Declaration of Independence | Follow The Money | 1

What if the Boston Tea Party had less to do with liberty and more to do with a smuggler protecting his profit margins? What if hurricanes tearing through the Caribbean helped light the fuse of revolution? And, what if the men who gave birth to America were not visionary idealists but wealthy merchants who had simply run out of patience with British trade restrictions?

Peter and Afua pull back the curtain on the financial machinery behind American independence — the Caribbean slave economy, the smuggling networks, the Bengal famine, and the merchants who dressed their self-interest in the language of liberty.

(0:00) It wasn't about democracy. It was about who controlled the money

(2:00) Britain's debt doubles after the Seven Years' War — and someone has to pay for it

(7:50) The colonists were richer, taller, and paid less tax than anyone in Britain

(11:50) Tea, empire, and why the whole system was built on piracy

(13:30) The Boston Tea Party: orderly political theatre and a £10,000 act of destruction

(17:35) The Boston Massacre and the propaganda machine that turned it into a rallying cry

(20:30) The Caribbean cash machine — and how hurricanes made colonial merchants very rich

(27:20) John Hancock: celebrated patriot, and according to British customs officials, the head of a massive smuggling operation

(30:00) The first Continental Congress: protecting constitutional rights — and profit margins

(34:00) The Bengal famine, 10 million dead, and why it became a weapon against British imperialism

(38:00) Neither side wanted war — and that's exactly how they stumbled into one

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Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas:

Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

Join Legacy+ for bonus episodes, early access, Q&A's, fewer adverts and more.

legacy.supportingcast.fm

Stay connected with Legacy:

Instagram: @originallegacypodcast

TikTok: @legacy_productions

Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

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