War of Independence: Political Blunder on the Part of Britain - Essay Example

In contrast, the reality was that pre-war measures are taken by Britain like the establishment of the Proclamation Line, placement of the British garrisons and arbitrarily taxing the colonies amounted to blatant attempts to exercise control while sidelining the popular aspirations of the colonies (Millett & Maslowski, 1994, p. 53). One direct outcome of this political debacle on the part of Britain was its highhanded approach towards things based on the false perceptions created by the Loyalists. It was true that ”England underestimated the militia’s potential and patriot numerical strength (Millett & Maslowski, 1994, p. 56).”

The conflict could have been avoided if Britain had given heed to the popular expressions of dissent rising way back in 1765 when only select colonies vouched for complete independence. A majority of the patriots even during the early phase of the war we're fighting for their rights as English subjects and not for complete independence (Millett & Maslowski, 1994, p. 53). The War of Independence could simply have been avoided if Britain had responded with a sensitive and pragmatic political initiative right in the start while taking a realistic assessment of its colonial and local, economic, logistic, and political limitations.