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Hello, and thanks for joining Revolution 250, where we look at events that took place 250 years ago this week.

This is from the American Revolution podcast, a short bonus episode to remind you about these important anniversaries from the Revolutionary War.

This week, we remember the British decision to wage war on the colonies and Lord Dunmore's

proclamation during the first week of November 1775.

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By the fall of 1775, the colonies had been waging war with Britain for nearly six months.

There were still many colonial leaders, however, that hoped King George III would step in and negotiate a political solution to the colonial dispute with Parliament.

They hoped that the King would see that the open warfare in the colonies

would indicate how seriously they took the protection of their rights

and that the leaders in London would want to broker a compromise

rather than pay for the costly war on the colonies to crush them.

General Washington referred to the British regulars in Boston as the... than pay for the costly war on the colonies to crush them.

General Washington referred to the British regulars in Boston as the parliamentary army, referencing the English Civil War where Parliament fought against the king.

By refusing to reject the king directly, colonists hoped that he could serve as a political broker to end the fighting and get a

system in place to protect the colonists' traditional rights. As it would turn out, that was not the

case. On October 26, 1775, the king gave his speech to the opening of parliament, declaring the colonies to be in an open state of rebellion,

...