One thing that is not heavily taught in the US is the domestic political environment in England during the latter half of the 18th century. We went from fighting the French in the 1750s to taking their aid in the 1770s. Now, the French desire to help us should be obvious but how unified were the English people concerning the war with the colonies? I have long thought that there were some parallels between the Vietnam War and the American Revolution. Militarily we didn’t loose any major engagements in Vietnam, just as the English did well in the colonies. It was the lack of backing in the states that brought demise for the American involvement in South East Asia. Did the English have the same problem?

There were plenty of politicians in the British government who disliked the war and feared that even a successful war against the American colonies would irrevocably damage relationships between American and Great Britain in the long run.

This expensive war also became very unpopular at home. Not only was Great Britain fighting the American colonists, but France decided to join the American cause in 1778, primarily to avenge her defeat at British hands in the French and Indian War. American also received indirect help when Spain declared war of Great Britain in 1779, using the war in the American colonies as an excuse to try and wrestle Gibraltar from British hands. Not forgetting the Netherlands, who got in on the act by declaring war of Great Britain in 1780.

Great Britain could've continued the war after Yorktown in 1781, like Cornwallis and King George III wanted to, but it was reasoned that a ultimate British victory was now years of hard fighting away and wholly impracticable. Therefore the British Parliament decided to pull the plug and sue for peace.

Another point I'd like to make here is that King George III was not the evil dictator that some Americans seem to think. Contrary to popular belief, the King's power was by no means absolute. King George's power was entirely subject to the British Parliament, thanks to the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688, that established Parliament's supremacy over the monarch once and for all. It was Parliament that had the ultimate say in this war, not the King.