Customer Reviews

In Irons: Britain`s Naval Supremacy and the American Revolutionary Economy

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Richard Buel has skillfully blended polotics and military. _In_Irons_ takes a close look at how the Royal Navy affected commerce in the American Colonies. The information is accessible, and numerous primary sources cited. I read this book in one sitting (it's that good).

Frankly I found this book quite irritating to read due to a variety of grammatical errors. Aside from that, I felt that the thesis was interesting -- that the American economy suffered deeply due to the Revolutionary War, in a large part due to the actions of the British Navy. However, the analysis was a bit strange.

For instance Buel looks at the maximum manpower which might have been diverted from wheat production due to men serving in the army. Strangely, he fails to account for (a) casualties as the war progresses (b) known displacement of Tories and Whigs who resided in areas of the other political persuasion (c) the "burning of the valleys" in the Schoharie and Mohawk area, which destroyed a large wheat producing area. I don't know that this would change the conclusion of how wheat production was affected, but the argument did seem to be lacking in force.

Another example, Buel examines the effectiveness of the Continental and State Navies, largely examining them against a financial standard. This seems to miss the mark, in that the Navy is held up against a profitability standard such as would be applicable to privateers -- the Navy's job was not to generate income, but to impede the British navy or secure war materiel and other commodities needed for the government that could not be procured at a reasonable expence under private contract. Thus, the Navy's effectiveness shouldn't just be a check on its cost compared to its income.

On the plus side, this book will hopefully cause more historians to look at the economic and transportation factors in war and revolution. This is definitely an aspect that has been largely ignored.