Rodney's ambition, prejudice, and Chesapeake counterfactual

Rodney could make bold operational decisions, but his insecurity about money and status sometimes overwhelmed his judgment. At St Eustatius, his pursuit of wealth and harsh treatment of Jewish merchants drew criticism in his own time. Had Rodney joined Samuel Hood with a substantially larger British fleet, the Chesapeake campaign might have unfolded differently. Even a British naval victory might not have reversed American independence, though it could have changed the campaign around Yorktown. British priorities narrow the plausible outcome: tax-paying Canada offered dependable value, while London had strong reasons to retain New York's harbour as a naval and trading base.