations of independence.
- These documents were modeled, directly or indirectly, on the American original, inaugurating the "genre of declaration making" by separatists worldwide.
- This transformation acted as the "starting gun for decolonization" and contributed to the shift from a world of empires to a world of sovereign nation-states.
- The host added that the Declaration’s influence extended beyond colonialism, spreading the ideal of self-government and elected government, which even influenced non-colonial nations like France.
2. The Use of Individual Characters in Global History (Peter)
Question: Peter asked if telling the global story through a small number of individual characters might skew the overall presentation or give a "skewed sense" of the conflict, as one person may not be fully representative of the facet being examined.
Answer: Professor Bell explained that the book uses a character-centric approach selectively:
- Out of 14 chapters, only five follow one individual as a primary lens (or "touchstone"). For instance, the Native American chapter uses Molly Brandt as a lens but also discusses other groups, such as the Cherokees and Katabas.
- The other nine chapters do not follow a single individual.
- He cited the chapter on the rise of Australia (a consequence of losing the American colonies as a penal dumping ground). The story begins with a jewel thief named William Murray, but because Murray dies early on while guarding British slave forts in West Africa, other touchstones are used to carry the story forward to Lord Sydney’s decision to found Botany Bay.
3. Motivation for Writing a Global History (Peter)
Question: Peter also asked what motivated Professor Bell, as a newcomer to the Revolutionary War field, to undertake the massive effort of synthesizing disparate global scholarship.
Answer: Professor Bell noted that although this was his first book specifically on the Revolution, he had been teaching the subject for 20 years at the University of Maryland.
- The book was directly prompted by the COVID-19 lockdown period, during which he gave Zoom talks. His British accent led attendees to ask: "what did British people think about the American Revolution?".
- This curiosity prompted him to research that subject, and subsequent audience questions pushed him to research Ireland, and then India.
- The book grew out of people "bugging me with questions I didn't know the answer to," and his decision to synthesize the "shelves and shelves" of existing, but often distinct, scholarship to bring these global dimensions to the general public.
4. The Counterfactual Role of the Spanish Navy (Ed)
Question: Ed posed a counterfactual query regarding the Battle of the Chesapeake (Battle of the Capes): Could the French have diverted enough ships to fight off the British fleet and ensure the success at Yorktown if the Spanish Navy had not jumped into the war to provide naval assistance?.
Answer: Professor Bell acknowledged the difficulty of answering a counterfactual question, but confirmed the naval premise:
- The combined fleets of France and Spain (the second and third largest navies, respectively) numerically overwhelmed the British Royal Navy.
- This forced Britain to make "impossible naval choices," such as diverting ships globally to defend vital colonies like Jamaica, which was "vastly more important than any American mainland colony" than any American mainland colony.
- Without the French and Spanish navies' combined ability to overwhelm the Royal Navy globally and locally, the outcome at Yorktown "could have been quite different".
- He stressed that in the age of sail, what happened at sea was as important as what happened on land, and noted that naval engagements like the Battle of the Capes, the Battle of the Saints, and the "endless rematches" in India were vital parts of the war.
5. Comparative Global Revolutions (Roger)
Question: Roger asked if the American Revolution was the only place and time in the 1770s to bring forth its revolutionary ideals, and if not, where the next such movement might appear.
Answer: Professor Bell quickly pointed to the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804) as an event that commanded the Western world's attention and was "no less significant in global history".
- Although most of the fighting was confined to the Caribbean, the Haitian Revolution—a slave-led insurrection—was of "seismic global importance" because it directly challenged imperial capitalism.
- If enslaved people could rise up, throw off an imperial power, and declare themselves statesmen of equal stature, the established order was threatened, leading Western powers (including the United States and Britain) to attempt to suppress it.
* * *
Professor Richard Bell discusses his new book The American Revolution and the Fate of the World.
For a written summary of the discussion, go to https://blog.amrevpodcast.com
To see a list of upcoming Round Table events, where you can participate on Zoom, go to: https://amrevrt.org/virtual-round-table-events
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The author has offered to sell a signed copy directly to you if you contact him via Email. His contact information is available here: https://history.umd.edu/directory/richard-bell
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