An Empire on the Edge

July 7, 2014
Covering the three years leading up to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775, journalist Bunker (Making Haste from Babylon) wisely jettisons a hero/villain dichotomy in favor of a nuanced global analysis of Britain’s failure to hold onto its American colonies. Bunker opens his riveting narrative with an account of the East India Company’s maneuvers to secure tea for the thirsty British market. In 1771, the company miscalculated demand and ended up with a crippling amount of unsold stock that, with the help of the British government, it intended to unload on the 13 colonies. By 1772, the colonists, accustomed to running their own economies and local governments, pushed back at what they viewed as unwarranted intrusions into their affairs. This serious difference of opinion over the nature of the colonial relationship became crystal clear when a group of American raiders attacked a British customs schooner, the Gaspée, off the coast of Rhode Island. Relations with Britain deteriorated, culminating with the dumping of the East India Company’s tea in the Boston harbor. This was a major property crime and another direct challenge to Parliament’s authority. With a sharp eye for economic realities, Bunker persuasively demonstrates why the American Revolution had to happen. Illus.