Part V: The World of Diplomacy
Throughout the war the colonies tried to get foreign recognition and aid for their cause. Envoys were sent all over to get the aid which would make or break their cause. Among the Indian tribes, few received the diplomats warmly, preferring to side with the British or remain neutral. The tribe that showed the most promise were the Lenape, ruled by Chief White Eyes. White Eyes considered himself a friend to the colonists, and promised aid and supplies. The string of colonial defeats meant that he wouldn't risk declaring open war against the British, however. The colonists didn't take this well, apparently. White Eyes was murdered in November, 1777, possibly by colonial hands. The negotiations broke down, and the Lenape would wind up declaring openly for the British by January, robbing the colonists of their one possible ally in North America.
Other envoys sent to the Quebecois were even less succesful. The Quebecois might have been good allies to their southern neighbors, but the Brtish had ruled New France fairly since 1763, and the Quebecois remembered with bitterness the outcry the Sons of Liberty had made about the Quebec Act, labelling as one of the so called Intolerable Acts. The colonists would see no help from the Quebecois.
As most people know, thirteen colonies rose up against Britian, but these thirteen weren't the only colonies the Court of St. James had on the Western side of the Atlantic. Quebec, Nova Scotia, and the Hudson's Bay Company were too loyal to the crown to rebel, and the Ohio River Valley too saprsely settled to matter in the war itself. Florida was little more than St. Augustine and acres upon acres of swamp. The Caribbean colonies, however, had been settled by the same group of Puritans who created New England. The New Englanders hoped their islander cousins would join them, but the Royal Navy was powerful. Even if the Bahamas, Jamaica, the Antillies, and Georgetown all rose up against the crown, His Magesty's Fleet would ensure they could do no harm to Britain's cause. Thus, regardless of their feelings, the Caribbean colonists stayed loyal.
Europe was the colonists' biggest hope for support. If one of the great kingdoms of Europe joined them, then victory could be snatched from the jaws of defeat. The Kingdom of Sweden had actually recognised the United States, though they stopped short of doing anythig else. The other great nations of Europe - the Tsardom of all Russias, the Kingdom of Spain, the United Provinces of the Netherlands - all refused to support the rebels. In France, however, the American envoys were met with great pomp and splendor. The uprising was very popular in Britain's most ancient rival, and a few Frenchmen, such as one Marquis de Lafeyette, had actually traveled to North America to join in thee rebellion. However, shortly after the envoys arrived news of the defeats at Valley Forge and Saratoga followed. Louis XIV was a gracious host. He gave the rebellion his blessing, promised supplies and funds, but, like other well-wishers the colonists had talked to, he stopped short of military intervention.
By the time Charleston fell to Cornwallis, the message was clear. If the Americans wanted independence, they would have to win it on their own.
