In this episode we explore the Revolution 250 exhibit at The National Archives in Kew, from 24 June 2026 to 29 November 2026:

[Revolution 250](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/revolution-250-americas-independence-story-1763-1783/)
America's Independence Story 1763–1783
Britain and America. One Story, Two Nations

Topics include the following:

-the story of the distribution of the Declaration first around the Colonies and then around the world

-a description of the National Archive's collection of early prints of the Declaration, including the extremely rare Dunlap Broadsides

-the fascinating stories of how these prints arrived in London, enclosed in letters from various British officials in the Colonies, such as Admiral Richard Howe and General William Howe

-an overview of the historical scope of the exhibition from 1763 to 1783

-the practicalities of preserving, sorting, and storing records in the National Archives

-the importance of intelligence gathering by Imperial officials in the Colonies, including the interception of letters and the creation of lists of likely rebels and loyalists

-an overview of the intercepted letters at the exhibition and an assessment of the British intelligence operation during the run up to the war and the war itself

-the Parliamentary debate in Britain in 1778 about the substance of the complaints in the Declaration of Independence

-the experience of indigenous people and enslaved people during this period

The cover image features a Dunlap broadside, printed in Philadelphia on the night of the 4th of July 1776.

"He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power...He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people."

In this episode, we unpack Grievances #11, #12, #23, and #24 of the Declaration of Independence and the relationship between Americans and the various types of armed troops in North America, from militias, to British regulars, to the Continental Army.

Topics include the following:

-the shared British and American tradition of opposing standing armies--because if they are not disbanded after wars, they are used by tyrants to take away the rights of the people

-the perception of American colonists that the King had stationed 10,000 soldiers in North America in 1763 precisely so he could enforce his tyrannical policies on them

-the various functions of Colonial militias in the 17th and 18th centuries, including war-fighting, civil policing, and preventing slave uprisings

-the strained relationships between the Colonial militias and British regulars during the 7 Years' War and Pontiac's Revolt

-the role of the Battles of Lexington and Concord in forcing Congress to create the Continental Army

-the political significance of the name the Continental Army, as opposed to the American or Congressional or Colonial Army

-the political significance of appointing George Washington, a Southerner and Virginian, as Commander of a mostly Northern militia force

-an introduction to Washington's senior officers: Artemas Ward, Israel Putnam, and Charles Lee

-initial British assessments of the strength and effectiveness of the new Continental Army

-the importance of the American victory at Fort Ticonderoga in reshaping the war; namely, the capture of British soldiers meant that American rebels would not be summarily executed as seditious traitors but treated with basic PoW protections

-a discussion of Grievance #24, that King George has ordered war crimes to be committed against innocent civilians

-the tendency on both sides to commit war crimes against the civilian population and efforts by officers on both sides to discipline soldiers who abused the civilians population

Dr. Chandler's book can be found here: [War, Patriotism and Identity in Revolutionary North America](https://boydellandbrewer.com/book/war-patriotism-and-identity-in-revolutionary-north-america-9781783274376/?v=0d149b90e739)

The cover image is a drawing of an American Soldier in 1778 by Friedrich von Germann (1744–1794), Captain of the Brunswick Regiment Erbprinz. The Brunswick Regiment was not technically Hessian; nevertheless, it formed part of the subsidy regiments (or mercenaries) hired by the British to fight the Americans.

"He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation."

In this episode, we examine one of the most important first-person accounts of the War for Independence, Johann Ewald's American War Diaries.

Ewald was an elite Hessian Officer who spent 8 long years in North America fighting against the Patriots on behalf of King George.

Topics include the following:

-the history of mercenaries or subsidy troops in Germanic states in the 18th century

-Ewald's childhood and early military career in the Seven Years' War

-Ewald's first treatise on petite guerre or irregular warfare

-The impact of Colonial frontiersmen--or irregular troops--on the Seven Years' War in North America

-The development of British Light Infantry and Hessian Jägers, whose role it was to counteract opposing irregular forces

-Ewald's deployment with his troops to New York City in October 1776 shortly after the Battle of Long Island

-His role in the Battle of Fort Washington in November 1776

-His assessment of the Continental Army and the American officer corps

-His subsequent influence on military theory, partisan warfare, and irregular warfare

"We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America...do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved. "

In this episode, we take a deep dive into military history and examine how both American and British military leaders understood and analyzed the tactical, strategic, and political complexities of the American War for Independence. Topics include the following:

-a description of the first military engagements of the war, the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775

-the Siege of Boston, the Battle of Bunker('s) Hill, and the withdrawal of British forces from Boston

-asymmetries between the Colonial militias and the British Army

-the development of light infantry with rifled weapons who could harass massed formations of regular troops

-the capabilities and limitations of the British Army and the Royal Navy at the time

-an overview of logistics and lines of communication

-the conduct of the war in the first fifteen months as described in the Declaration of Independence

The cover image features a painting of the Battle of Lexington by William Barnes Wollen (1910)

"He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures."

In this episode we explore Grievance #4 of the Declaration of Independence and the importance of Colonial infrastructure--the roads, ports, cities, and other communication structures and information systems that helped the Colonies thrive. Topics include the following:

-the importance of the 7 Years' War in accelerating the development of infrastructure throughout the Colonies and into the interior

-the Braddock Expedition against the French in 1755

-the expansion of the Colonial/Imperial post office, led by Benjamin Franklin

-the inauguration of the monthly packet boat from Falmouth to London in 1755, with the purpose of strengthening information sharing around the British Empire

-the presence of Native American infrastructure throughout North America

-the "pathways of paperwork" and the centralization of British Imperial bureaucracy in New York, which set the foundation for more effective infrastructure projects

-how Patriots captured and instrumentalized British Imperial infrastructure for their own political and military ends

-the expansion of knowledge or information infrastructure throughout the Colonies between the end of the 7 Years' War and the start of the War for Independence

-the symmetries forming between newspapers and an ever more efficient postal service

-tensions between supporters of the free press and ministers who preferred censorship and who used the Stamp Act and its tax on newspapers to curtail the free spread of ideas throughout the Colonies

-the development of infrastructure that was independent from the British Empire, such as the Committees of Correspondence and the Post Office, which was authorized by the Second Continental Congress in July 1775

-the rebel takeover of the Imperial postal networks

-the importance of infrastructure in the expansion of the United States after independence

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

In this episode, we focus on the Netherlands, the second country (after France) to acknowledge the claim made in the the Declaration of Independence, that the United States is an independent "Power of the Earth."

Topics include:

-the long history of Dutch settlers and traders in North America and the Caribbean

-the integration of Dutch people and systems into the new British Colony of New York (for example, the Patroon system)

-the importance of American traders in the Netherlands in the 1700s

-a history of the Dutch weapons trade

-the importance of Dutch newspapers, such as the Leiden Gazette, in spreading pro-Patriot ideas throughout Europe

-the presence of both Dutch-American Patriots and Dutch-American Loyalists in the Colonies

-the role of the Island of St. Eustatius in the revolutionary struggle and the FIRST SALUTE Controversy

-the general attitude among the Dutch, both in the Dutch Republic and the Dutch colonies, that Britain was attempting to stifle trade in a tyrannical way, a view that led them to support the rebellious Americans

-similarities and differences between the Dutch Act of Abjuration against the King of Spain in 1581 and the Declaration of Independence--of particular note is the introduction which includes a long list of grievances against King Philip. Full text is here. [Dutch Act of Abjuration](https://www.age-of-the-sage.org/history/dutch_independence_1581.html)

Prof. Tieleman's most recent article can be found here. [To Shake Off the British Shackle Forever: The Political Economy of the Dutch Republic during the American Revolution](https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/article/927905)

The cover image is a depiction of the USS Andrew Doria, flying the Patriot flag, receiving the First Salute from the Dutch Fort Orange on the Island of Saint Eustatius on 16 November 1776.

"We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America...solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States...and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do."

In this episode, we explore the complex relationship between the new United States and its major patron, France.

Topics include the following:

-the bloody historical competition between the French and British Empires

-the differing aims of powerful interest groups in France who drove French economic and imperial policies, such as the Physiocrats who saw French power expanding through liberal trade with their colonies and a potentially independent United States

-reasons why France and Spain were conflicted in their support for a victorious United States, namely the dangerous precedent it would set for other colonies who might also fight for their own independence

-the traditional hatred of France in the British Colonies, which was based on anti-Catholic prejudice, fear of authoritarianism, and centuries of war

-the slow process from 1763-1776 that led the 13 Colonies to regard the old enemy France as a potential friend and ally

-The Quebec Act of 1774 and the evolution of French Canada which had become British after the Seven Years' War

-An exploration of France's decision to support the rebellion

-The reaction to the Declaration of Independence in France

-Ramifications of the French-American alliance for Native Americans

-The types of support, both overt and covert, that France supplied to the Patriots

-The Treaty of Friendship (Amity) and Commerce between France and the USA in 1778

-Effects of the American Revolution on the French Revolution in 1789

"Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If perticuliar care and attention is not paid to the Laidies we are determined to foment a Rebelion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation." Abigail Adams to John Adams, 31 March 1776

For our Women's History Month episode, we explore the amazing life of Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, the second president, and mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president.

Topics include the following:

-Abigail Adams' childhood and upbringing and her relationship with John

-Her eye-witness accounts of battles, like the Battle of Bunker Hill (17 June 1775)

-Her correspondence with John about the Declaration of Independence and its future celebrations

-Her own experience with enslaved people, her views on the institution of slavery, and her advocacy for Black education

-Her views on women's education, political rights, and property rights

-Her friendship and correspondence with Thomas Jefferson

-Her interest in science and the natural world

The phrase, ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL, is complicated when viewed from the perspective of an enslaved person. So for our Black History Month episode, we are exploring the wide variety of Black perspectives about the Declaration of Independence.

Topics include the following:

-a history of Juneteenth, the alternative Independence Day for Black Americans

-the different life situations of Black Americans in 1776 and their different responses to the Declaration of Independence

-the story of James Forten, free Black, Patriot volunteer, and early abolitionist, and Jeffrey Brace, an enslaved soldier in the Continental Army, who was re-enslaved after the war

-factors that might impel a free or enslaved Black person to support the Patriot cause or the Loyalist cause

-different strategies of resistance to enslavement

-the experiences of Black Loyalists and Black Patriots

-an analysis of the famous deleted passage in the Declaration which criticized slavery

-the Atlantic slave trade

-the subtle distinctions people made between the TRADING of slaves and the POSSESSION of slaves

Book mentioned in this episode:

Benjamin Arthur Quarles, The Negro in the American Revolution (1961)

"He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people."

In this episode, we explore Grievance #24 in the Declaration of Independence, which condemns the British practice of privateering amongst other things.

Topics include the following:

-the destruction of Norfolk and Falmouth--the towns alluded to in Grievance #24

-the legal differences between official action by navies and semi-official actions by privateers

-the massacre of enslaved people on the Zong (aka the Zorg)

-the diversity of seafarers in the 18th century

-the Continental Association of 1774, signed by all of the original 13 Colonies except for Georgia, which boycotted goods from Britain and British colonies that did not join

-the politics and practicalities of boycotts on products and shipping, including the repackaging of goods to falsify their origins

-the origins of the first American privateers and the Continental Navy as well as the individual State navies

-privateering, slavery, and the slave trade