Kathleen DuVal is the author of Independence Lost: Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution.From her Q & a with Deborah Kalb:
Q: You write, “This book focuses on the Gulf Coast, from Florida to Louisiana, because of the astounding number of competing interests that came into conflict there.” What were some of the most important interests?--Marshal Zeringue
A: In the battles on the Gulf Coast, the British fought against the Spanish empire, not against the rebelling American colonists. The king of Spain hoped to take advantage of the American rebellion to attack Britain and seize some of its North American colonies for the Spanish empire.
Besides the two main competitors, there were countless smaller groups with their own reasons for fighting in the war or trying to stay out of it.
There were European colonists who had come to North America seeking land and prosperity from their homes in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Spain, the German provinces, and other parts of North America.
There were enslaved and free people of African descent. And there were American Indian nations who were still in control of most of the North American interior and did not want...[read on]