This letter from the then British Prime Minister, William Pitt, to the Governor of Rhode Island, Stephen Hopkins, gives us an insight into the economics of war. Such economics would lead to colonial discontent, revolution and American independence some years later. In 1758, when this letter was written, Britain’s colonies were at war with the French provinces of New France that primarily sat to the north in what can be called the French and Indian War or La guerre de la Conquête. This was part of a global conflict, which we now call the Seven Years’ War, between various European powers ranged in two blocks; among them and on different sides were Britain and France. The conflict in North America had started in 1754 – caused broadly by colonial expansionist tensions – and had not gone well for the British and the colonists, most notably with General Braddock’s disastrous expedition of 1755 (featuring a young George Washington).

After an inauspicious start to the North American conflict for Britain, William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, came to power and poured more resources into the colonial war. On the back of some initial successes the previous year this letter was written. It calls on the colonists “to furnish at least 20,000 men, to join a body of the King’s Forces for invading Canada … and carrying War into the Heart of the Enemy’s Possessions.” The letter goes on to discuss the gathering point for troops, overall strategy and apportioning officer commissions.

With hindsight, what makes this missive particularly interesting is when it begins to discuss costs. Arms, ammunition, tents, transport and artillery will be at “His Majesty’s expense”. But “His Majesty expects & requires from the several Provinces … the Levying, Cloathing & Pay of the Men”. Similar requests went out to Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and the Southern government.

What we can now see in these passages is the roots of colonial discontent with Britain. The global war in which Britain was engaged put the nation into immense debt. Empires have never been cheap to maintain. In an attempt to cut this deficit, various taxes were imposed on British subjects, among whom were the colonists of North America. The most famous of these measures was the Stamp Act of 1765, designed to pay for soldiers in North America, which embittered the colonists no end. At this point the colonists began to question the legitimacy of this economic burden and along came the mantra “no taxation without representation”.

So this simple set of orders for conducting war, alongside showing us the government mechanics of planning and fighting wars, reveals to us the cost of defence and empire maintenance and hence the road to taxation. This taxation led to a constitutional debate and so to a revolution.

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