Faeelin
Banned
In celebration of the 4th, I've been reading through a book on the rise and fall of the first British Empire, and itm akes an interesting point. The Revolution reflected a failure of British policy on all fronts.
After 1763, there was a feeling across much of Europe that Britain had disrupted the balance of power. [1] In response, the British government resolutely reused to be involved in European politics. In the 1760s Britain refused to make any move to build a rapproachment with Austria or Prussia, or make any alliance with Russia. Britain had trouble fililng even prestigious diplomatic posts, and so there was no ambassador to Madrid for several years.
This, of course, meant there was no pressure on France to halt her drive naval rearmament, because no one threatened French interests on the continent. And so the period after 1763 to the Revolution actually saw a series of blows to British policy, as the limits of Britain's (diminishing) naval supremacy became clear. Britain was powerless to stop the sale of Corsica.
Indeed, Britain's passivity in European affairs in the 1770s was rather stark. Britain didn't do anything about the Partition of Poland, when in the 1730s whether or not Britain would intervene had dominated politics.
Consider the straits Britain found itself in by 1780. Britain was at war with America, France, Spain, and Holland. But it also faced opposition from Sweden, Denmark, and Russia in the form of the League of Neutrality.
Meanwhile, Austria was a French ally, and Frederick the Great hated Britain for its actions in the Seven Years War. Britain stood alone with all of Europ either ambivalent or hostile.
The reason I'm pointing this out is because Britain is because Britain's diplomatic failures and failures in America both seem to stem from the same source; the ability to recoginze the intersts of other parites, and to seek accomodation with them. As such, it suggests that any hope of Anglo-American reconcilliation is nigh impossible.
Thoughts?
[1] I know this might be hard for some of the British readers to believe, because it's only when France starts acquiring swathes of continents that the balance of power is threatened.
After 1763, there was a feeling across much of Europe that Britain had disrupted the balance of power. [1] In response, the British government resolutely reused to be involved in European politics. In the 1760s Britain refused to make any move to build a rapproachment with Austria or Prussia, or make any alliance with Russia. Britain had trouble fililng even prestigious diplomatic posts, and so there was no ambassador to Madrid for several years.
This, of course, meant there was no pressure on France to halt her drive naval rearmament, because no one threatened French interests on the continent. And so the period after 1763 to the Revolution actually saw a series of blows to British policy, as the limits of Britain's (diminishing) naval supremacy became clear. Britain was powerless to stop the sale of Corsica.
Indeed, Britain's passivity in European affairs in the 1770s was rather stark. Britain didn't do anything about the Partition of Poland, when in the 1730s whether or not Britain would intervene had dominated politics.
Consider the straits Britain found itself in by 1780. Britain was at war with America, France, Spain, and Holland. But it also faced opposition from Sweden, Denmark, and Russia in the form of the League of Neutrality.
Meanwhile, Austria was a French ally, and Frederick the Great hated Britain for its actions in the Seven Years War. Britain stood alone with all of Europ either ambivalent or hostile.
The reason I'm pointing this out is because Britain is because Britain's diplomatic failures and failures in America both seem to stem from the same source; the ability to recoginze the intersts of other parites, and to seek accomodation with them. As such, it suggests that any hope of Anglo-American reconcilliation is nigh impossible.
Thoughts?
[1] I know this might be hard for some of the British readers to believe, because it's only when France starts acquiring swathes of continents that the balance of power is threatened.