"The War for America"

Paper Summary:

The book "The War for America: 1775-1783" by Piers Mackesy takes a different twist of the American Revolution, describing the war from the perspective of the British government. The paper shows that the author clearly demonstrates the issues the British government was trying to deal with during the revolution and the time preceding it in the context of a world empire. It shows that the author theorizes that though the British were seen as a tyrant and huge world power, they actually faced formidable obstacles raising and maintaining an army across 3,000 miles of ocean. Though the British army was perceived as the greatest naval force at the time, the American colonists still had the upper hand, having the home advantage.

From the Paper:

"The author does not in any way propose that the American colonies did not deserve the achievement and success they realized. Mackesy does emphasize however, that in an era where sailing ships had no modern technology and government powers were limited, the British were faced with unforeseen and unique challenges the American colonists did not have to face. The British also, in part, according to Mackesy, underestimated the potential of the colonists, perceiving their military tactics to be very elementary compared with those of the British army."

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