Letter Addressed to the Abbé Raynal on the Affairs of North-America

First published in 1782, this response to Raynal's The Revolution of America (also reissued in this series) by Thomas Paine (1737–1809) has been eclipsed by Paine's other work and largely overlooked. Written a year after Raynal's account of the American Revolution appeared in English, Paine's 'corrections' run to nearly eighty pages. His main critique of Raynal is that his argument stresses political theory rather than actions in the real world, an approach that lacks practicality. Paine argues against Raynal's assertion that the American War of Independence erupted over a tax dispute, and downplays France's involvement in the movement for independence. However, while attacking Raynal's influential work, he does so diplomatically, believing that the Abbé was writing from too great a distance to assess accurately the causes and principles of the conflict. This book has been hailed by scholars as the first of Paine's publications to demonstrate his internationalist views.