Analysis Of Christopher Hibbert's 'Redcoats And Rebels'

In historical book Redcoats and Rebels, Christopher Hibbert takes a well-known story of the American Revolution, which is mostly told as a heroic story from the American perspective, and retells it from a perspective of British loyalists incorporating a lot of information from various sources. Although the book “might be useful to students of history as an introduction to historical works the author used for writing it, which are included in bibliography” (p xi), Mr. Hibbert wanted it to be readable and understandable to the general public. By its idea and subject, this book inevitably conveys a message that even the most famous story can seem as a completely new as well as be entertaining and interesting to the audience if shown from a different …show more content…
The first part begins with protests and rebellions against British taxes and regulations led by the Sons of Liberty as a response to the passage of the Stamp Act. Vividly describing the causes and effects of Boston Massacre as well as a passage of the Tea Act, the author introduced the course changing event in American history, the act of raging rebels throwing all tea chests from the British ships into the sea as a sign of opposition, known as the Boston Tea Party. Furthermore, the inhabitants of colonies agreed on a boycott of all British goods, and the war started. Not having an intention to surrender, colonies gathered and trained Continental Army that even managed to defeat British troops in …show more content…
Uniting his passion for history with writing, he became a full-time writer, composing mostly books with historical topics. Awarded by critics and widely popular with an audience, he was one of the most famous historians. Hibbert managed to unite extremes in his distinctive writing style, which also comes to the fore in Redcoats and Rebels. Even though pedantic with details, he remains highly objective towards the topic. What is more, he uses formal, professional language, but makes it understandable to the general public. Another strength of this book is vivid describing of war, which often includes examples of individual horror such as the one of a man from Portsmouth, who is afraid to send food to his sisters in Boston because his life would be threatened by British army: “I have two sisters married in Boston… but I dare not assist them tho I know they now suffer, having nothing but salt meat for their babies and children” (p 61). Moreover, the author quotes a lot of diaries and letters for a better understanding of the subject. For instance, quoting The Declaration of Independence gives a better insight in rights demanded by the Americans: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the