Quote:
Originally Posted by glyn
I don't know how true that statement is. The subjects had largely had high hopes for the Americas. Many of the settlers were British. The works of Payne et al were widely read in the UK and the public were not clamouring for war.
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I should have put that better, my apologies.
There was certainly no popular clamouring for war in 1812 as you said. Indeed, the United States was Great Britain's single largest customer of manufactured goods, some 25% of Britain's industrial output was bought by Americans.
Certainly as the war wore on, costing the British some ₤10 million a year (the entire enlisted payroll of the RN was only ₤3 million a year) there was definitely a clamouring to
end the war, particularly with old Boney still a threat.
What I was referring to was the relative public opinion of the "home team" versus the "junior league".
If you'd have told the average passerby in London or Plymouth circa 1811 that the Royal Navy was going to lose several frigate vs. frigate engagements with the United States Navy, they would have laughed uproariously.
If you'd have told the same tale to a Royal Navy officer, they might have taken it as a gross insult.
The point is, there were few, if any, people who would have taken the American Navy seriously...if at all.