My dear comrades, good morning! The French Revolution, we generally see quite well what it is about. The English revolutions are already a little more vague. But then, when we say “American revolution,” what usually comes to mind? At best, there are a few images: a flag, a few stars. Names too: Lafayette, Washington, Benjamin Franklin, even events like the Declaration of Independence. But more often than not, frankly, let's be honest, there's almost nothing. Yet, the American Revolution was a major innovation! It was the first successful war of liberation of a colony against its mother country. It will lead to a constitution long considered exemplary and which is still in force today. Finally, it serves as a model of inspiration for other revolutionary movements like the French Revolution. A revolution that American colonists made to claim their right to happiness. And so it is this quest for happiness that we are going to explore together today! First of all, a quick overview of the state of the United States before the American Revolution, just to get a clearer picture! The oldest British colonies in America date back to the 16th century. Located on the eastern coast of North America, they stretch from the Great Lakes in the north to just above Florida in the south. The English established 13 colonies on these lands, specializing in natural resources. The northern colonies (such as New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts) lived off small or medium-sized farms and the exploitation of natural resources, such as wood, hunting, skins, but also fishing and early manufacturing. In the south (in Georgia, South and North Carolina, and Virginia), the vast subtropical areas allow the establishment of large cotton, tobacco, and corn farms. This type of agriculture is labor-intensive. Very quickly, the planters will bring slaves from Africa. The Central colonies (such as New York, Delaware, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania) combine both types of economies. Most of the settlers who arrived in America were English and left their mother country for religious, political or legal reasons. For many, these new spaces are seen as a Promised Land and see their presence there as God's will. Except that the ways of the lord are impenetrable, and the establishment of the colonists is not easy because their presence quickly comes up against various obstacles which will slow down their progress. First of all, the Appalachians, relatively flat terrain but a mental barrier to expansion towards the West. Then the indigenous peoples, that is to say the Amerindian tribes, are worried - and rightly so! - the development of the American colonies. And finally, the colonial interests of the other powers, Spain to the South and especially France from its colony of New France (although much less populated) which nevertheless operates a real encirclement of the 13 colonies by the Mississippi Valley and its tributaries. Skirmishes quickly multiplied with the French in this "lawless" zone that constituted the colonial territory. And I can tell you that we are a long way from Versailles and London when we are hitting each other with tomahawks! The European fighting therefore quickly found its extension in North America, and the Peace of Utrecht of 1713 deprived France of part of Acadia, Newfoundland and Hudson Bay. In short, it's not really a holiday to establish oneself effectively, and the more or less open clashes will continue. From 1755, the Ohio Valley became an area of real fighting between the French and American colonists who then asked for help from their mother country. This is the famous Seven Years' War, the first world conflict, to which an entire video has been dedicated. A conflict which then opens a new front on the American continent where English troops are dispatched. The war turned to the disadvantage of the French, but after initial successes, they lost notably the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759. With the Treaty of Paris in 1763, which officially ended the Seven Years' War between France and Great Britain, all of New France, with the exception of Louisiana, which was ceded to Spain, officially became a British possession. Of its vast empire in North America, France now retains only the tiny islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon south of Newfoundland. The brilliant Duke of Choiseul, minister of Louis XV, who had negotiated the treaty, is said to have declared: The guys, they were mostly pissed off, I think, but they weren't entirely wrong! In fact, the birth of the United States dates back to that year. Yes, because Great Britain has won everything and seems dominant, but in reality it finds itself at the head of an immense empire, facing American colonists who are increasingly concerned about their autonomy from a metropolis that is far away, on the other side of the Ocean. In 1763, a " royal proclamation" decided to reserve the "Indian Territory" west of the Appalachians for the natives. And he even forbade settlers from settling there. Those who have already crossed this line must even go back to the East! For the British, the objective was twofold: on the one hand, to reserve these fur-rich territories for British traders only ; and on the other hand to contain the expansion of the American colonies whose demographic weight is beginning to be frightening: 2.5 million inhabitants in America is still half the population of England. The second disappointment of the colonists concerned the Quartering Act of March 24, 1765, which ordered the colonial authorities to provide accommodation for soldiers of the British Crown. However, the maintenance of the English army in peacetime in the American colonies, nearly 10,000 men, provoked many disputes, especially since the Cantonment Act allowed houses to be requisitioned to house soldiers who did not always behave very well. To sum up, it was a bit like a forced and free Airbnb ! So obviously it was n't going to go so well... What would tip the Americans towards revolution was above all the decisions coming from London: the main problem was financial. The war against New France was very costly: the interest on the debt alone cost the British treasury more than four million pounds a year. In the minds of the English, and in particular King George III, the colonists must therefore pay since Great Britain intervened militarily at their request, and to protect them from attacks by the French and their Indian allies. And so, this goes through a series of taxes which begins with the "Stamp Act": the stamp law. These taxes posed a legal problem in the eyes of some American colonists because no tax was ever levied without their consent. However, it was decided by the English Parliament where the colonists were not politically represented. However, only the colonial assemblies have the right to vote on new taxes! In short, they have the feeling that we have decided to fleece them fiscally without them having any say in the matter ! And when you think about it, well, it's not just a feeling... This recrimination quickly takes the form of a slogan: "No taxes without elected representation." And to avoid paying taxes, the most motivated are launching a boycott of English products. At the same time, emissaries were sent to England to plead their case. The most famous is undoubtedly the writer, scientist, and politician Benjamin Franklin. The “Stamp Act” was finally repealed in 1766. But taxes resumed on other products including tea (which was widely consumed since the colonists had retained this very English habit of consumption). The English should have known better, they shouldn't have touched the tea ! The protests are growing and sometimes even violent. In Boston in 1770, a harmless snowball fight against soldiers degenerated into a riot in which five residents were killed. This incident is considered as proof of the tyrannical cruelty of the English. On the night of December 16, 1773, in Boston Harbor, about fifty citizens disguised as Indians and led by the independence activist Samuel Adams, threw into the water the cargo of Chinese tea from a ship belonging to the East India Company. It is the famous "Boston Tea Party". The British government, exasperated, then decreed two things: first, very repressive laws against Massachusetts, which had instigated the revolts, one of which gave the British governor all powers. Then the "Quebec Act" of 1774 by which Great Britain gave back to the province of Quebec a territory reminiscent of that of New France (without Louisiana) and which reestablished French civil laws while officially recognizing the Catholic religion. The English colonists did not accept that London could grant territorial rights to their former enemies in New France, against whom they had nevertheless fought some fifteen years earlier. At the suggestion of Virginia, on September 5, 1774, the 56 delegates from the colonies (except Georgia) met in Congress in Philadelphia under the name of "First Continental Congress". And there, the guys are hot! In a revolutionary ardour, the decision was taken to form armed militias and there was a debate, above all, on the attitude to adopt towards England. Moderates and radicals will disagree on one issue in particular: whether or not to go as far as conflict. In fact, they don't even have time to answer the question because for King George III, well, it's already settled! Basically the guy is saying, "The die is cast, the colonies must submit or triumph." Well, that's pretty clear! British troops begin fortifying Boston, and seize munitions stored in the Massachusetts colony. Thousands of American militiamen stand ready to resist. On the night of April 18-19, 1775, in Lexington, hostilities began with an exchange of gunfire and a bayonet charge by the militiamen , leaving eight dead and ten wounded. A month later, Congress appointed a Virginia planter and veteran of the French and Indian War, one George Washington, as commander-in-chief of the "continental" troops. The first major battle was that of Bunker Hill, near Boston, in July 1775. At the cost of significant losses, the British won. And to fully understand the situation, one must understand the disproportion of the armed forces of one side to the other during this war. The British can count on an army of 30,000 professional soldiers (that is, disciplined, experienced, well-armed and well- paid soldiers). They also have excellent generals, not to mention 700 warships. As for the American insurgents (also called "insurgents" or "patriots"), they have only 18,000 to 20,000 inexperienced men - and their number is sometimes reduced to only 3,000 men able to fight. It is an army of poorly equipped volunteer militiamen, half soldiers and half farmers. They also have no navy and few well-trained generals. And on top of that, the settlers of New England, well, they are far from all being in solidarity with the cause. And they are divided among themselves, between those who advocate independence and those who want to remain British, who will be called the "loyalists" or the "royalists". The first battles took place in the Northeast, in New England and near New York. It is a series of defeats for the Continental Army. The towns were taken one after the other by the British. The insurgents quickly realized their lack of effectiveness in pitched battles “European style”, facing an army as experienced as that of the British. They therefore decided on a change of strategy, and practiced what was then called "small warfare", that is to say a form of guerrilla warfare, attacks by ambushes and massive reliance on intelligence (with an extensive network of spies). On July 4, 1776, the American Congress took another step: the declaration of independence of the thirteen colonies. And the breakup is final. Thomas Jefferson, who had the most beautiful handwriting, wrote this text, which is still today one of the best-protected historical documents in the United States, in a titanium frame and bulletproof glass! If your name isn't Benjamin Gates, you can still hold on and hope you can steal such a document! In any case, the American Revolution created enthusiasm abroad. The Englishman Thomas Paine, who arrived in America in 1774, published "Common Sense" in 1776, and it was a real bestseller for the time, selling 120,000 copies in a few months. Young men, idealistic and seeking military glory, also arrive to help the insurgents. The most famous of them is Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, whom Washington appointed general when he was only 19 years old! In the autumn of 1777, the American victory at Saratoga finally signaled that the insurgents could win a battle and thus perhaps the war. This is proof that it was enough to convince the King of France, Louis XVI, to support the rebels militarily. For months he had been subjected to propaganda from supporters of the American Revolution and had already begun to secretly help the insurgents. Since 1776, for example, France has been clandestinely supplying them with weapons. But here, it is still a question of going further and hitting harder. In 1778, a treaty of friendship and commerce was signed. And when you think about it, it's all quite strange when you look at it with our contemporary eyes, because it's still an alliance between a young republic and a monarchy by divine right, Protestants who become friends with a Catholic king, and former British colonists who reach out to the French whom they have long fought. Which proves that you have to keep the faith. France sent 123 ships and 6,000 men, commanded by Rochambeau with the young La Fayette second in command. Spain quickly joined the coalition against England. The war has moved south where the British are going from victory to victory. And before heading back north, they decide to take shelter in Yorktown. The opportunity is too good! The French navy bombarded the city from the sea while a continental army with French troops besieged it from land. English General Cornwallis is forced to surrender. This is the end of the movie "The Patriot" with Mel Gibson for those who remember it. And for those who haven't seen it, well... sorry for the spoiler! At the beginning of March 1782, the House of Commons authorized the opening of negotiations with the Insurgents. The Anglo-American negotiations resulted in the signing, on November 30, 1782, of the preliminaries of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American War of Independence , and then of the Treaty of Versailles between the United Kingdom and the other belligerents. The United States gains independence from the thirteen colonies, under the name of "United States of North America"; They also obtained the expansion of their territory westward to the Mississippi and the absorption of the " Indian Territories" in the northwest, as well as the fixing of the borders with Canada. For its part, Great Britain obtained recognition of debts contracted before, during and after the conflict (repayable in pounds sterling), as well as amnesty for loyalists and freedom for them to settle in other British colonies. Many of them will go to Canada or the British West Indies. France, for its part, recovered Louisiana, which Napoleon Bonaparte sold twenty years later. And Florida is returned to Spain. A new constitution of the United States was adopted on September 17, 1787, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, four years after the country's effective independence and more than ten years after the unilateral proclamation of independence. The United States officially became a federal republic and George Washington was elected its first president in 1789. This revolution would create a historical precedent: because it was the first victory of a colony against its mother country, a lesson that would be remembered for all future wars of independence. The affirmation of democratic principles, however, quickly finds its limits. In the Declaration of Rights adopted by Congress in 1789, there are several “forgotten people of the American Revolution.” Indeed, the ten amendments neglect three populations. First, the slaves who are not freed, and slavery is even maintained in several of the states. Let us remember that several founding fathers of the United States, such as Jefferson and Washington, were slave owners. Then come women, who are excluded from political life despite their often active participation in the struggle for independence. And finally, the indigenous Amerindian populations , who are also not affected by the newly acquired rights and for whom the expansion of the United States territory will be done against them. And here I refer you to my episode on the conquest of the West, it may interest you ! The question that we can ask ourselves after all this is whether the American Revolution had an influence on the European populations? Well, in fact, yes and no, in any case it is largely to be qualified because the population interested in events in America already corresponds to a fairly cultured elite, which is already influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment. And then this American revolution, it corresponds to a big misunderstanding for France. Because, by joining the insurgents, she hoped to recover trade with the American colonies. However, not only will they continue to trade with England as they always had, but in addition, the war has cost France a great deal , and it has gone into considerable debt to finance it. Finally, one of the unexpected consequences of this American Revolution is, indirectly, the French Revolution, which will begin with the financial problems of the monarchy. But that's the story, sometimes you just want to help out , and you shouldn't have. But hey, I'm not sure I want that to be the moral of this episode, so forget what I just said! Thanks to Stéphane Genêt for preparing the show, we hope that once again you enjoyed it, don't hesitate to go and watch the episodes that I mentioned during this video, on slavery, the Seven Years' War or even the conquest of the West, it will really allow you to have a slightly more global vision of the events! See you very soon on Nota Bene, bye!