European Friends of the American Revolution

Europe’s crucial contribution to the achievement of American independence.

American independence would not have been achieved without diplomatic, financial, and military support from Europe. And without recognition from powerful European nations, the young country would never have assumed an independent status “amongst the powers of the earth.” This collection of essays not only offers new glimpses into the ways in which various European powers and actors enabled American patriots to fight and win the war, it also highlights the American Revolution’s short- and long-term impact on the Atlantic world.

Because of the strength of European support, Great Britain found itself diplomatically isolated, without an ally in a war that had become a global conflict, and with a navy outnumbered by the combined fleets of America’s friends. This volume is a timely reminder of the importance of international support for the winning of American independence and the global context of the American Revolution as we approach its 250th anniversary.

Contributors: Olivier Chaline, Sorbonne Université * Robert Rhodes Crout, College of Charleston * Kathleen DuVal, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill * Victor Enthoven, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam * Paul A. Gilje, University of Oklahoma * Jean-Marie Kowalski, Sorbonne Université * Andrew J. O’Shaughnessy, University of Virginia * Julia Osman, Mississippi State University * Munro Price, University of Bradford * Gonzalo M. Quintero Saravia, Senior Spanish diplomat * John A. Ragosta, Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello * Marie-Jeanne Rossignol, Université Paris Cité * Timothy D. Walker, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Introduction
Acknowledgments
1. American Nationality: A French Invention?
2. Ideology AND Interest: Free Trade, the League of Armed Neutrality, and the American Revolution
3. ‘Sir, I have not yet begun to fight!’: John Paul Jones’ Friends in the Dutch Republic, 1779-1780
4. Season, Winds and Sea: The Improbable Route of de Grasse to the Chesapeake
5. The Battle of the Chesapeake from the Quarterdeck
6. Bernardo de Gálvez: Friend of the American Revolution, Friend of Empire
7. Old Partners & Intersecting Interests: Trade and Diplomacy between Portugal and the United States during the Era of George Washington (c. 1781-1805)
8. Lafayette’s Encouragement of American Constitutional Reform, 1783-1789
9. The French Liberal Nobles in the Age of Revolution
Afterword: Studying Atlantic History with Jacques Godechot and Robert R. Palmer

The American Revolution was an international, not just domestic conflict as American battles for nationhood became part of a longer siege for political, economic, and social freedoms. The authors of this collection’s engaging, insightful essays illuminate how European nations and individuals advanced radical aims, intentional or not, while navigating military challenges and pursuing their own particular interests as they assisted Americans. This volume is a valuable contribution to a reanalysis of international power politics within histories of the revolutionary Atlantic World.

– Holly A. Mayer, Duquesne University, editor of Women Waging War in the American Revolution

It is especially easy for Americans to forget that the American Revolution involved more than the creation of a new nation. As the editors and contributors to this thought-provoking volume appreciate, America’s Revolution occurred during a broader age of revolution, and that what happened on one side of the ocean had profound implications for what transpired on the other. These essays are a compelling reminder that we must consider the birth of the United States in its proper context.

– Patrick Griffin, University of Notre Dame, author of The Age of Atlantic Revolution: The Fall and Rise of a Connected World