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Thomas Paine was a leader of the American Revolution and is widely known for authoring the 1776 pamphlet “Common Sense,” which argued for American independence from Great Britain. In this document, Paine offered many reasons why he believed the American colonies would be able to defeat the British in the Revolutionary War. One reason Paine believed the colonies stood a good chance against the British was because of their superior knowledge of the terrain.

Paine argued that the British would never be able to fully understand the American landscape. In a world where no two towns are the same, the British were bound to find it difficult to adjust to the American terrain. The colonies meanwhile, were used to the land and could use this knowledge to their advantage. Paine writes that:

“America is an essay of profit and loss, in which England hath no share. The danger is in attempting to turn the scale, and pretending that it is equally shared. He who is only a spectator, and far away, is in less danger of being concerned in the evils that attend it. But he who is an actor and a partner, in a business in which he is not upon an equal footing, will always feel the bad effects of it in a greater or less degree.”

Paine believed the British had no real feel for the terrain and would not be able to utilize it to their advantage in the same way the Americans could. Paine’s argument is that knowing the landscape would give the colonies a leg up in the war and ultimately lead to their success.

Ultimately, Thomas Paine’s belief that the colonies could defeat the British was rooted in the idea that the Americans had a better understanding of their environment. Paine argued that the British would never be able to fully comprehend the American terrain and that this knowledge would be the colonies’ advantage in the Revolutionary War.