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The American Revolution: A World War

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The American Revolution: A World War

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Overview

A lavishly illustrated essay collection that looks through a global lens at the American Revolution and re-positions it as the real 1st world war

“Every American should read this marvelous book.” —Douglas Brinkley, author of Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America

From acts of resistance like the Boston Tea Party to the "shot heard 'round the world," the American Revolutionary War stands as a symbol of freedom and democracy the world over for many people. But contrary to popular opinion, this was not just a simple battle for independence in which the American colonists waged a "David versus Goliath" fight to overthrow their British rulers.

In over a dozen incisive pieces from leading historians, the American struggle for liberty and independence re-emerges instead as a part of larger skirmishes between Britain and Europe’s global superpowers—Spain, France, and the Dutch Republic. Amid these ongoing conflicts, Britain's focus was often pulled away from the war in America as it fought to preserve its more lucrative colonial interests in the Caribbean and India.

With fascinating sidebars throughout and over 110 full-color images featuring military portraiture, historical documents, plus campaign and territorial maps, this fuller picture of one of the first global struggles for power offers a completely new understanding of the American Revolution.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781588346339
Publisher:	Smithsonian Institution Press
Publication date:	11/06/2018
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	1,156,412
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

DAVID K. ALLISON is Senior Scholar at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. LARRIE D. FERREIRO teaches history and engineering at George Mason University in Virginia, Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey. He is the author of Brothers at Arms: American Independence and the Men of France and Spain Who Saved It, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Foreword John L. Gray vii

Introduction: The American Revolution and the Second Hundred Years' War Larrie D. Ferreiro 1

Timeline of the American Revolution 10

Part I Major Powers

Global Revolutions Alan Taylor 16

Antoine-Félix Wuibert 33

The British Grand Strategy Andrew Lambert 34

French Naval Operations Olivier Chaline Jean-Marie Kowalski 52

Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais 67

Spanish Naval Operations Agustín Guimerá Ravina José María Blanco Núñez Mary Deirdre Casey 68

Uniforms, Supplies, and Money from Spain José M. Guerrero Acosta Larrie D. Ferreiro 86

Part II At the Edges

British Global Ambitions and Indian Identity Richard Sambasivam 92

Revolution in America and the Dutch Republic Alan Lemmers 108

John Paul Jones 127

The International War on the Gulf Coast Kathleen DuVal 128

Lafayette Patrick Villiers Larrie D. Ferreiro 142

Horatio Nelson 159

War Supplies from the Low Countries Marion Huibrechts 160

Part III Legacies

Hessian Savages, Frog-Eating Frenchmen, and Virtuous Americans Robert A. Selig 170

Francis Peirson 187

Saint-Domingue's Free Men of Color John D. Garrigus 188

Crafting the Peace David J. Hancock 192

Reimagining the American Revolution David K. Allison 206

Rewriting the American Revolution Larrie D. Ferreiro 224

References 238

List of Contributors 250

Acknowledgments 254

Index 255

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

★ 12/03/2018
History professor Ferreiro (Brothers at Arms: American Independence and the Men of France and Spain Who Saved It) and Allison (senior scholar at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History) present an enlightening anthology of 16 essays from historians that persuasively argue that the American Revolution “was not simply a colonial uprising, but a world war.” Some of the war’s battles were waged in places as far-flung as India (between France, which had joined the Revolutionary War on the colonial side, and Britain), and even more startling is the contention that the American portion of the wider war, which Americans often think of as the most important part of it, was not the most crucial to the British Empire. The contributors, who make extensive use of primary sources such as Alexander Hamilton’s correspondence, provide just the right amount of detail for the layperson as they examine the French, Spanish, Dutch, and Indian roles in the war, along with more granular questions such as how European allies supplied the colonials with uniforms and weapons. This thought-provoking volume, which is a companion to an exhibit opening at the Smithsonian, is accessible, assuming no prior knowledge; it may even, as the exhibitions’ organizers hope, convince American readers that international alliances are important today. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"A collection of 16 essays that discuss topics such as the naval strategies of France and Spain, the recruitment of soldiers from Prussia (nearly 30,000 by war's end) and the messages that paintings by American and French artists conveyed after the war." —Dallas Morning News

“The American War for Independence was more than a contest between scrappy colonists and British regulars on the North American continent. It was, as this collection of new essays edited by Smithsonian scholar Allison and historian Ferreiro explains, one theater of one campaign within a grand conflict with and among European powers that stretched over more than a century. This richly illustrated and colorful volume, drawing on the Smithsonian's holdings, is an accompaniment to a yearlong exhibition of the same name at the National Museum of American History, and highlights artwork, documents, and artifacts. The narratives cover such topics as the British Grand Strategy and the war aims of America’s allies among the major powers; the roles of campaigns in India, on the high seas, and at the colonial periphery; and the global legacies of these wars for autonomy and freedom. This welcoming and informative book is a great addition to history collections. Everyone owes it to themselves to experience this view of America's past and place in the larger world.” —Booklist

"This thought-provoking volume, which is a companion to an exhibit opening at the Smithsonian, is accessible, assuming no prior knowledge; it may even, as the exhibitions’ organizers hope, convince American readers that international alliances are important today." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A fresh look at the Revolutionary War from an international perspective. A fine corrective to the traditional David-vs.-Goliath account of our War of Independence and a thoroughly entertaining read.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"The big picture painted here is invaluable and timely in its bid to enlarge Americans’ myopic view of our Revolutionary War and how we won it. The Founders’ great achievement was not only of their own doing; it was crucially collaborative and occurred in the changing context of a dynamic world. More power to them. True greatness is never simple." —Washington Times

“David K. Allison and Larrie D. Ferreiro’s The American Revolution: A World War is a dazzling collection of first-rate scholarly essays that rethink our nation’s founding. Instead of the parochial ‘shot heard round the world’ folklore spun about Lexington and Concord, we are served up a far more world-beat story about the 1770s. Every American should read this marvelous book.” —Douglas Brinkley, Professor of History, Rice University, and author of Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America

“The American Revolution is a game-changer. For too long, Americans have told the story of their Revolution without global context, save for nods to French aid. The Smithsonian’s insightful volume, appropriately authored by an array of scholars from eight nations, is the perfect antidote to our collective myopia. Now is the time for us to realize that our nation, even at its inception, has never been a world unto itself.” —Ray Raphael, author of A People’s History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence

“An excellent and beautifully illustrated multiauthored introduction to the neglected global dimensions of the American Revolutionary War that presents the latest scholarship by both international and American historians. It provides a useful and engaging series of accounts for a wide audience of enthusiasts, students, and teachers alike. It is also a timely reminder that European allies played a critical role in the defeat of Britain.” —Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy, author of The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire

“It was more than an ‘American’ Revolution. Americans have given their ancestors both too much credit for victory over Britain and too little for the global resonance with which their independence was won. The brilliant essays that David K. Allison and Laurie D. Ferreiro have collected vividly set the Revolution in its context of conflict among the great powers of the time, which extended across oceans and continents. The book exposes realities of which U.S. readers have been insufficiently aware: the revolutionary struggle was a civil conflict at home and a world war abroad.” —Felipe Fernández-Armesto, author of Our America: A Hispanic History of the United States

The editors have assembled an impressive group of thoughtprovoking essays for this book. These essays are complemented by more than 100 well-chosen illustrations, almost all of which are in color. All of those readers who are interested in the American Revolution will definitely want to add this attractive and fairly priced volume to their personal libraries. —The Journal of America's Military Past

From the Publisher

★ 2018-08-27
A fresh look at the Revolutionary War from an international perspective.
That America, with help from France, won independence by defeating the mighty British Empire may be the History Channel view, but it cuts no ice with the dozen international historians in this collection of lively, generously illustrated essays, a companion to a current exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. In their view, which is not controversial, the war began in 1775 as a Colonial rebellion but attracted attention from Britain's European rivals, who supported it not-so surreptitiously and then openly. European powers offered a more potent threat than Colonial rebels. As naval history professor Andrew Lambert writes, they "could invade Britain, disrupt British trade, and attack British possessions in the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and India….Responding to these threats took priority over subduing the rebel colonists." Soon after France declared war in 1778 (Spain joined in 1779), Britain re-evaluated its strategy. Trade, not national glory, supported its empire, and West Indian sugar islands were far more lucrative than North America. The same was true of Asia. By 1780, Britain was engaged in a life-or-death struggle, its outnumbered army and navy battling across the world from India to Africa to Latin American to the Mediterranean. After 1778, it sent more troops to the West Indies than to America. Some of those regiments were sent from America itself. Most startling of all, the contributors conclude that Britain won the world war. Losing the Colonies was upsetting, but France was bankrupt and Spain more moribund than ever. Britain became absolute master of the sea (always its first priority) and acquired a slew of new colonies. Within a generation, she possessed a new empire more extensive than the old. In addition to editors Allison and Ferreiro, the contributors include Alan Taylor, John Garrigus, and Kathleen DuVal.
A fine corrective to the traditional David-vs.-Goliath account of our War of Independence and a thoroughly entertaining read.

Kirkus Reviews

The American Revolution: A World War

The American Revolution: A World War

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