Editing American Revolution (section)

====King George III====
{{main|George III}}
{{see also|Monarchy of the United Kingdom|Royal prerogative in the United Kingdom}}
[[File:Portrait of George III by Johann Heinrich von Hurter.jpg|thumb|King [[George III]] depicted in a 1781 portrait]]
The revolution became a personal issue for [[George III|the king]], fueled by his growing belief that British leniency would be taken as weakness by the Americans. He also sincerely believed that he was defending [[British constitution|Britain's constitution]] against usurpers, rather than opposing patriots fighting for their natural rights.<ref>Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy, "'If Others Will Not Be Active, I must Drive': George III and the American Revolution". ''Early American Studies'' 2004 2(1): pp. 1–46. P. D. G. Thomas, "George III and the American Revolution". ''History'' 1985 70(228)</ref>
King George III is often accused of obstinately trying to keep Great Britain at war with the revolutionaries in America, despite the opinions of his own ministers.<ref>O'Shaughnessy, ch 1.</ref> In the words of the British historian [[Sir George Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet|George Otto Trevelyan]], the King was determined "never to acknowledge the independence of the Americans, and to punish their contumacy by the indefinite prolongation of a war which promised to be eternal."<ref>Trevelyan, vol. 1 p. 4.</ref> The king wanted to "keep the rebels harassed, anxious, and poor, until the day when, by a natural and inevitable process, discontent and disappointment were converted into penitence and remorse".<ref>Trevelyan, vol. 1 p. 5.</ref> Later historians defend George by saying in the context of the times no king would willingly surrender such a large territory,<ref name=dnb>{{Cite ODNB|first=John|last=Cannon|title=George III (1738–1820)|date=September 2004|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/10540|access-date=October 29, 2008|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/10540}}</ref><ref name="cg">Cannon and Griffiths, pp. 510–511.</ref> and his conduct was far less ruthless than contemporary monarchs in Europe.<ref>Brooke, p. 183.</ref> After the surrender of a British army at Saratoga, both Parliament and the British people were largely in favor of the war; recruitment ran at high levels and although political opponents were vocal, they remained a small minority.<ref name=dnb/><ref>Brooke, pp. 180–182, 192, 223.</ref>

With the setbacks in America, [[Lord North]] asked to transfer power to [[Lord Chatham]], whom he thought more capable, but George refused to do so; he suggested instead that Chatham serve as a subordinate minister in North's administration, but Chatham refused. He died later in the same year.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hibbert|first=Christopher|author-link=Christopher Hibbert|title=[[Redcoats and Rebels]]|publisher=[[Grafton Books]]|year=1990|pages=156–157}}</ref> Lord North was allied to the "King's Friends" in Parliament and believed George III had the right to exercise powers.<ref>Willcox & Arnstein, p. 157.</ref> In early 1778, [[Early modern France|Britain's chief rival France]] signed a [[Treaty of Alliance (1778)|treaty of alliance]] with the United States, and the confrontation soon escalated from a "rebellion" to something that has been characterized as "world war".<ref name="Willcox161165">Willcox & Arnstein, pp. 161, 165.</ref> The French fleet was able to outrun the British naval blockade of the Mediterranean and sailed to North America.<ref name=Willcox161165/> The conflict now affected North America, Europe and [[Colonial India|India]].<ref name=Willcox161165/> The United States and France were joined by [[Enlightenment in Spain|Spain]] in 1779 and the [[Dutch Republic]], while Britain had no major allies of its own, except for the Loyalist minority in America and German auxiliaries (i.e. ''Hessians''). [[Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford|Lord Gower]] and [[Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath|Lord Weymouth]] both resigned from the government. Lord North again requested that he also be allowed to resign, but he stayed in office at George III's insistence.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Ayling|first=Stanley|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XPtu4yoZ5TkC&q=george%20the%20third%20stanley%20ayling|title=George the Third|publisher=[[Knopf]]|year=1972|pages=275–284|isbn=978-0-394-48169-2 }}</ref> Opposition to the costly war was increasing, and in June 1780 contributed to disturbances in London known as the [[Gordon riots]].<ref name=":0" />

As late as the [[Siege of Charleston]] in 1780, Loyalists could still believe in their eventual victory, as British troops inflicted defeats on the Continental forces at the [[Battle of Camden]] and the [[Battle of Guilford Court House]].<ref>''The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Army'' (1994) p. 129.</ref> In late 1781, the news of Cornwallis's surrender at the siege of Yorktown reached London; Lord North's parliamentary support ebbed away and he resigned the following year. The king drafted an abdication notice, which was never delivered,<ref name=cg/><ref>Brooke, p. 221.</ref> finally accepted the defeat in North America, and authorized peace negotiations. The [[Peace of Paris (1783)|Treaties of Paris]], by which Britain recognized the independence of the United States and [[Spanish Florida|returned Florida]] to Spain, were signed in 1782 and 1783 respectively.<ref>U.S. Department of State, [https://history.state.gov/milestones/1776-1783/treaty Treaty of Paris, 1783]. Retrieved July 5, 2013.</ref> In early 1783, George III privately conceded "America is lost!" He reflected that the Northern colonies had developed into Britain's "successful rivals" in commercial trade and fishing.<ref>Bullion, ''George III on Empire, 1783'', p. 306.</ref>

When [[John Adams]] was appointed [[United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom|American Minister to London]] in 1785, George had become resigned to the new relationship between his country and the former colonies. He told Adams, "I was the last to consent to the separation; but the separation having been made and having become inevitable, I have always said, as I say now, that I would be the first to meet the friendship of the United States as an independent power."<ref>{{Citation|title=The works of John Adams, second president of the United States|date=1850–1856|volume=VIII|pages=255–257|editor-last=Adams|editor-first=C.F.}}, quoted in Ayling, p. 323 and Hibbert, p. 165.</ref>