Table of Contents

• List of Illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• Abbreviations
• A Note on References
• Summary Chronology
• Introduction
• 1 The Approach of Peace
• 2 The Birth of America
• 3 Shelburne, Vergennes and the European Settlement
• 4 The Domestic Political Context
• 5 Fox and the 1783 Negotiations
• Conclusion
• Appendix: Dramatis Personae
• Notes
• Select Bibliography
• Index

Promotional Information

‘ . . . turns the established view of the creation of the USA upon its head . . .’ Hamish Scott, University of St Andrews

Draws on a wide range of archival material

Quotes the leading figures involved, including George III, Charles James Fox, Lord Shelburne, Louis XVI, the Comte de Vergennes, Benjamin Franklin

About the Author

Andrew Stockley obtained his doctorate in history from the University of Cambridge and is currently Lecturer in Constitutional Law, University of Canterbury, New Zealand and Principal of College House, Christchurch, New Zealand. His research interests are Constitutional Law, The Role of the Crown and Republicanism, Parliament and the Electoral System, The Treaty of Waitangi, Civil Liberties and Human Rights. He is a former Head of the School of Law and is Principal of College House - New Zealand's oldest and most traditional university college.

Reviews

... Turns the established view of the creation of the USA upon its head ... This splendidly produced volume needs to be set in the historiographical context of its subject, one much written about from varying national viewpoints ... The merits of this book by Andrew Stockley are that he incorporates recent scholarship; adds new material of his own; notes the impact of internal politics in Britain and France; and, above all, as his title suggests, puts the whole topic in a European rather than American setting ... An excellent synthesis of a complicated topic, leavened with fresh material and marked by an original approach. Highly recommended for all college libraries. The specialist will find much to enjoy and benefit from, especially the analysis of the construction of a viable British foreign policy towards the American colonies and their European allies.