The triumph of so-called "free market" philosophy, eh, Carol?

When Benedict Arnold changed sides he told the British that the smartest thing they could do if they wanted to beat the American revolutionaries was to offer free land and money to anyone who would join the Loyalist cause (almost half the population were Loyalists already). He told them that money would be a far more effective weapon in quelling the revolution than military force. I expect he was right. The British, however, were short of money at the time because they were tied down in some major wars in Europe, so they never really followed through on Arnold's excellent advice, though they made some limited efforts in that direction (and those were quite successful).

It was a very near thing. Either side could have won that war.