Podbit · The Rest Is History
The Dutch Revolt created a template for revolution: replacing an imperial monarchy with a federal republic. Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson all knew this story and drew inspiration from it — and were equally haunted by the way the Dutch Republic gradually mutated from a republic back toward monarchy.
Where this was said
At 7:42 · chapter starts 7:00
The conversation expands rapidly in scale. Tom Holland traces a direct line of descent from the Dutch Revolt to the English Civil War, the American Revolution, and ultimately the French Revolution — a lineage the American Founding Fathers themselves acknowledged. [1] — Tom Holland "The Dutch Revolt created a template for revolution: replacing an imperial monarchy with a federal republic. Washington, Hamilton, and Jeffe…" 07:42 The Dutch Republic that emerged from the revolt in 1588 — calling itself the United Provinces of the Netherlands — was, in Tom's words, one of the great incubators of modernity: the birthplace of modern capitalism, stock exchanges, deposit banking, and futures. It was also extraordinarily prosperous, with 60% of Holland's population living in cities and the Republic ranking as the richest state per capita on the planet in the 17th century. [2] — Tom Holland "60% of Holland's population lived in cities: In the Dutch Republic, 60% of the population in Holland lived in cities — an extraordinary urb…" 09:32 It was also the crucible of religious scepticism, Enlightenment thought, and Vermeer's bourgeois domestic art — a republic that was the antithesis of aristocratic Europe.
The United Provinces of the Netherlands — the Dutch Republic — formally came into existence in 1588, following decades of revolt against Spanish rule.
The Dutch Republic was by far the richest state per capita on the planet in the 17th century, despite its small size.
In the Dutch Republic, 60% of the population in Holland lived in cities — an extraordinary urbanisation rate for the period.
Factories that replaced coal engines with electric ones in the early 1900s got only 6% efficiency gains. Those that redesigned their entire factory around electricity got a 3x productivity improvement. Swapping AI tools into your existing structure will give you 6%. Rebuilding around AI will give you 10x.
Lebanese terrorists backed by Iran were holding American hostages throughout the Reagan presidency. Reagan had loudly campaigned against negotiating with terrorists — putting him in an impossible position that his team quietly decided to ignore.
During the Iran-Iraq War, the US openly supplied Iraq with weapons, training, and intelligence. At the same time, Oliver North was secretly funneling missiles to Iran. The US was playing both sides of a shooting war.
Oliver North traveled to Iran under the alias 'William P. Goode' with a fake passport. CIA Director William Casey allegedly gave him cyanide pills so he could kill himself rather than be tortured if captured. He returned safely and the deal moved forward.
The Pentagon sold missiles to the CIA for $3,700 each. The CIA sold them to Richard Secord at cost. Secord sold them to Iranian middleman Ghorbanifar for $10,000 each. Ghorbanifar charged Iran even more. The profit — including $3 million in interest in one Swiss account — was diverted directly to fund the Nicaraguan Contras.
America secretly transferred 2,000 missiles and missile parts to Iran in 8 shipments over more than a year. Only 3 of 7 hostages were released. Three more were taken. The net result was zero freed hostages and a full-blown constitutional scandal.
On October 5, 1986, a CIA Contra supply plane flew a weapons drop at 2,500 feet in broad daylight. A Sandinista soldier shot it down. The only survivor, Eugene Hasenfuss, had borrowed a parachute from his skydiving brother. He was captured, paraded in front of cameras, and told the Sandinistas everything he knew.
The CIA supply operation used a front company called Southern Air Transport, widely known to be a CIA cover. Crew members of the downed plane carried their Southern Air Transport employee IDs in their wallets. One also had a business card directly linking him to Oliver North's office in Washington.
When the scandal broke, Oliver North and his secretary Fawn Hall conducted what became known as a 'shredding party,' destroying a day's worth of documents. The full truth of Iran-Contra may never be known because of what was fed through that shredder.
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