Learning outcomes:
This course has been designed to enable you to:
- Show knowledge of the major personalities, events and themes of the period and develop an appreciation of their lasting significance
- Analyse documentary material from the period in its historical context
- Demonstrate an awareness and understanding of the impact of the American revolution on British perceptions of America through to the present day
Course sessions:
1. Free-Born Englishmen
1.1 A godly commonwealth?
1.2 Authority and rights
The English who colonised America in the 17th century came from a country torn apart by deep divisions over religion, politics and the concept of rights. In this session we will look at how these issues, from fear of witches to fear of the power of the crown, affected the development of England’s American colonies.
2. Global Britain
2.1 Piracy and enslavement
2.2 World-wide warfare
18th-century Britain was a global economic and military power. Its colonies, from America to India, were part of a commercial network that spanned the globe and included the highly lucrative trade in sugar in enslaved Africans. Rivalry with France forced the British to wage war on a wider geographical basis than ever before – with important consequences for America.
3. Liberty and taxation
3.1 Taxation and representation
3.2 The Crown and the Colonies
The dispute over the Stamp Act was the latest in a series of constitutional disputes triggered by new taxation. At first these raised questions about the authority of the Prime Minister but the colonial extension of the issue raised even more fundamental questions, about the authority of Parliament and of the Crown itself.
4. The New World War
4.1 How could Britain win?
4.2 A disunited people
The British knew that military victory was not enough: the causes of rebellion had to be addressed too. They placed great reliance on American divisions, but Parliament was divided too. How could the British achieve a lasting victory over America, and how did an eye to the eventual peace settlement affect British strategy in the war?
5. Differences of democracy
5.1 The era of hard feelings
5.2 John Bull and Brother Jonathan
Transatlantic bitterness continued: there was a further war in 1812 and in the Civil War Britain seemed poised to intervene and bring the Republic down. But a century on from Independence, the British had changed their view and saw the Revolutionary War as a catastrophic error, an unnecessary conflict among transatlantic brothers.
Non-credit bearing
Please note that our Virtual Summer Festival of Learning courses are non-credit bearing.
Certificate of Participation
A certificate of participation will be sent to you electronically within a week of your Summer Festival course(s) finishing.
