Years That Changed History: 1776

Trace the coming of the American Revolution to conditions within both India and China, in their dealings with the British East India Company. Learn how the actions of its directors left the Company with both massive debts and huge surpluses of tea, which were then sold into the American colonies. Relive the events of the Tea Act of 1773, which led to the civil defiance of the Boston Tea Party.

Thomas Paine's famous pamphlet, Common Sense, was a critical document of revolutionary ideology. Grasp its debt to the thinking of the Enlightenment, as it articulated and advanced the idea of independence, and the oppressive nature of monarchy. Mark the reactions and controversy surrounding it, its wide readership and influence, and gauge its effects on the ground as the Revolution unfolded.

Smallpox was a pervasive and devastating problem in 1776 America. Follow the virus and its effects through many theaters of the American Revolution, and into Lakota country, Texas, Mexico, and beyond. Note that the spread of the epidemic across the whole of North America proves that the communities on the landmass were linked coast to coast long before Lewis and Clark crossed the continent.

The year 1776 saw the rise of a major Native American nation. Trace how the Lakota reclaimed the Black Hills of the Great Plains, central to their cosmology, establishing trade and a horse-based rule, and subduing other Native nations in the process. Grasp the power of the Lakota Confederacy, with the center of the continent under its domination; a people that would control this region for the next century.

Take stock of the revolution in thought known as the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, largely led by clergy and university professors. Encounter the work of important philosophers such as David Hume and Thomas Reid. Then delve into The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776 by Adam Smith, who argued for the societal benefits of free trade, and created the field of modern economics.

The Scottish Enlightenment also produced significant innovations in science and technology. Learn about James Watt's development of the steam engine, which transformed factory production in Britain, a major element of the nascent Industrial Revolution. Grasp how the Industrial Revolution-beginning in 1776-changed the economics of Britain's Midlands, and then of the entire world.

Unearth the remarkable story of Juan de la Cruz's 1776 map of South America. Made by a man who had never been to South America, follow the use of this map by Spanish and Portuguese colonial administrators to define their regions of control. Witness how indigenous peoples received Spanish authority in the form of a map, which created borders and destroyed communities across the continent.

Here, meet the outlandish figure of Pierre-Augustin de Beaumarchais, a French playwright and spy whose career was fatefully entwined with America's rebellion. Look into the diplomatic history of 1776 in France, and Beaumarchais' efforts to convince France to fund the American Revolution. Trace his pivotal role in routing aid to the Americans and gaining French recognition of the United States.

In a penetrating look at the Declaration of Independence, explore the circumstances of rebellion that necessitated the Declaration, and the rich rhetoric of the document, justifying separation from Britain. Mark the response for and against the Declaration, and its global legacy, held by millions as an impassioned call for human rights and political freedoms as creations of government.