Snapshot · The Rest Is History
At least one in five American colonists remained loyal to the Crown during the War of Independence, with some estimates putting loyalist sympathy at a quarter to a third.
Where this was said
At 20:12 · chapter starts 15:50
The episode now places Washington in the political context that made him a revolutionary. Britain's Seven Years' War triumph left it with a debt of £140 million — roughly ten times pre-war levels — and interest payments alone consumed half the national budget[3]. Parliament's logical solution was to tax the American colonies for their own defence and to streamline the ramshackle imperial administration. Tom Holland plays the devil's advocate brilliantly, calling these 'sensible policies for a happy America.' But the more militant colonists — Washington among them — had been left alone for generations, and they resented any interference. Washington's own motivations are sharply personal: denied a royal commission after the Seven Years' War, he nursed a deep resentment of British condescension. Falling tobacco prices hurt his finances. And when Britain in 1763 blocked westward expansion beyond the Appalachians, it killed his land speculation ambitions. Washington goes to the First Continental Congress in 1774 firmly on the hawkish wing, then turns up to the Second Continental Congress in 1775 in his militia uniform — a pointed signal that he is ready to command.
Britain's national debt rose to £140 million after the Seven Years' War, with interest payments alone consuming half the national budget.
Washington wasn't a pure idealist. He had money problems, falling tobacco prices, and he'd been denied a royal commission. When Britain blocked western land expansion, it gutted his speculative ambitions. At every point in the breakdown of relations he was firmly on the militant, hawkish wing.
Joel de la Garza noted that the CISO role is a relatively recent invention, with Steve Katz widely credited as the first-ever CISO.
Superficial adoption of electricity gave factories only 6% efficiency gains; fully redesigning factories around it delivered a 3x productivity improvement that powered 20th-century US growth.
Harold Ramis recounted that during Caddyshack filming, storms kept the cast cooped up in a Florida hotel for days, during which they partied and did drugs all day and night.
In the 1820s, China accounted for 25% of global economic output, making it the world's largest economic machine — a historical precedent for its current AI superpower ambitions.
66 Americans held hostage at the US Embassy in Iran were released after 444 days, within hours of Reagan's inauguration.
In the first round of the secret arms deal, 508 TOW missiles were transferred from Israel to Iran in exchange for hostage releases.
America secretly transferred 2,000 missiles and missile parts to Iran across 8 separate shipments over just over a year.
Despite all the missile sales, only 3 of the 7 American hostages held by Lebanese terrorists were ultimately released.
The CIA supply plane that blew open the scandal was flying at only 2,500 feet in broad daylight when it was shot down on October 5, 1986.
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