Originally posted by RJHinds
History records that on the night of April 18, 1775 General Gage ordered
about 800 of his British Redcoat soldiers to march about 18 miles from
Boston to Corcord to seize the shot and powder stored there by local
militias in the area. That night silversmith Paul Revere and William
Dawes made their famous rides to warn the colonists that the Redcoats
wer ...[text shortened]... ful military in the world and
gain independence as a new nation if it were not the will of God?
The fact that you got support from several other major world powers and that we were
at the same time fighting in other locations around the world might have had a hand in it.
That and we didn't use the methods we typically employed at the time in putting down
rebellions because we wished to retain the loyalty of local militia.
The American war of independence was largely won by the French, with Spanish and Dutch
assistance.
One of our more embarrassing naval defeats, swiftly rectified by our victory over the
French in their attempts to take our colonies in the Caribbean (which were much more
valuable to us that the American colonies at the time) and then in the resultant French
revolution and Napoleonic wars.
BTW I agree that taxation without representation, and the way the parliament and the crown
dealt with the colonies was wrong, however claiming that the independents were acting on
high principle and morals rather than with some principles and a large helping of self interest
is to miss out on a great deal of history.
Almost nothing is simple and black and white.