The year 1971 was one in which the most extensive changes occurred in postwar diplomatic history. The East-West confrontation, the basic framework of international politics that has been maintained for over a quarter of a century after the war, was transfigured at least outwardly, and concrete steps were taken toward the construction of a new international order. Changes occurred not only in the arena of international politics but also in the international economy. The world economic order which has been consistently maintained in the postwar years was more than a little disrupted. Naturally, Japan could not escape the effects of these changes in both the political and economic arenas.
News from England took months to hit the colonies, and vice versa. The king didn't even get the Declaration of Independence until a few months after it was already signed. Now apply that to every single piece of information that traversed between Britain and the Colonies.
