Loyalists were definitely a thing then. Also called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men.
Prominent Loyalists repeatedly assured the British government that many thousands of them would spring to arms and fight for the Crown. The British government acted in expectation of that, especially during the Southern campaigns of 1780 and 1781. Britain was able to effectively protect the people only in areas where they had military control, and in return, the number of military Loyalists was significantly lower than what had been expected.
Lol. That sounds familiar.
Came here to say this, so thank you for the coverage. Also interesting, I mean, aren't crown loyal people still called Tories or some such? Forgive my ignorance, I'm West Atlantic (omg, I just made that up to say American, and I think I'm sticking with it.)
"It may just be my poor, West Atlantic education, but..."
Tories nowadays is typically used to describe a party which supports the establishment the most. So in the United Kingdom's the Tories typically support the Crown the most. In Commonwealth countries the Tories are usually synonymous with right-wing parties who are typically the most nationalist. However in many Commonwealth countries the right-wing is often more left leaning than the American left. This is of course trying to describe a wide array of political beliefs in broad strokes so I may be accurate but I'm sure as hell not precise.
In Canada we call the conservatives Tories.
Unsure about in the US. But the conservative party is nicknamed Tories in the UK.
I dunno if you know it, but that really chipper dapper announcer voice from the 30s to 50s is referred to as the "Mid-Atlantic Accent."
Most recent example: Expect 40.000 trucks at the border, something like 20 appears near the border and then it dissolves into nothing.
The American war for independence was hardly a revolution, more like an under new management. For the average citizen, material conditions didn't change at all. Most institutions were carried over with slight rebranding. The democracy was limited and the constitution had a pound of protection for the ownership class for every ounce of franchise doled out to merchant class men.
Liberty and democracy are for 3rd grade textbooks. The truth is that the ownership class was sick of taking royal orders and tired of paying franchise fees. The crown foolishly defeated the other colonial and native powers on the continent, sapping royal strength while removing British utility to the Americans.
Next up are the Industrial Revolution, Manifest Destiny, and America as the 'land of the free,' which came as a surprise to the slaves
Philomena Cunk
What the 'rebels' wanted was to be able to build infrastructure and trade among the different colonies. If someone wanted to travel from New York to Charleston, it was faster for them to catch a ship to Bermuda and then wait for another ship heading to Charleston. No direct roads between the two cities, because the last thing the Crown wanted was competition from American factories.
Bridges, roads, and canals were the things they wanted; which makes the party of 'small government' look even more hypocritical.
The short version is that it was about the transfer of power from hereditary nobility to a different elite consisting of wealthy merchants and "gentlemen" farmers. This transfer was already happening anyway throughout the British Empire, the Americans just wanted to speed it up and codify it.
Waving a gadsden flag with a giant boot on the snake:
"Tread on me harder, daddy!"
They were.
That's why Ontario became a thing. People who just wanted to live as is were forced to flee for their lives as rednecks conned into rebelling by the rich elites threatened their lives.
Not a fan of this because it paints the British as the bad guys
As rubbish as America is today, you're out of your goddamn mind if you don't think the British have been the bad guys throughout most of their imperialist past, including during the American revolution.
Have you heard of treason day? I think one of the rebel colonies celebrates that during July 4th or something. 🧐
wat
“Treason is great! The higher the better!”
— these English subjects
