[MUDDOG]

Was it possible to supply an army operating 3,000 miles from home?

In the later Peninsular War fought by Britain against Napoleonic France in Spain and Portugal, Britain enjoyed a great advantage in that it scrupulously paid the local population for supplies, while the French depended on confiscation, and consequently alienated the locals and had a harder time getting anything.

I don't know if Britain followed the same policy in America.

[Verginius Rufus]

Before the battles of Saratoga in 1777, General Burgoyne made a pompous announcement encouraging the Americans in that area to return to loyalty to Britain and hinting that he would unleash his Indian allies on them if they refused. Not exactly the way to win over the hearts and minds of the Americans.

France was trying to impose Napoleon's brother as king of Spain, whom the Spanish did not want, and they used harsh tactics to put down the Spanish uprising (see Goya's painting "The Third of May"). So it probably wasn't hard for the British to find willing collaborators among the Spanish people.

[Verginius Rufus]

Before the battles of Saratoga in 1777, General Burgoyne made a pompous announcement encouraging the Americans in that area to return to loyalty to Britain and hinting that he would unleash his Indian allies on them if they refused. Not exactly the way to win over the hearts and minds of the Americans.

France was trying to impose Napoleon's brother as king of Spain, whom the Spanish did not want, and they used harsh tactics to put down the Spanish uprising (see Goya's painting "The Third of May"). So it probably wasn't hard for the British to find willing collaborators among the Spanish people.