Why France Backed the American Revolution (And Got Nothing in Return)
In this interview: “And the United States, North America becomes a sideshow.” The American Revolution? Only one theater in a global war—and far from the main event. Geopolitical rivalry and revenge drove France to rally other powers against Britain. That transformed what started as a colonial rebellion in the Americas into a globe-spanning military conflict—a […]
Who Refused Britain’s Call for Troops in the American Revolution
Unlike the French, the Habsburgs and the Russians, the British Empire was predominantly a naval power. This was both its great strength and a persistent weakness. It was a strength because, well into early 20th century, no rival could match Britain’s command of the seas. Naval dominance meant control over global shipping lanes—the lifeblood of […]
Steuben: How a Disgraced Prussian Volunteer Transformed America’s Struggling Army
Baron von Steuben in Valley Forge. We’ve all heard the story: a pedophile Prussian officer drilling the Continental Army in the coldest winter of the American Revolution. It’s a good story—except most of it is false, and the rest is only half true. First, his name was Baron de Steuben – not von Steuben (see […]
Native Americans in the American Revolution: The History We Didn’t Learn
Native Americans and the American Revolution When Americans learn about the Revolutionary War, the story is usually framed as a conflict between the British Empire and the Thirteen Colonies. But this perspective misses one of the biggest players in the war: Native Americans. Militarily, economically, and—most importantly—reluctantly, Native Americans played a pivotal role in the […]
Boston Massacre Reconsidered: Was It A Massacre?
In this interview: “But really, what I came to realize is that the, you know, the things that we can know, are not necessarily the things that the parties at the time cared about hiding.” Watch this section in the video below (00:25:24). Was the Boston Massacre inevitable? For its time, was it truly a […]
