The American Revolution took place between 1763 to 1783. The 13 colonies declared independence in 1776 but were accepted by the United Kingdom in 1783 after a meeting in Versaille, Paris.
The brittish parlament gave away land in America to companies and persons. This created a diverse land situation. After five to six generations the americans started to differ from the brittish. A feeling of indepence started to occur.
The americans became angry with the brittish. They increased the taxes for the americans, partly to pay for the 7-year-old-war against France. It ended 1763 and the UK needed to get a better economy. However, the americans were not allowed to send delegates to the parlament, hence creating the slogan "No taxation without representation". The UK implemented the stamp act along other taxes, which angered the americans even more.
Boston Tea Party 16 december 1773 was a big event. The americans destroyed ships filled with tea and poured some of it into the water.
The americans were poorly trained and without proper equipement. Also, there were people that was not fighting in favour of the 13 colonies. A lot of black people joined the fight, partly because they were forced by their masters and also because war was more amusing than working in the fields.
To get their revenge on England France joined the war. Some time after Spain also joined. During the same time England got in war with the Netherlands.
Then, the 13 colonies wrote the declaration of independence.
A surprisingly and refreshingly balanced, neutral overview of the American Revolution, considering the author is American. I have read/listened widely on the American Revolution, and this is the only American writer or scholar I've come across who has not spoken about the Revolution with almost religious pride or admiration, although Collier does occasionally have a hint of patriotic flavour. I highly recommend this concise and to-the-point summary of this important historical event.
The conclusion of the book is that the main reason the Americans won their freedom was because of General George Washington's flawless character. 1-Integrity- detailed and down to the penny accounting, 2- Selflessness-did not take a salary. 3-Courageous leadership- in front receiving fire towards himself. This instilled in the troops: recruiting, loyalty, courage, and selflessness.
It was good at a high level and if you know very little about the American revolution. Yet, there was no balance on the different military leaders and events to provide more information of detail necessary to make a complete understanding of what happened. In other words, a lot on Washington and little on Lafayette, Arnold, and others.
This book is a short overview of the Revolutionary War. I liked how it gave both British and Patriot perspectives. I think it would be a great read for a student who wanted to understand the war better than a textbook describes it.
This is a great book that gives general information about the American Revolutionary War. This book would be a great introductory into this subject matter for anyone interested in the American Revolutionary War, but doesn't know where to start.
Very predictable only to be used as a basic guide. Lots of important figures left out and the few mentioned seemed to not add to their impact of the time.