Boston University Academy Model United Nations Conference VIII

Saturday, February 1st to Sunday, February 2nd 2020

Boston University Academy

Boston MA

American Revolution

Historical Joint Crisis Committee: Great Britain

Background Guide

Welcome

Dear Delegates,

My name is Easwer Raman and I will be your chair for JCC: American Revolution for Britain at BUAMUN this year. Janani Ganesh, a freshman here at BUA, will be my vice-chair for this committee. I am currently a senior at Boston University Academy and have been a part of Model UN throughout my time in high school. I have been involved with BUAMUN since 2017, having worked as crisis staff, vice-chaired a JCC committee, and previously chaired a JCC committee. I am so excited to be chairing a joint crisis committee once again, and cannot wait to see what unfolds this year!

Other than Model UN or BUAMUN, I am also a national fencer, captain of the BUA Fencing team, captain of Ultimate Frisbee at BUA, a peer advisor and tutor at BUA, and also lead the Flag-Football club.

In committee, we will operate under a modified version of parliamentary procedure, reverting to a permanent moderated caucus rather than a speaker’s list. We will review this—as well as all other procedural matters—for all new delegates at the beginning of the committee. If you have any questions about research, writing a policy paper, or anything else, please do not hesitate to email me at eraman@bu.edu. I am looking forward to meeting you all!

Sincerely,

Easwer Raman ‘20

Information on CommitteeThe crisis simulation will be run as part of BUAMUN’s Joint Crisis and will feature two

separate territories, each represented in our simulation by a committee: Britain and America. This committee will be representing Britain; as the chair, I will be assuming the role of King George III and each delegate will be a leader in parliament. Although debate will consist of cooperative discussion that will lead to unified decisions, individual delegates will possess portfolio powers, which can independently move the simulation forward. Delegates will be given portfolio powers on the day of BUAMUN. In committee, rather than defaulting to a speaker’s list if there are no procedural motions or points, we will default to a moderated caucus.

Position Paper InformationAll of the BUAMUN joint crisis committees require position papers from each delegate.

Position papers are short pieces of writing indicating a delegate’s stance which contributes to a chair’s perspective regarding awards. A position paper should be approximately 1-2 pages, double-spaced, and should include the delegate’s reaction to each of the topics.

Delegate: Easwer RamanSchool: Boston University Academy (Your school here)Committee: Future Joint CrisisPosition: (Insert my position)

But please make sure to change the header so it is appropriate for you and your committee. There should be one position paper from each delegate touching on all three topics, with a focus on that delegate’s position in the committee. Thanks!You should probably conduct additional research to write this paper. See the “Suggestions for Further Research” section at the end of this guide, for helpful resources.

Background of Britain and America’s Relationship

This committee takes place in colonial America in 1775. The threat of war is real and on

the verge of happening. The American Committee of the American Revolution Joint Crisis will

be composed of American figures as well as some Native Americans. The committee will be

made up of influential figures living in America at the time. Some will be for the liberation of

America from British rule; others will be loyalists. With the threat of war in mind, the delegates

should look to establish some sort of structure of government in the newly founded American

nation. It is up to the delegates to decide how to properly allocate resources and form an army

while keeping in mind the interests of all parties involved in the negotiations.

A large part of the conflict between the colonies and Great Britain stems from the French

and Indian War (also known as the Seven Years War)1, which took place from 1754-1763. The

war left Britain with massive debt, and to pay it off Britain began to extensively tax the colonists. 1 https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/french-and-indian-war-video

This did not sit well with the majority of those living in the colonies, and such feelings of

displeasure were only heightened by the Proclamation of 1763. In doing what he thought was

beneficial for the colonists, King George closed off the frontier to all expansion west of the

Appalachians in an effort to promote colonial security. This caused an increased resentment from

the colonists towards the crown. In the years following the Proclamation, the British took

advantage of how easily they could regulate the colonies. They increased taxation by passing

laws such as the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act (see link for more information below), which

garnered quick protest from the colonists and an increase in the popularity of the phrase “No

Taxation Without Representation”. Also passed shortly after the Proclamation was the Currency

Act of 1764, as well as the Quartering Act of 1765. Such acts only increased the ensuing chaos

brewing in the colonies, and they also led to many notable speeches such as Patrick Henry’s “If

this be Treason, Make the Most of It!” speech in 1765 and his famous “Give me liberty or give

me death”. There were many other conflicts between 1765 and the start of the war, but here is a

list of some additional events you may want to be familiar with:

1765: Stamp Act2

1767: Townshend Act2

1768: Boston Non-Importation Agreement

1770: The Boston Massacre2

1772: The Gaspee Affair

1773: The Tea Act & The Boston Tea Party2

1774: Intolerable (Coercive) Acts

❖ 3Boston Port Act

❖ Administration of Justice Act

❖ Massachusetts Government Act

❖ Quartering Act of 1774

❖ Quebec Act

1774: First Continental Congress4

2 https://www.history.com/news/american-revolution-causes3 https://www.historyisfun.org/learn/learning-center/what-were-the-intolerable-acts/4 https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-continental-congress-convenes

Topic 1: Determining Leadership in America and Increasing British Support

The Americans’ Declaration of Independence weakened British power, however, many loyalists still reside in major American cities and can help enforce British power and ideals. Over a third of the American population were loyalists, and they were genuinely interested in upholding British rule. They were primarily Anglican clergymen, officeholders, Quakers, large landholders, and wealthy merchant groups. Large landholders and the wealthy merchant’s group helped control the economy and influenced many communities in the New World.

States were led by British governors before the Revolution, which gave Britain ultimate power over the colonies. However, this resulted in American people rebelling against British rule due to lack of representation despite their taxation, which led to various conflicts and ultimately the Revolutionary War. However, a compromise could have been decided between the Americans and the British, but as tensions rose, it became more and more unlikely. As tensions continued to rise, American assemblies forced British governors out of office, allowing colonists to rule themselves. Of course, this was not acceptable as these colonies are still British. Therefore, the British continued to close ports and tax the Americans, which ultimately led to the Americans building a local militia in order to battle the British.

The British appointed Thomas Gage as the commander in chief of all British forces in 1763, and he was successful in maintaining the peace between Native Americans and the British and spearheading trade and diplomatic relations. Gage, however, underestimated the American independence movements and helped instigate the war through his part in creating the Intolerable Acts in 1774 and the Massachusetts Government Act, which forced Massachusetts residents to quarter British troops in their houses. Moreover, he ordered the march on Lexington and Concord which failed to capture Sam Adams and marked the beginning of the war. He then led the British into the battle of Bunker Hill, a disaster due to the large loss of British lives despite having much more ammunition and more soldiers than the Americans. This battle resulted in British people in Britain losing support and interest in the war as it became clear that this war would be longer and more costly than they initially thought.

Thomas Gage was replaced by William Howe, who quickly led the army to New York to capture it’s port. William Howe won the battle of Long Island convincingly and acquired the ports for the British, which gave British people hope that the war would be finished quickly. He hoped to get the Americans to surrender or to become open to negotiating a compromise, as British numbers were greatly reduced which made the war more equal. He continued moving south, and with two more victories, it seemed that he would lead the British to a swift victory. However, he was not able to take advantage of their strategic position and timing to defeat General Washington’s weakened army, and Howe’s forces in New York were vulnerable and exposed because he was moving south. This resulted in the British losing New York in the Battle of Saratoga and ultimately led to the end of the war in Cornwallis in 1781. Howe and the British government were greatly scrutinized by the British people for the lengthy failure that was the Revolutionary War.

Questions to Consider:

1. Would it be best to find a compromise with America?2. What could be done to increase the support of the British people for the war?3. Who is the best leader for the war, and what efforts should be done to ensure a victory?

Topic 2: Building and Quartering British Army As mentioned before, the war efforts were led by both Thomas Gage and William Howe,

and both were ultimately unsuccessful. This could be attributed both to the British army in the colonies and their placement in the colonies. At the start of the war, the total size of the British army, excluding militia, consisted of 48,647 soldiers. These soldiers were primarily infantry (39,294), but there was cavalry (6,869) and artillery soldiers (2,484). Although there were already nearly 50,000 British troops, there were also around 30,000 German soldiers that were provided by German states. These troops were first stationed in Boston and then moved to New York and continued spreading south. This spreading led to the army being weaker at their crucial port at New York, which led to them being defeated and ultimately forfeiting the war.

As the war started, King George III thought that it would be best to increase the size of the British army by creating larger infantry regiments and companies. The number of soldiers per regiment was increased to 200 and the number of soldiers per company was increased to 18.As the war continued, the size of companies was increased again to 70 soldiers before being reduced to 58 soldiers by the end of the war. This increase of soldiers per regiment and per company could have led to the army being so spread out as they had to have large spaces between forces as there were fewer companies and regiments, which resulted in more time needed to get reinforcements and less area being watched for American forces.

Although the British Army was very large and highly experienced and trained, it was tasked with defending a large area which thinned the army. Moreover, because of the distance between Britain and America, it took much longer to deliver soldiers and supplies to the American and a port was necessary for delivering these things. That is why the battle of Saratoga marked the end of the war. Additionally, the British were at a disadvantage because they lacked familiarity with the environment and lacked experience with the quick guerrilla warfare that the Americans used. However, there were loyalists in America that knew the New England area well and wanted the British to win. The change in warfare and lack of familiarity with the area is partly why the British had early struggles when fighting the Americans. The British lost the war despite having more money, more experienced, and more soldiers, which made their crushing loss even more demeaning.

Questions to Consider:

1. Would the British people be more supportive of the war if fewer British people were in the war?

2. Would increasing regiment and company size result in a more effective attack strategy, or should the size be decreased?

3. Should the British army use the loyalists in their attack efforts? Should they recruit the loyalists for the army? How would the British people react to that?

Topic 3: Foreign Affairs and Economy

Britain’s economy and trade boomed during the war as many people could work as soldiers or work to supply the soldiers and ships. However, this economic peak was short-lived as when the war ended, Britain was left with millions of pounds of debt. This was manageable for the developed British economy, but not for the developing American economy that hadn’t set forth taxes yet. Moreover, after the trade was shut down between America and Britain, Britain had other countries to trade with, but the majority of American trade was shut down. However, by 1982 the trade between America and Britain had more than rebounded leading to prosperity to both nations.

The jobs that were created by the war were in such abundance that over 30,000 soldiers were bought from Germany. However, this was the only ally that Britain had in the war. Britain had more than enough troops and money to fund and win the war, but the tense relations between Spain and especially France resulted in their loss. The subpar relations with France stem from the Hundred Year War, which was primarily a territorial dispute. Despite being a small issue, it resulted in a unified identity and language in Britain. A more recent stressor on the French and British relationship was the 7-year war, which involved American territory. The British and French fought over the Ohio Country Area, and the French surrendered which resulted in added territory for the British, and, therefore, the Americans. This raised tensions between the British and the French, so when the Americans declared independence the French were eager to ally themselves against the British. French reinforcement of America ultimately led to British defeat, as, without the money and resources supplied by the French, the Americans would not have been able to survive the lengthy war.

Questions to Consider:

1. Are there countries that would actively ally with Britain?2. Would it be possible to repair the relationship between France and Spain?3. How would it be possible to ensure that the economy is not affected by the war?

Positions In Committee (Names subject to change)

Richard Rigby - A wealthy man, who acquired many titles in Parliament before taking up the position of Paymaster of the Forces in 1768.

George Hayley - Hayley was elected Member of Parliament for the City of London at the 1774 general election. He also became an alderman in 1774 and currently is a sheriff of London (1775). His main concern is on behalf of merchants trading with America.

General John Irwin – He was commissioned into the 5th Regiment of Foot in 1736. He served in an attack on the French coast in 1758 and then fought under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick in Germany in 1760. He currently serves as a Member of Parliament (MP) for East Grinstead.

Sir James Cockburn - In 1767 he was elected a Director of the East India Company (until 1769). He was re-elected in 1770 and in the following two years. In 1772 he was also elected to Parliament to represent Linlithgow, a seat he currently retains (1775).

Lord Verney - a British politician who currently seats in the House of Commons (1775). He is very proud of his wealth, although it does not even touch the amount that other Parliament members have and is still sour about his failure at not acclaiming a seat in the business sector of the Crown.

Richard Vernon - a British horse breeder and trainer and a politician who currently seats in the House of Commons.

Henry Hoghton- or Sir Henry Houghton, 6th Baronet was a wealthy politician who sat in the House of Commons and spoke frequently on matters relating to Lancashire.

William Howe - a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British forces. After leading British troops to a costly victory in the Battle of Bunker Hill, Howe took command of all British forces in America from Thomas Gage in September of that year.

Thomas Gage - a British Army general officer and colonial official best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as British commander-in-chief in the early days of the American Revolution

John Capel Hanbury - a British heir and politician who currently seats in the House of Commons. Although he came from a family of ironmaster’s, his great-grandfather was awarded £70,000 Charles William of Caerleon and his father married a royal.

John Strutt - a British politician who currently seats in the House of Commons. He is an avid supporter of the government pertaining to any decision that the majority makes.

Sir William Lemon - a Member of Parliament for Cornish constituencies (south-western part of Britain). His family owns a number of properties and a few mines. He made his fortune off of copper mines. He supported seditious assemblies and opposed the regulations made against them. He was considered a neutral figure.

Richard Hippisley Coxe - a British politician who sat in the House of Commons. He supports all the decisions made by the Parliament.

Soame Jenyns - an English writer and a wealthy Member of Parliament. He wrote many books and a pamphlet titled, “The Objections to the Taxation of Our American Colonies by the Legislature of Great Britain, briefly consider'd.” In this, he argues the case for Parliament's right to tax the colonies.

Sir George Savile - an English politician who currently seats in the House of Commons. He advocated views of a very liberal character and he defended the actions taken by the American colonists. He was a wealthy man who had an open mind.

Bibliography:

Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. “The British Army in the Revolutionary War.” History of Massachusetts Blog, 7 June 2018, historyofmassachusetts.org/british-army-revolutionary-war/.

Coogan, Taps. “Map of the Day: Every Week of the American War of Independence.” The Sounding Line, 22 Apr. 2018, thesoundingline.com/map-of-the-day-every-week-of-the-revolutionary-war/.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Thomas Gage.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 29 Mar. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Gage.

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: an American History. W.W. Norton & Company, 2017.

Namier, L, and J Brooke. “History of Parliament Online.” III. The Members | History of Parliament Online, The History of Parliament: the House of Commons, 1964, www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/survey/iii-members.

Showalter, Dennis E. “William Howe.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 6 Aug. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/William-Howe-5th-Viscount-Howe.

Wilde, Robert. “Britain's Loss in the American Revolution Did Little Harm to Its Power.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 23 June 2019, www.thoughtco.com/american-revolutionary-war-effect-on-britain-1222025.

“William Howe Named Commander in Chief of British Army.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/howe-named-commander-in-chief-of-british-army.

Wilson, John F., and Richard D. Horn. Church and State in America / the Colonial and Early National Periods. Greenwood Pr., 1986.