| On
October 19, 1781, a French military force commanded by the
Comte de Rochambeau, and the Continental Army commanded by
George Washington cornered and forced the surrender of a large
British army under the command of Lord Cornwallis. This defeat
at Yorktown, Virginia, on October 19, 1781, forced the British
to negotiate for a peace. The war for independence was over.
There
were 11,000 Americans in the battle and at least 29,000 French
soldiers and sailors. There were 37 French war ships which
prevented the 87,000 soldiers from escaping by sea. The French
were instrumental in the American victory.
When
King George heard of the surrender he wanted to keep on fighting.
The Parliament, however, was not willing. The King threatened
to abdicate, and even wrote a letter of abdication to Parliament,
but in the end withdrew it. He never got over the loss
of the colonies, but he still hoped to profit from them. In
a letter written sometime in the 1790s he remarked "it
is to be hoped we shall reap more advantages from their trade
as friends than ever we could derive from them as Colonies."
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