Current Events > How come England got their butts kicked in the Revolutionary War?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Do you mean the American Rebellion?

France helped too

France helped too

They were a super power over 4,000 miles away fighting on foreign soil against an enemy that wasn't trying to beat them.

The war was expensive as fuck for England, they were fighting and spending money all over Europe and the world

France was massively funding the US as well so they could fuck over England due to that rivalry. This allowed the Patriots to keep up a long dragged out war effort that was crippling England's economy 100 times the speed of the US'

In the field, the Loyalists kicked the Patriots ass in almost every engagement but George Washington was very smart and dragged the war out. Constant attack and retreat, Constant splitting of his army. Not winning anything or gaining any ground but making it impossible for England to win

The confederates tried the same strategy in the civil war but Grant was much more savvy than Franklin and just kicked the shit out of them.

it's a little boring and ruins the myth but THE US won the war at the bank, not in the field of battle

They made fighting and holding America not worth the costs.

Remember the whole war started because England wanted American taxes to pay their debts

So it was basically a war of attrition?

If France hated England so much, why didnt they just fight them straight up?

Also werent they afraid of England retaliating after they helped the US?

If France hated England so much, why didnt they just fight them straight up?

Also werent they afraid of England retaliating after they helped the US?

Their king was a cuck that was going nanners

Yes

France's contribution cannot be understated. It is seriously possible that the US would not exist today without them

Although the French were hardly being altruistic

They wanted a ally I suppose. Iirc they even gave us the statue of liberty.

Iirc we came to their aid in WW2. They played a long game but it served them well.

We make fun of the French but they where honorable allies as far as I know. That and the foreign Legion is no joke

Hamilton covers this.

Actually I asked this question in the first place cuz I was watching Hamilton last night and had further questions.

1. India started causing problems so they had to split forces.
2. France helped.
3. The expectation was the colonies couldn't govern themselves and would beg to be readmitted so the British gave up early.

Hamilton covers this.

They didnt try very hard. They had enough colonies that losing one wasnt even that big of a deal, especially a colony that didnt want to pay the full taxes they were expecting

all they cared about was money but they were horrible at managing their own budget

This. Britain was not putting in their full effort at all. And yet they were still whooping our asses until the French got involved.

This is the oldest excuse in the book

well its a fact they werent using anywhere near their full military power

England was kicking America's ass because no one wanted to fight against them. Only the rich and powerful wanted their independence, the poor didn't care.

The war changed tides when southern elites went to slaves and told them they would be free if they joined the British army. So when they did, it convinced slaveowners and the rest of the colonies to join the war so they could keep their slaves. For context, England was already talking about abolition at this point in the mainland. So it was do or die for the slavemasters to keep their slaves.

So in short, because slavery.

The Colonist lost most of the war, they just happened to win the most important battles.
It's a testament to George Washington and his ability to keep things together after so much loss.

Tadeusz Kociuszko deserves a lot of respect as well.

Fort Ticonderoga played a big part of slowing down Johnny Burgoyne.
Which allowed us to get our shit together enough to win at The Battle of Saratoga.
Which is what brought the French into the conflict. Benedict Arnold was a hero that day.

Also, Benjamin Franklin had a large part in the, diplomatically.

Telling everyone that their slavery was on the line got everybody to ramp up their efforts by 1000%. The war turned when slaveowners joined the fight, sad to say.

@UnfairRepresent

Do you mind if I ask how you learned so much about history, particularly the revolutionary war?

Like did you learn it in college, or is there a book you can recommend?

I unfortunately never had a history class till high school, and it was World History, so even though Im a born and raised American, my knowledge is lacking on certain subjects.