How come British lost American Revolutionary?

Question

What were some of the reasons why Britain, the world's largest empire at the time, was unable to defeat the colonists? What was so difficult about what they needed to accomplish, what were some of the advantages they squandered and what were the issues that combined to defeat them?

Answer 1

Several reasons:

Distance - Britain had to ship men and supplies across the Atlantic, whereas the colonist were fighting at home.

Armed populous - Owning a gun was a must to live in the colonies and the Americans were expert marksmen. Its hard to subdue an armed population. This is one reason why after independence was won, the founding fathers adopted the 2nd amendment.

Economics - The colonies were an important part of the British economy. With a war, supplies such as lumber, turpentine, cotton, sugar, molasses, were cut off. This was costing the British, affecting their manufacturing, etc.

Foreign aid - Britain came out the big winners of the seven years war (1756-1763), also known as the French & Indian war. The losing countries - France, Spain, Russia, Prussia, saw the American Revolution as a chance to get even with Britian and threw their support behind the Americans.

Political will - Just as their were loyalist in America, there were sympithisers in Britian. The Revolution lasted 7 years. The British would win battles and capture cities but the colonist just never quit. The longer it lasted, the more politically unpopular it became in Britian.

Answer 2

The Revolutionary War was not simply British (Empire or not) versus the American colonists. A huge proportion of the American colonists supported and fought on the British side (Loyalists), France (and other European nations) played significant roles by allying with the Patriots. There is a case to be made that British forces lost to French and American forces and that, without the French contribution, the war would have taken another course (not necessarily with a different outcome). As for the flag, the actual design origins are not clear, certainly a British Red Ensign (flown on Royal Navy ships) could, with the addition of white stripes, have been adapted to make the Continental flag. What ever the true story is is a great brandmark.

Answer 3

One decisive battle that helped turn the tide was at Ft. Ticonderoga, before the French began seriously to help the colonial revolutionaries. The British sent a large contingent of regular troops and indians south from Canada along the Hudson River, hoping to drive a wedge between the colonies to divide them and conquer them. The colonists detected this movement and tracked it without being detected by the British, and at Ft. Ticonderoga, the colonists sprung a trap that nearly exterminated the British movement there. This convinced the French that the colonist's revolution was worth supporting.

Another factor was that Britain was at war with France at the same time, and could not supply sufficient numbers of British troops to fight the French and the Colonists at the same time. They therefore resorted to using Hessian mercenaries, who were not nearly so effective at fighting as the British regular troops would have been.

Remember that Britain was the most powerful military force in the world at that time, and had Britain not been otherwise engaged and drained militarily, the British probably could have and would have overwhelmed the colonial revolt.

Answer 4

The British did not lose the war because no Americans would support them. Some historians believe that nearly 33% of the American population supported the British and another 33% would not even take sides for or against them.
The real reasons were distance and numbers. The British had to constantly ship in supplies across the Atlantic, which was no simple task at that time, while the Americans had local sources for supplies. Americans also had the home field advantage, and would constantly use that to their benefit.
For the most part, the British had enough men to fight against the American, but at the same time, did not have enough men to occupy the areas they recaptured and to keep fighting. The colonies were huge, which makes things hard for an occupier.

Answer 5

Top Ten Reason Brits lost the Revolution:


French kept surrendering; Brits tied up taking prisoners;

British marched on the left of the road, Americans on the right; never made contact;

Too may tea breaks!

Cricket takes so long to play most British troops never got into battle;

Reinforcements coming from Europe got lost in Bermuda Triangle;

Thought they were fighting the NEW YORK Yankees; spent their time in the Bronx booing A-Rod

Stayed in towns, watching BBC America on cable and getting homesick;

Didn't have exact change for GW Bridge, Jersey Turnpike, etc...

Patriots had Brady and Belicheck;

and the Number One Reason:

Never got those Red Coats back from the cleaners.;

Answer 6

One reason could be is it is very difficult to fight a battle on foreign soil especially in those times when transportation on ships was unconventional. Transporting all the supply and soldiers needed for a battle like that would be long difficult and costly.

Answer 7

Another factor is that France, their dreaded enemy at that time was helping the Americans. In addition, the Americans started using guerrilla warfare which the British was not prepared for.

Answer 8

A) an upcoming battle with France, then Spain.
B) Lack of funds, wars cost money.
C) Communications and lack of understanding.

It was many things, not just one.

Answer 9

Having the massive seperation called the Atlantic Ocean helped greatly.

THey had little or no support from the colonies.

Limited resources when they got to america to fight.