Why did the British lose the War of Independence?

• Britain had the strength to muster huge amounts of ships (officially 48,647), however, Britain had to keep its international obligations elsewhere. 
• Britain had one of the greatest navies in the world (340 ships). The first Lord of The Admiral was skilled and energetic and the British could use the ports of Newfoundland, the West Indies, and Canada as strategic bases. 
• Britain's economic systems were the most sophisticated in the world. This allowed Britain to absorb large sums of debt. Furthermore, with a population of 8 million, there was the manpower for a large army. 

• Loyalist support was scattered. Britain's strongholds were on the seaboards and ports. Therefore, they had to send men into the mainland. This meant that supply lines were stretched thin. This also meant that sending for reinforcements was a sluggish process. 
• This was a different type of warfare to what the British were used to. The British were used to bombardments and sieges. In this war, the enemy was mobile and spread. Furthermore, there was poor leadership from Westminster. 
• Perhaps, most importantly, this was a war without a clear goal. It was a war of colonisation, not conquest. In other words, there was no signular victory that would signal British victory whereas the Americans simply had to outlast the British aggression. 

• The newly found American Nation was energised and committed. The process of coming to war had cemented anti-British sentiment for many and the Declaration of Independence had galvanised many to the Glorious cause. Britain did little to win over the neutrals. Unlike the British, they were ideologically committed to the cause. 
• The Americans were fighting on home ground in a terrain and climate that challenged the British. 
• Washington was a brilliant leader. He was responsible for the increasing professionalisation of the army and kept his men in check. 

• The Americans could not levy taxes. This meant that they were reliant on paper money, and so inflation ensued. 
• America was not an industrialised nation and lacked the means to develop weaponry on a large scale. 

Lexington and Concord

• Early fighting waas centred in and around Boston. At Lexington and Concord, General Gage attempted to destroy an ammunition cache with an army of 4,000 men. The British were met by colonial forces and, despite destroying the stores, they were chased back to Boston. Had it not been for an additional 5,000 soldiers joining them, the British would have been destroyed. The continental army was 20,000 men strong. 

Bunker Hill

• Bunker Hill was an attempt to challenge the Continental Army of 20,000 men head-on. This proved to be the bloodiest battle in the whole conflict and was largely damaging to the British. Of the 2,500 British that were engaged in the battle, 1,000 became casualties. Soon after this battle, the British had to flee to Nova Scotia. After Bunker Hill, George III declared that all colonies were in open rebellion - a declaration of full-scale war. 

Prior to 1777, the British had won every battle in the war (although none had proved to be a decisive victory). Saratoga was the first American success. It led to a number of important consequences. 

On 20th June 1777, 8300 troops from Montreal aimed to meet the Continental Army at Saratoga. The leader, General Burgoyne, was grossly overconfident. He had made a bet in his London Club that he would be back home by Christmas, victorious. He had also assumed that Clinton and Howe would be able to offer him support if he needed, despite the fact that they hadn't consented to offer it. The army were over burdened by supplies and only travelled 1 mile a day. Burgoyne had 30 carriages for his wardrobe and champagne. Burgoyne's assumption that colonists would flick to support the British was naive, considering that he was using Native American troops (which alienated any potential support). Burgoyne's glacial pace was soon met by resistance and his path was blocked at Bennis Heights, whilst his force was also defeated at St Leger. 

Ultimately, the biggest failing was that Burgoyne had hoped for support from Clinton and Howe, despite never securing an agreement. Clinton and Howe were busy fighting their own battles in Philadelphia. Burgoyne was forced to surrender and 5895 of his soldiers were sent home, although were eventually retained as prisoners of war. 

• The British lost a significant amount of manpower. 
• The battle proved to the Americans that the British were defeatable. 
• King George III offered the Americans the opportunity to return to the 1763 status quo, but the Americans rejected this. There was no going back. 
• Howe stepped down as commander-in-chief and was replaced by Clinton. 
• Crucially, in 1778, the French decided to intervene. The Spanish followed suit in 1779. This transformed the war into an international conflict and the foreign support compensated for the earlier shortfalls on the American side. 

Britain had been long-standing rivals with France. The British defeat at Saratoga convinced the French and the Spanish that their intervention could be an opportunity for revenge for the 7 years' war. They were able to offer expert advice and military support. However, more importantly, they forced the British to focus their resources on protecting their territories all over the globe. Here are some of the important consequences of the Spanish and French intervention. 

• In 1778, 65% of the British Army and 41% of the British Navy was in North America. By 1780, this had dropped to 20% and 13% respectively as Britain was forced to redeploy its military might elsewhere. 
• The French sent around £48 million pounds of supplies during the war. 
• The French also offered expert military adive with people such as Lafayette, Rochambeau, and Admiral De Grassee. 
• The French naval support woul prove to be a deciding factor at the defeat of Yorktown.

Tip: there are lots of tangible ways to argue that this was the most important factor, especially when combining the knowledge of the early American disadvantages. 

If Saratoga turned the war, Yorktown decided it. The events leading to the defeat at Yorktown are complex as several things happened at the same time. However, here are the events broken down...

• After the French joined the war, the British focused more on the south (despite Howe being based in New York). This was partly to keep an eye on its territories in the West Indies and partly due to the misguided belief that there was a latent reservoir of loyalijst support there that the British could tap into. 
• Cornwallis had led the campaign in the south, but by 1781, his troops were fatigued and running low on supplies. Meanwhile, Washington had amassed an army of between 16,000 and 18,000 men in the north. 
• Cornwallis had decided to establish a stronghold in Yorktown. It was flanked by marsh land and had access to the sea by a port. This was crucial as it allowed for the British to receive supplies and reinforcements easily from New York. Howe, however, was not plaesed by this mobe and ordered a retreat - swiftly followed by a second order to stay put.  Although Yorktown was a logical choice for a stronghold, it was dependent on the British having control of Chesapeake Bay.

• Meanwhile, a French fleet that had been based in the West Indies was making its way to Chesapeake Bay. As the British attempted to deliver supplies to Yorktown, they encountered the French fleet. The broadside battle that ensured forced a British retreat. 
• This then allowed Washington and his army of 16,000 to 18,000 men to hurry south and challenge Cornwallis head on. Cornwallis found himself caught between a much larger army and the French navy. Washington bombarded Yorktown with artillery fire and dug trenches forward. Exhausted, outnumbered, and with no clear path out, Cornwallis decided to sue for peace. 

When Lord North heard of the news of Yorktown, he lamented 'Dear God, it's over'. This was not because of the defeat, per se. There were still 30,000 troops in the Americas and the British still held New York. However, the political will h ad been broken. Debt was spiralling and there was no clear path to victory. The British decided to cut their losses (it is important to remember that America was not a superpower and not particularly profitable, in fact, the profit from the West Indies was 5 times higher than that of the 13 colonies).