Gerard de Rayneval Quotes
We are awaiting the moment when the fate of the Bostonians will be decided. General Gage will need much talent and much sagacity and patience to calm the spirit of insubordination which has possessed almost all the English colonists
He was acting as French Foreign Secretary at the time.
Gerard de Rayneval, 1729-1790, French Diplomat & Minister Plenipotentiary to the American Colonies During the Revolution, Communique to Garnier, the French charge' d'affaires in London, July 3, 1774
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
This quotation shows that the dissent leading to the American Revolution did not emerge suddenly in 1776 after the Battle of Bunker Hill. Dissent, sedition and even violence was documented here in 1774. Salem at the time was the second largest port in the colony and the customs tax collectors—Loyalist Americans—were run out of Salem.
While the official battles of the American Revolution did not begin until 1776, parts of the American colonies were in a de facto state of rebellion and the British could not enforce their laws. See {636925} for another of the King’s statements.
The crackdown on Boston which was intended to set an example and intimidate all of the other colonies backfired, and the British were told about it by their own officials in America. But they were so rigid and ideological about monarchy, that the stimulated rebellion rather than suppress them.
Referring to the proposed Constitution:
Americans were by no means united in wanting to take up arms against Britain. Relatively few of the loyalist quotations have come down to us, but here is one. It also illustrates why some Americans wanted complete independence: So that they could escape their debts to English merchants. Most however had more noble and unselfish motives. As a matter of fact, the American Revolution is unusual in the sense that there were so many men of substance who sacrificed much of their material wealth for the American ideal. There were also the rogues and opportunists as Galloway describes.
The French were carefully watching the events in the American Colonies.
In South Carolina, the Patriots, in reaction to the Tea Tax, did not destroy the tea, but stopped it from being landed and sold. Finally Lt. Governor Bull had the tea moved into the Customs house in Charleston. The patriots were satisfied that it was under lock and key and could not be sold or distributed and the tea tax was thus not collected. The British Secretary of State for America, however did not regard the compromise favorably.
Of the 13 colonies, the 3 Middle Atlantic States, were the least enthusiastic about an armed revolution against England. Jersey—Now New Jersey—was the most recalcitrant then with Benjamin Franklin’s son as Governor. See {634108} for an explanation of why that was.
This was written more than a year before the “blows” began. It took time to ship the men and supplies to America and the British did not handle that task with much efficiency.
This was written more than a year before the American Revolution Battles began. It took time to ship the men and supplies to America and the British did not handle that task with much efficiency. See {636926} for another of the King’s statements.
Fox was one of the opposition leaders who were opposed to the heavy handed policies that the British King and Government had used.
In the history of America
Earlier, his father had also castigated the ministers over their inept hard-line handling of the American Revolution. See {641505} .
This is a very interesting quotation. A contemporary historian tells us how rapidly the American colonists organized when Parliament passed the Tea Tax. Even with the Internet and social media it would be hard to organize representation from 13 states that fast today. The word of mouth and mail of the day was surprising to most of us. The passion on the issue and the public interest must have been extraordinary. Ramsay was the first major historian of the American Revolution.
