Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire, 1714-1783

Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire, 1714-1783. By Brendan Simms. New York: Basic Books, 2009. 802 pages. $39.95. Reviewed by Colonel Kevin W. Farrell, Chief, International History Division, Department of History, US Military Academy.

Brendan Simms continues to demonstrate that he is a force to be reckoned with in his massive and sweeping revisionist account of the strategic rise of Great Britain during the eighteenth century. Examining in detail three British victories-the War of the Spanish Succession, War of the Austrian Succession, and Seven Years' War-as well as a defeat, the loss of the 13 American colonies, Simms argues that Britain's rise to greatness was based upon a coherent strategic culture that was firmly Eurocentric. Eminently readable and extensively researched and documented, in the end Three Victories and a Defeat is not completely convincing, but it is an impressive and significant contribution to British history and European diplomatic history. Without question the work should be considered essential reading for anyone interested in British history, European strategic and diplomatic history, or the American Revolution.

Countering the long-held and widely accepted view that Britain's extraordinary rise to power in the eighteenth century was primarily due to her navy and financial system, Simms argues that British strength was based upon its European connection, particularly the Hanoverian monarchy's link to its German kingdom and related alliances within Europe. Rather than events outside of Europe influencing British success, Simms suggests...