The American Revolution:
1776 – 1783: The American colonists revolt and declare independence
One of the more obvious oddities about the American War of Independence is that it need not have happened. By no means all citizens established in the thirteen Colonies desired or craved for independence from Britain. If the eventual leaders of the War had listened to some of their colleagues instead of beating the drum, things might have been quite different.
French Revolution 1789
When Louis XVI was enthroned in 1774, the currents of European favour were running fresh and strong for ‘enlightened despotism’. France had nearly three times the population of England, great agricultural resources, an upwardly mobile textile industry, splendid roads and canals, a large, successful fleet, and a foreign trade which had increased by 500% since the death of Louis XIV (the ‘Sun King’ who set France on her feet, but also built the Palace of Versailles). But France was troubled with deeply grave domestic problems.
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