Republic and Empire

A fresh look at the American Revolution as a major global event At the time of the American Revolution (176583), the British Empire had colonies in India, Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific, Canada, Ireland, and Scotland. The thirteen rebellious American colonies accounted for half of the total number of provinces in the British world after the Seven Years War. What of the loyal half? Why did some of Britains subjects feel so aggrieved that they wanted to establish a new system of government, while others did not rebel? In this authoritative history, Trevor Burnard and Andrew Jackson OShaughnessy show that understanding the long-term causes of the American Revolution requires a global view. As much as it was an event in the history of the United States, the American Revolution was an imperial event produced by the upheavals of managing a far-flung set of imperial possessions during a turbulent period of reform. By looking beyond the familiar borders of the Revolution and considering colonies that did not rebelQuebec, Nova Scotia, Bermuda, India, the British Caribbean, Senegal, and IrelandBurnard and OShaughnessy go beyond the republican, liberal, and democratic aspects of the emerging American nation, providing a broader history that transcends what we think we know about the Revolution.