The American Revolution: A World War

by David K. Allison (Editor), Larrie D. Ferreiro (Editor), John Gray (Foreword)

A new look at the American Revolution: more than the David-versus-Goliath portrayal, it was the very first world war

The American Revolutionary War stands as a monument to freedom and democracy the world over. The American Revolution: A World War provides a fuller story of a war that involved international interest and conflict. From acts of resistance like the Boston Tea Party to the "shot heard 'round the world," the struggle for liberty and independence still resonates; this book offers new insight into the involvement of other nations and the colonists' desire for a country that symbolized their values and the pursuit of the American way of life.

Spain, France, and the Dutch Republic joined the colonists' fight against the British not because they supported American independence but because they wanted to protect their own interests. These nations offered essential financial and military support to the revolutionaries, without which the colonists may not have been able to withstand British military supremacy on land and on the seas. The colonists also benefitted from a fortunate tactical advantage: distraction. Great Britain, working to protect its lucrative colonial interests in the Caribbean and India from the other European superpowers, turned its attention away from the American front, enabling colonists to make unexpected gains in the war. These and many other moments in the Revolution are explored through a global lens to offer more context for this crucial moment in history.

Featuring essays from leading scholars and historians, and fully illustrated with historical military portraiture, documents, and maps indicating campaigns and territories, this book offers a completely new understanding of the American Revolution: as that of the first world war.

Genres: History, American Revolution, Nonfiction, American History, British Literature, World History, War

272 pages, Hardcover

First published November 8, 2018

Reviews

[Josh Liller]

I picked up this book after seeing on the New Nonfiction shelf at my local public library. It was produced by the Smithsonian to coincide with their exhibit about the international aspects of the American Revolution. The book has 15 essays, supplemented by some other short material, looking at the war beyond the thirteen colonies. Many of the authors are not Americans. Topics include: global perspectives on British strategy and the peace process; the French and Spanish naval operations; the role of the Dutch Republic; changing perceptions of Americans, French, and Hessians during the conflict; the impact of the war in India; a reevaluation of Lafayette; and the historiography of the American Revolution. There are many museum artworks depicting the time period in the book, both from the Smithsonian and European museums.

Essay collections like this tend to be a mixed bag in quality, but though this to be almost entirely just okay. The essays on Lafayette and the historiography were the two I found most interesting.

Having read The Struggle for Sea Power: A Naval History of the American Revolution and The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire in recent years, I don't think I was really in the target audience for this book. It seems more aimed at those almost totally unfamiliar with the international aspect of the war.

[Bob H]

An excellent, wide-ranging -- and lavishly-illustrated -- collection of essays on the world war we might call the Wars of the American Revolution. Its focus is on the conflicts outside the revolutionary American colonies, between Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands, fought in Spanish Florida, in the Caribbean, at Gibraltar, in India and on the high seas and in British waters. The book also stresses the pivotal role the French army and navy played in the American colonies, notably the Yorktown campaign, in which the naval battles of the Virginia Capes, more than the land battle, may have been what doomed Cornwallis' army.

The book also examines the peace negotiations -- in which France and Spain played a major role -- and the after-effects of the wars. In all, it's an illuminating study and places the American revolution in a much greater context. Highly recommend.

[Don Heiman]

In 2018 the Smithsonian published 22 essays edited by David Allison and Larrie Ferreiro in a book “The American Revolution —a World War”. The essays and pictures in this book are stunning. I agree with respected educator and author Douglas Brinkley who on the cover of the book is quoted: “Every American should read this marvelous book.” (L/P)

[Jerry]

4.5 rating.
Excellent review of the international, global war, aspect of the American Revolution.
Thanks to the French, Spanish, Dutch and Indian nation for their essential help with establishing the United States. If Britain had not been in simultaneous conflict with these nations the rebelling North American colonies would not have fared as well as they did.

[Gini]

Parts of this book reads like a textbook, so maybe tedious for some, but the information is fascinating. Highly recommend for anyone interested in history.

[Tyler]

Great book that starts strong with the introduction and Alan Taylor's essay does a great job of summarizing it all. The other essays get really detailed and repeat many details but there is gold in all of them. There is just so much to this war that is never discussed. I have a hard time adding this all into my mental story of the American Revolution at my age. The story taught in school needs to add some of this neglected part of the story.
pg 19
By conquering French Canada, Britons and colonists unwittingly created a crisis within their shared empire. British felt emboldened to rearrange the empire and the colonial leaders felt freer to dey those changes. "The moment their fear were removed by cession of all Canada to Great Britain, the dutiful colonies began to change their tone, America was no longer ours, but theirs"
Victory had not come cheap for Britain, national Debt doubled. As the largest beneficiaries of the war, Britain expected US to pay more taxes and host troops to protect the empire, which the colonists resented.
pg. 29
To procure supplies and pay his crews, de Grasse got financial support form Cuba. The Spanish also assumed responsibility for defending the allies' islands and shipping in de Grasse's absence. This financial and naval assistance became Spain's most important assistance to the Patriots' during the war.
pg.30
With the nineteen thousand sailors of de Grasse's fleet, the siege involved more than twice as Many French as American combatants. Siege of Yorktown. Too hard pressed elsewhere in the world to replace those losses, British rules entered negotiations for peace with American in the spring of 1782.

England had transported many convicts and political prisoners to the American Colonies until 1776 and 1788 starting sending to Austrailia so another global affect of the war.

[Matt Kelland]

Fascinating collection of essays: its basic thesis is that the American War of Independence / Revolutionary War was neither ungrateful colonials turning on the mother country (as we were taught) nor a response to tyranny (as the Americans were taught), but a sideshow at the culmination of the second Hundred Years’ War. It simply became a lot cheaper and easier for Britain to ditch America in order to focus on fighting France, Spain, Holland, and most of the rest of Europe. Ditching America to save India, essentially.

I am intrigued by the idea that the decisive battle of the Revolutionary War was Ushant, an indecisive naval battle that didn't involve the Americans at all. "Hey, guys, the British Navy CAN be beaten. So if we all pile in together, we can really mess them up in the Atlantic and take all that sweet American trade for ourselves - and bankrupt mad George in the process."

And also, Yorktown was not an American victory - most of the troops were French, they just happened to be under American command. Definitely a new perspective.

[Jim Welke]

The book is a collection of well-written essays by multiple historians and published by the Smithsonian. The title is a misnomer, the American Revolution last eight years (1775 - 1783) out of the Two Hundred Years War (1628 - 1814) and covered, at best, 1,400 miles north to south and 400 miles east to west. The American Navy raided along the English and Irish coast and in the Caribbean Sea but, the land battles encompassed only a small part of the world. I understand book subtitles can stretch things but, I'm disappointed in the Smithsonian.

The individual essays are good reads. The authors go into great detail regarding events but, some of the things they connect are a reach. The maps and the artwork are worth the read. The British, French, Dutch, and Spanish were at war with each other, off and on, for over 1,000 years; the American Revolution was not a world war but, it had an effect on all the major players.

[Stephen Journeay]

This book is a collection of sixteen essays that presents the American Revolution as part of the second Hundred-Years War, albeit one fought in North, Central, and South America, the islands of the Caribbean, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia, and the seas around and between these areas and Europe.

Several authors assert that the English withdrawal of forces to protect its most valued colony in Jamaica was an important reasons that the combined French and American forces caused Cornwallis to submit. And that the treaty with England was more favorable to the United States because on England's focus and concerns for other parts of the world. And it took treaties with France, Spain, the Netherlands, and rulers in India before hostilities ceased, at least for a short period of time.

Most essays were well written and presented a view of the American Revolution different than any to which I have been previously exposed.

[Brett]

I enjoy reading about history and I thought that I was knowledgeable about American history. Reading the essays in this book clearly reveal the curriculum bias and lack of complete picture provided to us as public school students (..not sure if it is better in private schools?). I always felt that education to be euro-centered, but now find that it also lacked the most important facts: the major influence of global politics current with the American Revolutionary War! I found especially enlightening David Allison’s chapter entitled ”Reimaging The American Revolution”, showing how the symbolism of artists’ depiction of historical events have shaped out understanding (for example -> contrasting the paintings of American Trumbull with those of Van Blarenberge who shows a completely different French perspective!).

[E B]

Reads more like a history book than I was expecting. It goes into grave detail to explain who and how each country country was involved in the American Revolution (A Civil War in itself). It also goes into the conflicts going on around the world which influenced the war and its outcome. Most countries tended to retell the story after the war was over (certainly including Americans), to the point that the real tale of what happens is more hidden between the lines or left out altogether. Its certainly a good read.

[Kenneth Murray]

This book, which is a collection of essays, looks at the American revolution as much more than a civil war between England and the colonists. It presents the war as a global conflict involving France, Spain, Holland, the American Indian nations, people of color from modern day Haiti and more. The book contains many full color images of paintings of the conflict and as well as those who were central figures in the war. It is an interesting account of how the American Revolution was much more involved than just the colonists rebelling against taxation without representation.

[Ashley Morrison]

So much information that I never knew of! Some of this author’s information are fascinating. Some of the information of this book were things that I did not learn of in school. I have always wondered if any other countries that were not involved in the war ever heard what was going on or not. After I read this, now I know, thanks to this author. If you enjoy history or military history, I would recommend that you read this book. Thank you!

[Erik]

Makes the story of the American Revolution even more remarkable and inspiring when you learn that it didn't occur in North America alone, in a vacuum, but instead was the spark for a conflict that raged from the Caribbean to Europe to India.

[Adam Cohen]

Great essays that highlight aspects of the war that are not typically taught here in the US. ....and now you know the R E S T of the story.....

[Tim Suddeth]

Some very revealing essays. Helps to put the war in a global perspective. Some essays better than others, but each added to the picture of the beginnings of the United States.

[Ed]

Excellent series of essays on the American Revolution and the global aspects with Britain, France, Spain, the Dutch.

[Geoffrey]

Good explaination of the global dimensions of the American Revolution. Lovely illustrations as well.

[Dennis Hawthorne]

Every American should read this book, it completely revises what we were taught in school about the Revolutionary War.

[Caleb]

I learned a lot from this book and enjoyed reading it. It is a collection of essays that cover different aspects of the American Revolution from different perspectives. There are some topics that start to get repetitive by the end of the book, but I didn’t mind because it helped me retain the information.

While I was hoping to learn more about the Revolution from an American perspective, such as individual battles, people, etc., I appreciate the global perspective that this book has given me. I am glad that this is the first book I’ve read about the American Revolution. I look forward to reading and learning more about the founding of the USA and will definitely try to keep a global perspective in mind when doing so.