The Revolutionary War Was Funded By Debt

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]In the world of sea power and land power, the British Empire basically ran the world compared to anybody else. The dominant global superpower. Cannons, ships, the most technologically advanced ships of the day. Trained armies. And we're supposed to believe that a ragtag group of guys and gals outmaneuvered them with pitchforks and shovels. That's not how power works. What actually happened was far more strategic. The colonies didn't just fight, they financed. They borrowed millions.

[00:00:27]Millions at that time. would have been bazillions from who? France to fund the war. And France was the number one enemy of the British Empire at that time. And when that debt came due in 1789, which by the way, if you run your math, that's 13 years after they got their independence.

[00:00:43]>> H what did they do then?

[00:00:45]>> They didn't just win and walk away. They negotiated. They leveraged. They moved debt from one power to another. Why?

[00:00:52]Funny thing about France at that time, they'd been through their own kind of problems themselves internally. And there was this really smart dude that happened to be running the country and happened to be one of the most intellectually astute generals in the history of warfare. One Napoleon Bonap.

[00:01:08]You've heard of him. Devolian.