The American Revolution Was a World War, with Richard Bell

Richard Bell, historian, professor at the University of Maryland, and author of The American Revolution and the Fate of the World (bookshop.org/a/93116/9780593719510), joins School of War to discuss how the American Revolution became a global conflict that stretched from Boston to the Caribbean, Europe, India, and beyond. How did George Washington's strategy force Britain to fight a world war? Why was France's intervention decisive to American victory? And what does the revolution reveal about the nature of coalition warfare?

00:53 - Rick Bell's background

02:05 - The American Revolution was a global war

06:09 - What led to the Boston Tea Party

12:45 - Patriot motivations

14:38 - Who was Edmund Burke?

16:50 - Britain divided over the Revolution

20:47 - Why France backed the Patriots

23:45 - France and Spain vs. Britain

27:01 - The Caribbean: Britain's crown jewel

30:08 - The forgotten theater of the Revolution

35:49 - Washington's global coalition strategy

38:55 - Germany and the Hessian soldiers

41:50 - The Patriots' European officers

43:10 - The myth of guerrilla warfare

44:50 - Final thoughts

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Find more at The Free Press (thefp.com/s/school-of-war).

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