Episode Overview

Podcast: New Books Network
Host: Dr. Charles Catillo
Guest: Professor Jeremy Black (Professor Emeritus, University of Exeter)
Book Discussed: The Revolutionary War (St. Augustine’s Press, 2026)
Release Date: February 1, 2026

Main Theme:
This episode features a deep-dive interview with renowned historian Jeremy Black about his latest book, The Revolutionary War. The discussion centers on new interpretations of the American War of Independence, challenging received wisdom, examining military, political, and social dynamics, and comparing British, American, and European perspectives on the conflict.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Motivation for the Book and Its Approach

• Jeremy Black’s impetus: He previously published War for America (1991) but felt that new research and thinking, as well as engagement with fresh scholarship (and “irritation” at some emphases), warranted an entirely new book, not just an updated edition.
  • Quote:

    “I decided it was time to have another look... Not to write a new edition or to add a new chapter, but to start again and have another go. And that's exactly what I did.”
    — Jeremy Black (01:40)

2. British and Colonial Misunderstandings

• The British leadership, including King George III and Lord North, had limited understanding of conditions in the thirteen colonies.
• Similarly, colonists had only superficial knowledge of each other’s regions (e.g., Massachusetts vs. Georgia).
• Black notes this was inevitable in a “far flung, transoceanic empire.”
  • Quote:

    “Most people in the thirteen colonies had only a limited appreciation... if you lived in Massachusetts, your understanding of Georgia was often quite limited and vice versa.”
    — Jeremy Black (02:31)

3. The Failure of Conciliation and the Burke Proposal

• The war represented a civil conflict within the empire, exacerbated by foreign intervention, notably raising British debt.
• Black doubts that meaningful authority or power-sharing was politically realistic but notes Burke's proposal echoed earlier British compromises.
  • Quote:

    “It’s quite difficult to see how you could readily compromise authority and power in that period… yet if you want to go back to Burke, you could argue, well, that’s precisely what had happened with and after the Glorious Revolution.”
    — Jeremy Black (03:07)

4. The American Continental Army: Old or New?

• Black argues the Continental Army was not revolutionary in a military sense—similar movements (e.g., Dutch Republic’s army) existed prior.
• Later historians often overstate the war’s military novelty, lumping it with the French Revolution, which Black sees as misguided.
  • Quote:

    “I do not feel that the American Continental army represented a revolutionary new development…it did not lead to a new age of warfare.”
    — Jeremy Black (04:01)

5. The British Army: Flexibility and Challenge

• British forces were far from “hidebound”—they’d demonstrated considerable adaptability across different theaters (Europe, India, the Caribbean).
• The American victory was therefore especially noteworthy against a formidable, flexible opponent.
  • Quote:

    “The British army…was a very flexible force, which is one of the achievements of the American patriots…to defeat them.”
    — Jeremy Black (04:59)

6. Key Military Questions: Decisions, Campaigns, and Turning Points

George Washington’s Appointment

• Washington: chosen due to military experience, social status (“gentleman”), and Virginian origins (06:01).

Canada Invasion Failure (1775)

• Initial American momentum dissipated due to lack of local support, absence of naval power, and poor logistical/institutional organization compared to the British (06:11–07:46).

Long Island and White Plains Campaigns

• US defeat on Long Island didn’t break the revolution: Washington's successful retreat preserved the Continental Army; strategic success eluded the British (07:53).
• Howe was cautious after Bunker Hill—operational restraint was understandable if perhaps overdone (08:54).

Trenton and Princeton (1776–77)

• US victories at Trenton and Princeton undermined British morale and demonstrated British vulnerability but were more valuable due to subsequent British “mishandling.”
  • Quote:

    “They pricked the bubble of confidence that the British had at that point...” (09:51)

Saratoga (1777)

• Burgoyne’s poor decision-making enabled American victory. Terrain and supply issues hampered the British; had Burgoyne withdrawn, the outcome could have been different (10:49).

Philadelphia Evacuation (1778)

• Imminent French intervention prompted British strategic reallocation to defend key global interests, signaling faltering British strength in North America (11:56).

7. Nature of the Conflict: Civil War, Foreign Intervention, and Strategy

A War of Civil Strife

• The conflict was in many ways a civil war within and between colonies, especially in the South and backcountry (13:49–15:08).
  • Quote:

    “There were Loyalists and patriots throughout the 13 colonies…in some cases it involved people killing each other, more obviously in the backcountry of the Carolinas.”
    — Jeremy Black (13:56)

Transformational Impact of France and Spain

• French and Spanish entry “completely transformed” the conflict for Britain—both were major military powers, extending the war globally and straining British capacity (15:15).
  • Quote:

    “France and Spain were the second and third largest naval powers... They had a capacity…to try and invade the British Isles…”
    — Jeremy Black (15:15)

The Southern Strategy: Success, Failure, and Yorktown

• Southern British strategy initially yielded successes (Savannah, Charleston, Camden); became flawed during Cornwallis's overextended march to the Chesapeake (17:01).
• Guilford Courthouse (1781) was a tactical loss for the Patriots but a strategic blow to the British (18:15).
• Cornwallis demonstrated tactical acumen but lacked strategic insight, ending up trapped at Yorktown (19:14–20:42).

Decisive Event—Yorktown and the Endgame

• The French naval blockade was decisive at Yorktown; its loss wasn’t the most important militarily, but “political consequences” for Britain were enormous (20:46–21:03).
  • Quote:

    “Battles are often significant because of how they're read by contemporaries…I think it's fair to say that war weariness has been growing. Incidentally, it's been growing in America as well, among both patriots and loyalists. And at that point, a serious failure is one that leads to a sense of, well, this isn't working out, is it?”
    — Jeremy Black (21:03)

8. Military Learning and Adaptation

• The American army did improve, notably with smallpox inoculation, but suffered from poor morale and limited capacity by 1781 (24:14).
• The British army was strong at the outset, but strategic overstretch (global war from 1778 onward) proved fatal.
• The British Navy demonstrated a successful learning curve, limiting French success in the final stages.

9. On the “Inevitable British Defeat” Thesis

• Black forcefully rejects Paul Kennedy’s claim that Britain was doomed from the start, calling it “rash and foolish” and not grounded in archival research (26:13–26:40).
  • Quote:

    “He’s never done any archival research in the 18th century at all... I think that was a rash and foolish remark of his.”
    — Jeremy Black (26:20)

10. The Book’s Core Takeaway

• Black urges readers to return to military history: the Revolution must be understood, “like the Civil War,” as an armed conflict whose outcome hinged on its military dimension and broader (European) context.
  • Quote:

    “A lot of the work on the revolution has looked at ideology… but ultimately the War of Independence…is a military struggle and has to be understood…by applying insights gained from a learned consideration of military history more broadly.”
    — Jeremy Black (26:46)

Notable Moments & Key Quotes by Timestamp

• 01:40: Jeremy Black on deciding to write a new book from scratch rather than revise his earlier work.
• 02:31: Black describes the mutual ignorance among British and colonials.
• 03:07: Analysis of Burke’s conciliation proposal and the inflexibility of 18th-century imperial politics.
• 04:01: Black refutes the idea of the Continental Army as a military revolution.
• 04:59: On British army adaptability and why its defeat was remarkable.
• 09:51: The impact of Trenton and Princeton on the course of the war.
• 13:56: Black calls the Revolution a civil war within the colonies.
• 15:15: On the transformative effect of French and Spanish entry.
• 17:01: The initial logic and eventual flaws of the British Southern Strategy.
• 18:15: Black's succinct analysis of the strategic consequences of Guilford Courthouse.
• 21:03: On Yorktown: “Battles are often significant because of how they're read by contemporaries.”
• 26:20: Direct rejection of the “doomed from the start” thesis.
• 26:46: Black’s plea for re-centering military history in understanding the Revolution.

Conclusion

In this engaging discussion, Professor Jeremy Black challenges conventional accounts of the Revolutionary War, arguing against both triumphalist American and self-defeating British narratives. His new book insists on military history’s primacy: the eventual outcome was never inevitable, but resulted from dynamic, adaptive, and often surprising decisions and events on all sides. By situating the American conflict firmly within its global context, Black reframes the Revolution as a complex, multidimensional, and deeply contingent struggle.