King George 3rd was NOT wholly to blame for the loss of the American Colony. Agreed?

Question

The poor chap was sick.....

Answer 1

It had very little to do with George III or the braveness of the yanks. In fact the main reasons we lost are that we weren't particularly bothered about winning (parliament was against the war as it was exspensive, canada was much more profitable) and because the French came to the rescue of the yanks. Had the French not intervened then Britain would have won, and in fact we were winning until the French came.

As for not knowing the country, ever heard of loyalists? These were colonists who did not rebel but joined the British army against the treasoness yanks. They lived there too yet supported their lawful leader. In fact many states prefered British rule even after the end of the war, Georgia, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York are examples. Finally, the newly formed US tried invading canada in 1776 without the aid of the French and again in 1812 and were beaten soundly by the British army both times.

Answer 2

No the king was not to blame how could he have been, not only would his orders have taken two weeks to get anywhere, but he wasn't a military campaigner. That is why Cornwallis should take the blame, that and the fact the French just have to get involved in anything the British do, but the Royal Navy should have seen to them.

Because it doesn't matter what American history says, we lost the colonies, Washington and his tea hating compatriots didn't win 'freedom'

Nice beard by the way

AFTER NOTE
I'd have to echo Emma. to the poster who put that we didnt know the lay of the land, your wrong. You have to remember this was effectivaly our fourth civil war and we had just as much knowledge of the area as the traitors we fought against. They were traitors before you yanks get on your high horse, If we had not lost the war ( a combination of all the answers given) then washington et al, would have been shackled back to London and hung.

Answer 3

A group of people can fight better on their own ground than invading troops unfamiliar with the territory, and it also didn't help that the British supply lines were tremendously long.
Other great examples in history are: The Vietnamese war. In conventional battles the NVA hardly stood a chance, but in guerilla warfare...the US were simply unprepared for it.
Also, the rebellion against taxes was more of a focal point for the already rich merchant class of America. Before the war, the top 5% of the country controlled around 40% of the wealth, which has also been a constant fixture of the American economy since then. In reality, the population at the time was divided into equal thirds: Those for Revolution, those against (Tories), and those who just simply didn't give a ****.

Answer 4

Very Much so. K G 3 was a constitutional Monarch and as such had no real say in the governing and deployment of forces.
There are lots of reasons why the Colonies where lost and loads of times when there could have been comprimises or Victories that would have either defeated the Rebels or brought them back to discussions and treaties.
The weather, area, delay in transportation of troops, ministers of the day, Naval and Army Officers, Foreign Intervention, loads of reasons why we lost.

Answer 5

He shares the blame with Parliament whose short-sightedness by passing so many laws infringing on the freedoms of the colonists, was equally the cause of the Revolution. Not to be discounted were the local malcontents like Adams, Revere, Paine and company who wanted to stir the waters for freedom from England.

Chow!!

Answer 6

He was the boss and the boss has to take the blame and the honor.

When the boss sais do it then the peons do it. Sick or not he was the os.

Many rulers have been real nutters and many have been ill for a long time.

People blame GW for many things so it surely is not his fault because he does not understand.

Get real and yes it is.

Answer 7

i was watching a programme about racism/slavery on BBC 4 and how it started. ( In Northern Ireland, but we wont go there) , because of the racism directed toward the native American Indians, the King actually tried to stop the migration westward . He passed a law to this affect. However it was not well received by the people living in the US, who wanted as much land as they could get. Which ultimately led to the war of Independence and the loss of the American colony.
So he was not to blame, it was the greed of the settlers who cost the Brits their colony.
It did not put an end to the Brits making as much money as they could out of slavery in subsequent years.

Answer 8

There were more profitable things for Mad King George to be doing - battling the colonists became a drain on resources.

Answer 9

Parliament certainly deserves some credit. So does the French and Indian War.

Answer 10

Agreed and with hindsight we should be grateful. We've more than repaid the II World War Debt. Let's hope the next UK Government will understand this.