Don’t worry, Britons don’t care about the Fourth of July
In the United States there seems to be a common understanding that Britons harbor some resentment towards American independence. However, this perception is mistaken and is indicative of the mythology and misconception surrounding the nation’s foundation and separation from Britain. Here are five reasons why Britons care little about 1776 and the Fourth of July.
1. Fifty-nine other countries have become independent from Britain
Since the high-water mark of British imperialism, over 59 countries have become independent from the United Kingdom. This represents over one quarter of the nations on the planet. Some, like the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada were established and developed by Britain and created very much in Britain’s own image (though often, admittedly, with the simultaneous elimination of their native populations), whilst others, such as India, Egypt and Kenya, were simply occupied and ruled by Britain as imperial possessions. Sometimes the transition to independence was peaceful (Canada, Ghana, Tanzania), whereas at other times it involved violent confrontation and war (India, Ireland, Kenya). Either way, on average, one country each week could or does celebrate its independence from Britain. Therefore, although the Fourth of July is an important day for Americans, it means very little to Britons.
2. Most Britons know nothing about history
It is a simple fact, even if it is a sad indictment of contemporary culture, that modern Britons know little, and probably care even less, about history. It is hard to estimate, but one suspects that barely half of the British population would know anything about 1776 and the American colonies. Not only was it nearly over two hundred and fifty years ago, thus making it ancient history for many, as well as one event among thousands of British history narratives, but in an age of solipsism, materialism and the headlong pursuit of selfish gain there seems to be little room for the past with modern Britons. If one asked the average Brit about the Fourth of July, they would likely furrow their brow, scratch their head and hazard a guess that it’s either the Queen’s birthday or something to do with the Second World War.
To be fair, there would probably be a comparable response in the United States if one asked an American to name another country’s Independence Day.
3. 1776 was a conflict between Englishmen not Britain and America
All the leading protagonists in the American Revolutionary War were Englishmen. Francis Hopkinson, signatory to the Declaration of Independence and designer of the first American flag and first American coin, asserted that, “we in America are in all respects Englishmen.” Moreover, the war was not even between the colonists and Britain because opinion and allegiances were divided within the citizenry of the thirteen colonies and in Britain itself. On the eve of the conflict, for example, John Adams noted that, “one-third of the colonists were Loyalists, one-third Patriots and the remainder indifferent.” Contemporary scholars now tend to agree that those figures actually exaggerate the number of Patriots. Either way, it’s clear that almost as many colonists fought for Britain as fought against her. This more complicated reality was mirrored by divergent attitudes in Britain. Although the exact numbers are elusive, it seems that no more than one-quarter of the mother-country supported the government’s position in the war, one in ten opposed it (a large number of whom, most prominently the radical parliamentarian John Wilkes, supported American independence), whilst the rest of the country were as indifferent as many of their colonial brethren. Thus 1776 was not Britain against America but simply pro-independence Englishmen pitted against anti-independence Englishmen. In the words of historian Cushing Strout, it was “less a popular revulsion against an alien tyranny than it was a tragic civil war.”
It is true that countries tend to develop their own identities and a form of national lineage through history that permits wars, as well as all kinds of moments, successes and failures, to be viewed through the prism of the nation and thus vicariously claimed by citizens as their own. Such an approach is often evident when the words ‘we’ and ‘us’ are employed to describe events that might have occurred hundreds of years previously. However, even if one subscribes to this idea, 1776 remains problematic because the United States did not formally exist at this point but was part of the British empire until the war was won and the new country formed. Therefore, using the concept of national lineage to confront any Briton on 1776, or any American for that matter, would mean ascertaining exactly whether their ancestors were for, against, or indifferent to, American independence. A modern Briton could have had pro-independence ancestors whilst a modern American might have had anti-independence ones. From this perspective, the whole exercise seems pointless and quite absurd.
4. Most Americans have no personal connection to 1776
Because there is no genuine national link regarding 1776 then the conflict rests solely on personal lineage. Again, this adds nuance because most modern-day Americans are descended from migrants who arrived in the United States long after American independence. Thus, if one is of German, Mexican, Irish, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, or Polish heritage, to name a random selection of key immigrant groups, then it would be rather odd to suggest that they ‘won’ and a random modern Briton ‘lost’. As noted above, it is far likelier that the modern Briton would be more responsible for American independence than any number of non-Britons or modern Americans. Ultimately, unless one is directly descended from a pro-independence ancestor then it is perhaps prudent to distance oneself from any claim of victory regarding 1776.
5. Britain was stronger after American independence
Although the Continental Army secured victory and, consequently, American independence, the defeat for the British government proved a blessing in disguise. Although the loss of the American colonies was a disappointment to many in the mother-country, it whetted an appetite and inspired zeal for colonization and imperial expansion. It is no coincidence that by the 1790's the United States was purchasing twice as much from Britain as it was before becoming independent. Furthermore, at the time of American independence, India and Australia had both become a focus of Britain’s overseas interest and 1776 taught the British foreign policy establishment and the pro-empire elite who had opposed American independence that ruthlessness and ambition had to be the new watchwords if they wanted to avoid another colonial rebellion. Therefore, within eighty years not only was the British empire the wealthiest on earth but it was also the largest, with its territory straddling North America, half of Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South-East Asia and the Antipodes. It became the empire on which the sun never set and that dominated the globe militarily, commercially and culturally for over a century. Ultimately, 1776 was the spark that ignited the fire of British ambition.
