Cambridge Archive Editions (formerly published by Cambridge University Press and now an imprint of East View Press) presents a wealth of historical reference materials from the 18th-20th centuries on the national heritage and political development of numerous countries. “America and Great Britain: Diplomatic Relations 1775-1815” is the first Cambridge Archive Editions collection covering North America.
Comprising official diplomatic correspondence between America and Britain, these volumes provide extraordinary insight into the shaping of a nation, from the territory being referred to in 1775 by King George III as “our Colonies and Plantations in North America”, to its recognition as the “United States” by Britain in 1782 and the official cessation of hostilities in 1815.
The correspondences are made up of an extensive collection of letters, despatches and proclamations from high-ranking British and American politicians, including a number of the Founding Fathers such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Hancock.
Together these correspondences form a narrative which not only captures major historical events from a contemporary viewpoint, but also provides a vivid, lively and uniquely personal insight into the creators of modern America.
The collection also provides an insight into European politics during this period, as America increasingly became the subject of political intrigue for Britain and France, whose hostilities dominated Europe at the time. Conflicts between America, France and Britain arising over trade, defense and diplomacy are explored and increase our understanding of this complex trans-Atlantic triumvirate.