What did British imperial officials in London and their North America-based representatives make of the American Revolution?
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World: A Podcast About Early American History, we explore the American Revolution through the eyes of John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, a British imperial official who served the empire in North America before, during, and after the American Revolution.
James Corbett David, author of Dunmore’s New World: The Extraordinary Life of a Royal Governor in Revolutionary America (University of Virginia Press, 2013), serves as our guide for this exploration. You can listen to the podcast here: www.benfranklinsworld.com/162
[Read more…] about Dunmore’s New World: British Empire and American Revolution
This month on “Crossroads of Rockland History,” Clare Sheridan interviewed Selene Castrovilla. She discussed her new children’s book, Revolutionary Rogues: John André and Benedict Arnold, a riveting nonfiction picture book that unfolds like a play, telling a story from American history. Gravely injured and with little chance for more military honors, Major-General Benedict Arnold seeks reward and recognition another way. He contacts Major John André, the new head of British intelligence and another man determined to prove himself. Arnold and André strike a deal and use Arnold’s intelligence to take over West Point, the strategic American fort. The plan ultimately fails, leading to André’s capture and death and Arnold’s loss of reward and glory. Ms. Castrovilla and the book’s illustrator, John O’Brien, brilliantly capture the tensions and high drama of these two revolutionary rogues by highlighting their similarities and differences and demonstrating how they brought about their own tragic ends. The book also includes an afterword, timelines of the lives of both men, an extensive bibliography, and a list of key places to visit.