The Central Role of the Caribbean in the American Revolution
Contextual Essay - Introduction
1781-1782: The actions in North America and the West Indies of the man who lost America (and helped create the British Empire).
Introduction: Geo-literacy and the global American Revolutionary war
Ever since Christopher Columbus first landed on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola in 1492, the Caribbean (or West Indies in the language of the 1700s) has had a central role in American and World history. While gold and silver were discovered elsewhere in Spain’s expanding American colonies, the ideal climate of the West Indian islands soon promised an alternative source of great wealth – sugar, or “white gold”.
Harvesting the cane, then refining the sugar however, was very labor intensive. So along with the growing European sugar plantations in the West Indies came the expansion of slavery and the Atlantic slave trade. By the 1700s the Triangular Trade system had developed between Europe, Africa and the Americas with the West Indies as the hub. North American ports and colonies developed, at least in part, to provide the British, French and Dutch West Indian sugar islands with all the needed supplies. Recent scholarship surrounding Jamestown for example has pointed not only towards it’s role in looking west to the interior, but east and south to the West Indies in a chain of Atlantic ports supporting the wealthier Caribbean colonies (see Jamestown and Bermuda exhibit at the Jamestown Settlement: http://www.historyisfun.org/exhibitions/collections-and-exhibitions/special-exhibitions/jamestown-and-bermuda/).
By 1778 with the entry of France, the American Revolution had become a global war. A global war centered on the West Indies. In examining the role played from early 1781 to early 1782 of British Admiral George Rodney we will see in particular his central importance in the defeat at Yorktown, and how important and interlinked with Yorktown were his actions in the West Indies – especially at the tiny island of St Eustatius.
This research paper will be in the form of a framework using primary source documents held at the National Archives, Kew, London. As such it is intended to be used primarily by high school teachers as a resource providing them with historical and geographic context, lesson and activity ideas, and as a vehicle to present some of the excellent sources available on this subject.
In this regard the three parts to this short paper mirror closely the three elements of geo-literacy, namely: Interaction, Interconnection, and Implications. The importance of having a geo-literate populace is, according to Daniel Edelson, Vice-President for Education at National Geographic, “critical for maintaining economic competitiveness…and national security in our modern, interconnected world”, A short film by National Geographic “What is Geoliteracy” explains why these three elements of Geo-literacy are so important to high school students today: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/media/what-is-geo-literacy/?ar_a=1
Therefore this research will show that through the interaction of climate, ocean currents, crops and European politics in the 1700s the West Indies were central during the global American Revolutionary War. That it was the interconnection between events in St Eustatius, the battles of the Virginia Capes and Yorktown, that led to Britain losing the 13 colonies. But that it was also the interconnection between Jamaica, the battle of the Saintes and the stimulus for the Industrial Revolution by the sugar islands, that led to the foundations being laid for the British Empire. Perhaps most intriguingly of all – it was the interconnection between Admiral Rodney and the tiny West Indian island of St Eustatius over a short one year period, 1781-82, that illustrates the concept of multiple and interlocking geographic scales (Susan Hanson “The Geographic Advantage”, 2004), and displays powerfully the many implications of this momentous year.
After all – when we teach World War One, we start with a small regional conflict in the Balkans, but don’t stay there. Quickly we show the interactions between alliance members, the interconnection of multiple theaters of conflict, and the implications of a truly global war. This short framework might be helpful in persuading that we should do the same when we teach the global American Revolutionary War.
Essential Question
What role did the Caribbean/West Indies play in the American Revolution?
Supporting Question
1): What interactions took
place with Triangular Trade that placed the West Indies at the heart of the
system, and such a source of great wealth?
Supporting Question
2): What interconnections
existed between the West Indies and North America at the start of the
Revolutionary war (1775-1777), after France and Spain entered (1778-1779), and
at the wars climactic ending (1780-83)?
Supporting Question
3): What were the
implications of Rodney’s actions in the West Indies 1781-1782?
Instructional Goals
The goal of this research is to provide a geographic and historical framework (the central role of the West Indies in the American Revolution), based upon evidence provided by primary source documents held at the National Archives in Kew, London, and supplemented by secondary sources.
With this framework in place there is flexibility for teachers to take several approaches:
1) Use the framework themselves to examine and challenge their study and teaching of the American Revolution.
2) Introduce smaller elements to their students to challenge the students existing knowledge of the American Revolution. This can involve one of the three sections, part of a section, or even a single document. For example an examination might be made solely of the Rodney to Vaughn letter (see Lesson Plan 1, activity 5 below) – students could chart their understanding of American and British war strategies in 1780, then examine Rodney’s prescriptions, list his priorities, and evaluate the best strategy to take as each side.
3) Teachers of many subjects could take an individual primary source document out of the framework and use that in whatever manner seems best to fit their class. For example English teachers may want to focus on the writing styles/spelling/phrases used in 1700’s English. History teachers might want to look for bias/perspective in the longer letters. Geography teachers have a wealth of fascinating maps to examine the cartography/style drawn as well as to place West Indian islands in a modern context. French teachers could use the translated Jamaica prisoners document.
4) Use one of the Lesson Plans and activities listed below.
The purpose of this framework approach is not to promote hard-and-fast pre-planned and detailed lesson plans, but rather to provide the classroom teacher with multiple tools/ammunition to enable he/she to build a lesson or activity around. Being able to pick and choose and adapt activities allows the teacher to best meet their individualized classroom settings and needs.
In general though the framework and lessons are aimed at a high school level, with many at the upper level (11th and 12th and AP or IB classes).
Ultimately though the real gems in the framework are the documents themselves which will hopefully inspire teachers and students alike (perhaps even to do research themselves to discover their own gems).
Lesson Plans
Lesson 1
Lesson 1 – activities based on Section One documents:
1) Using the key places mentioned in this section, plot their location on a modern day map of the Caribbean
2) Adding to 1), color-code these to represent which used to be owned by Britain, France, Spain and the Netherlands
3) Using a map of the eastern United States and the Caribbean, draw links between places that were connected in some way. On the lines connecting North America and the Caribbean briefly note what these links were, and what direction they travelled.
4) Using Rodney’s letter to Vaughn highlight interesting/revealing phrases he uses to describe events/Americans.
5) Using Rodney’s letter to Vaughn list the key strategies he states Britain shouldpursue to win the war.
Lesson 2
1) Using the Cornwallis troop-march maps, highlight how far west Tarleton’s cavalry were in western Virginia. Research a short bio of him – specifically his actions in the American Revolution, but also his role after the war as an Member of Parliament and a prominent supporter of the slave trade.
2) Add to the map, the movements of Washington’s and Lafayette’s armies to Yorktown.
3) Using a map of the eastern United States and the Caribbean, color-code on the map the moves of the respective naval forces up to the Battle of the Virginia Capes (research required)
4) Using the information provided below, write a short biography of Lafayette, his role at the battle of Yorktown, and how he is commemorated today in the US. For AP students - contrast that to Rodney’s commemoration in Britain then and now, and to why the Virginia Assembly passed this recent resolution. SUBJECT: House Joint Resolution 797, Designating March 14, in 2015 and in Each Succeeding Year, as a Day of Honor for the Marquis de Lafayette in Virginia I am pleased to bring to your attention House Joint Resolution 797, passed during the 2015 session of the Virginia General Assembly to designate March 14, 2015, as a Day of Honor for the Marquis de Lafayette in Virginia. HJR 797 can be found at http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?151+ful+HJ797.On March 14, 1781, 23-year-old Major General Marquis de Lafayette returned to Virginia to resume a campaign against the British that would culminate in their defeat six months later. Additional information on Lafayette and the Virginia Campaign is available at http://www.nps.gov/yonb/learn/historyculture/lafayette-and-the-virginia-campaign-1781.htm. In the summer of 2015, Lafayette’s transatlantic journey will be re-enacted by an exact historic reproduction of L’Hermione, the French frigate, which will visit 12 ports in North America. The L’Hermioneship will be in Yorktown, Virginia, from June 5 to June 7, 2015, and in Alexandria, Virginia, from June 10 to 11, 2015. As the L’Hermione moves up the Eastern seaboard, it will be accompanied by a range of pierside activities. The Hermione Voyage 2015 is part of an expansive outreach program with cultural events, exhibitions, and educational programs that celebrate the trip and mark its progress. For more information on the Hermione Voyage 2015, please visit http://www.hermione2015.com/index.html.
Lesson 3
1) Starting with the text removed from the map, work from the small scale to the large. Students should have their own copy of all the terrain, etc… Ask them:
- Where is this? Describe the physical geography and the human additions.
- Note the scale/size of the island – compare that to local town/Disneyworld etc…
- Begin to reveal some names, asking them to speculate all along where this might be, and who used to (and still does) own it
- Reveal it’s position in the Caribbean – again begin to add layers of ocean currents, then crops, then time-period, perhaps some of the pictures in the framework, and finally reveal the purpose and impact of the island.
This activity of course works best when the students have not read the framework or been introduced to the subject. As a starter activity to the importance of the West Indies in the American Revolution then it would be very effective.
2) Expand the context globally to two other small Dutch islands which changed world history and had a huge impact on the early United States as well. Use the 7 minute clip from Andrew Marr’s “History of the World – Episode 5 Age of Plunder”, BBC, 2012 (43 minutes on): http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1ucqaw_bbc-andrew-marr-s-history-of-the-world-5-of-8-age-of-plunder_tv Produce a chart of all three small Dutch islands and list their impact on North America. Compare and contrast which island had the greatest impact on the United States.
Lesson 4 – based on Section Three documents:
1) Using an Atlantic map, trace Rodney’s route 1780-1782 from Britain to St Lucia to New York to St Lucia to St Eustatius (not to Chesapeake Bay – dotted line?) to Britain to St Lucia to Saintes to Britain.
2) Legacies for France – chart the effects of the American Revolutionary war on France – both in terms of the French Revolution, but also it’s West Indian colonies – especially Haiti. Again Andrew Marr’s “History of the World – Episode 6 Revolution”, BBC, 2012 is helpful (7 minutes, 43 minutes on): http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1ucqds_bbc-andrew-marr-s-history-of-the-world-6-of-8-revolution_tv
3) Legacies for the US today – examine how the new Yorktown museum is choosing right now which ways to remember Yorktown and the Virginia Capes. Students could even write an historical accuracy paper on contemporary video gaming and how, for example, Assassin’s Creed’s latest edition has battles fought at the Chesapeake Bay/Virginia Capes and the Saintes.
Bibliography
Introduction
Secondary sources:
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation site: http://www.historyisfun.org/exhibitions/collections-and-exhibitions/special-exhibitions/jamestown-and-bermuda/
National Geographic geo-literacy: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/media/what-is-geo-literacy/?ar_a=1
Susan Hanson “The Geographic Advantage”, 2004
Section One
Primary sources:
West Indies map: WO 78/419/10
Leeward islands maps: MR 1/567
Atlantic ports map section: WO 78/419/10
Rodney letter to Vaughn: PRO 30/20/21/5-9
Secondary sources:
National Archives Caribbean and Slave Trade site: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/africa_caribbean/caribbean_trade.htm
Hofstra University Triangular Trade map: https://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch2en/conc2en/tradewinds.htm
Thomas White, “Naval Researches”, 1830
Andrew O’Shaughnessy “The Men Who Lost America”, 2013
C-span O’Shaughnessy lecture: http://www.c-span.org/video/?323046-1/discussion-american-revolution-caribbean
Section Two
Primary sources:
George Washington letter to Congress: PRO 30/11/106/11
Cornwallis forces march to Yorktown map: WO 78/574
St Eustatius: CO 700/WestIndies26
Intelligence letter about ships in St Eustatius: PRO 30/20/21/5/29
End of Dutch neutrality/ships can be seized printed leaflet: PRO 30/20/21/5/1-2
List of ships seized at St Eustatius following capture: PRO 30/20/21/5/43
Value of some ships seized at sale: PRO 30/20/21/5/49
Cornwallis letters to Clinton: PRO 30/11/74
Secondary sources:
French reproduction maps of Virginia Capes site: http://celticowboy.com/Wikipedia%20Article%20On%20Battle%20Of%20The%20Capes.htm
Yorktown museum re-design site: http://www.historyisfun.org/yorktown-victory-center/new-yorktown-museum/
Caribbean trade winds map site: http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/atmosphere/q0242.shtml
Andrew O’Shaughnessy, “The Men Who Lost America”, 2013
Plaque on Sint Eustatius today honoring the “first salute”: http://www.sv-zanshin.com/countries/statia.php)
Geroge III quote on value of West Indies to Britain: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sint_Eustatius
Washington quote on importance of the French navy to victory at Yorktown: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Chesapeake
Michael Lewis “The History of the British Navy”, 1959
Section Three
Primary Sources:
Intelligence letter from Cuba about Spanish plans: PRO 30/20/21/5/142-143
Rodney’s intelligence list of composition of French and Spanish fleet: PRO 30/20/21/5/150-151
Rodney’s hand-drawn sketch on decisive day Battle of the Saintes: PRO 30/20/21/5/124
French prisoners in Jamaica letter (in French): PRO 30/20/21/5/154
Jamaican Governors letter on importance of Saintes: CO 137/82/32
Secondary Sources:
Britain will risk itself for West Indies quote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Saintes
Andrew O’Shaughnessy, “The Men Who Lost America”, 2013
Description and visual on naval tactics: http://www.thedearsurprise.com/napoleonic-era-naval-tactics-25-the-weather-gage/ and https://prezi.com/shj9ctoztzax/history-of-1700-naval-warfare/
Movements of the fleets at the Saintes map (in French): http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Battle_of_Les_Saintes_map-fr.svg/800px-Battle_of_Les_Saintes_map-fr.svg.png
Rodney monument and painting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rodney_monument.jpg and http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_4x2YhHPz6I/TlxkiEKtAZI/AAAAAAAACJ8/gLsU-TLnuFs/s400/Admiral%2BRodney.png
Rodney cartoon of him slaying the French dragon: http://imageweb-cdn.magnoliasoft.net/bridgeman/supersize/nco190402.jpg
Eric Williams “Capitalism and Slavery”, 1944
Richard Sheridan “Sugar and Slavery: and Economic History of the British West Indies”, 1974
Joseph Inikori “Africans and the Industrial Revolution in England”, 2002
James Burke “The Day the Universe Changed” BBC DVD, episode six “Credit Where It's Due: The Factory And Marketplace Revolution”, 1985
Project Introduction
"When We Were British" project summary
PROJECT SUMMARY: "When We Were British" is a curriculum design project that assembled the expertise of middle and secondary level teachers in North Carolina and Virginia, secondary level teachers in the United Kingdom, university scholars, and public archivists to explore the themes and threads between early America and British histories. This team is collecting, curating, and visualizing digital assets from the National Archives (UK) that explore key themes of British impact and influence in the development of Early America. Once assembled, these documents will be visualized using geoliteracy concepts – and supported with instructional design approaches.
PROJECT GOALS: The final result is set of a teacher-created materials on how to use the National Archives materials in an inquiry-based classroom with an emphasis on the following:
– Geoliteracy in the classroom
– Interdisciplinary approaches that support C3 Framework
– Use of innovative place-based technology
– Elementary, middle, secondary (including AP) instructional models
FUNDING & SUPPORT: Funding was made possible by the joint support of the North Carolina Geographic Alliance and the Virginia Geographic Alliance. Special considerations were given by the National Archives of the United Kingdom.