While researching the basis for Miles’ claim, I not only realized he was correct, but discovered a new way of understanding the Revolution, which I share in this paper.
First, here’s the relevant section from Miles’ paper on Thomas Jefferson:
[The revolution] succeeded because the East India Company and other powerful entities supported it.
Not because of any solidarity or fellow feeling, but because the EIC felt it would be easier to negotiate with and dominate a fledgling country like the US than an old powerhouse like England.
In fact, the EIC had already infiltrated the colonies thoroughly, and mostly owned them, so the American Revolution was more a war over ownership between England and the EIC, or two arms of the aristocracy, than between England and the colonies.
British high society was divided in the mid-18th century, as Miles mentions.
Some aristocrats had made incredible fortunes by investing in the EIC’s overseas adventures, which created a rift with other aristocrats whose wealth was more tied to England’s land and institutions.
The EIC’s extensive private army and navy was also starting to rival the mother country’s defense apparatus and had a well-earned reputation for corruption and excess that further ruffled feathers in London.
The 1769 “Bengal Bubble” was the beginning of the end for the EIC.
The stock declined by 55% over the ensuing decade and a half, while the British government passed “a series of bailout measures” that led to,
“Increasing control [of the company] by the crown.”
This slow-moving takeover put pressure on EIC movers and shakers – many of whom were immensely wealthy - to find new territories where they could launch new operations unmolested by the crown.
Before going into naval service, the Alfred was a merchant ship in the fleet of Philadelphia merchant house Willing, Morris & Co.
The firm’s namesakes, both of whom held the title of:
“Wealthiest man in America”
at different points, had ties to the English mainland.
Thomas Willing was born in Philadelphia (his father was the mayor), but:
“Completed preparatory studies in Bath, England [and] studied law in London at the Inner Temple.”
Willing would go on to become the first president of the Bank of the United States. Robert Morris was born in Liverpool, and later immigrated to Maryland with his father, who was on assignment with an English merchant house.
He served as a member of the Pennsylvania legislature, the Second Continental Congress, and the United States Senate, and he was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution.
From 1781 to 1784, he served as the Superintendent of Finance of the United States, becoming known as the "Financier of the Revolution."
Along with Alexander Hamilton and Albert Gallatin, he is widely regarded as one of the founders of the financial system of the United States.
Robert settled in Philadelphia, where he apprenticed with Thomas Willing’s father before going into business with his son.
Morris’ fleet of merchant ships:
“Aggressively expanded trade with India”
throughout the 1760’s, meaning Morris was an EIC agent as the company was in full control of India during this time.
Morris’ fleet further traded with
“The Levant, the West Indies, Spanish Cuba, Spain, and Italy.”
Morris funded the war because it was good for business.
He made huge amounts of money selling the government arms and supplies.
He also funded privateers that raided British shipping and then resold the goods for personal profit.
These shenanigans led to Morris being accused of financial malpractice by other congressmen, and he eventually was forced to step down from Congress, though his business empire only grew in the ensuing years.
Another sketchy financier of the Revolution is the little known Haym Salomon.
Salomon spent his youth traveling around Europe, learning languages, and studying finance.
He immigrated to New York City in 1775, right as the Revolution was starting, and immediately established himself as a wealthy merchant.
As one does. The British arrested Salomon for spying in 1776 but supposedly spared him execution because he spoke German and could work as an interpreter with Britain’s hired Hessian troops.
Solomon escaped, though the story is suspicious.
He got caught a second time in 1778, and this time was sentenced to death, but again managed to escape.
Do you really think the British would let a known spy and enemy financier slip through their hands twice?
Salomon’s biographer notes he had
“Such a good reputation throughout Europe that he was offered a job back in Warsaw by the Rothschilds.”
This all begs the question of whether Haym was a Rothschild agent.
If true, it would explain how he rose to prominence in the colonies so quickly, why he worked with the Hessian troops they provided, and how he was able to “escape” from British custody multiple times.
Duer was born in Devon, England and studied at the famed English prep school Eton before shipping off to India to serve on the staff of the EIC’s top man, Lord Clive.
Duer was back in England by 1773, where he ran a company that supplied the British navy.
Right before the Revolution kicked off, Duer moved to New York.
Wiki says Duer was
“Somewhat reluctant to become involved in active resistance to the British government.”
And yet, like Robert Morris, he was appointed to the highest levels of government, serving on the finance committee and Board of War, and afterwards becoming Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a trend here of the colonial government being stacked with EIC guys who came over from England right before the war started.
Alexander Hamilton is another American leader with EIC written all over him.
Hamilton was born on the Caribbean Island of Nevis (then part of England).
Hamilton’s early bio is extremely murky.
We’re told he purposefully obscured his background because he was embarrassed about his ‘humble’ origins.
Actually, Hamilton obscured his background because he wanted to hide that his father’s family were related to the Dukes of Hamilton, who are at the top of the Scottish aristocracy and major players in the East India Company.
Alexander’s father James grew up in a castle in Scotland, only 40 miles from the Duke of Hamilton, who is considered “The Premier Peer of Scotland.”
The next oldest, Robert Hamilton, captained a vessel in the EIC and later got a job aboard the USS Constitution after his uncle (then US Treasury Secretary) wrote a letter on his behalf.
The other cousins, Walter and William, were stationed with the EIC in India.
Going back further, I came across a book called A New Account of the East Indies, published in 1727 by who else but Capt. Alexander Hamilton, Scottish Sea Captain.
The Grange was Alexander Hamilton’s family’s historic estate.
Circumstantial evidence, but it seems very unlikely that a Scottish sea Captain named Alexander Hamilton wouldn’t be related to Sec. Hamilton’s family given the ties we’ve uncovered so far.
Moving on, Hamilton was a disciple of Robert Morris, who you will recall was one of the wealthiest men in the colonies and a major financier of the Revolution.
Hamilton advanced Morris’ plan for a central bank to help the colonies sort out their war debts and establish a common currency.
The British had prevented the colonies from forming independent banks, so in theory this was a step towards self-sufficiency for the young nation.
In 1791 Congress approved Hamilton’s proposal and created the First Bank of the United States, which functioned until its charter expired in 1811.
The Bank was capitalized with $10 million, most of which came from foreign investors.
Researchers at the Wharton School of Business admit,
“The English held $6 million of the First Bank Stock and the Dutch Held $2 million.”
So, this ‘American’ bank was in fact 80% owned by European bankers.
I tried to dig up who these foreign shareholders were specifically, but all record of them was lost in a mysterious fire.
A professor at Penn State writes,
“At the Treasury Department itself, no reports [on the First Bank] apparently survive.
They were probably destroyed in the great Treasury fire of March 1833.”
The exact date of this fire was 3/30/1833, note the numerology.
This was the third Treasury fire, as the building had suffered another arson attack in 1801 and was burned to the ground by the British during the War of 1812.
There is scant information available on Wiki or elsewhere about the fire of 1833, besides the fact that the arsonists name was Richard H. White.
The only description I found on the fire came from a blog about Washington DC, where the author writes the following:
The fire of 1833 was set by Richard H. White, a former clerk, in an attempt to destroy fraudulent pension papers . . . the fire completely destroyed the building.
The fire might have been contained if it had been discovered earlier.
But at that time, the building had only one night watchman, who was allowed to sleep after making a round of the building at ten o’clock.
After four separate trials, however, White was not convicted because the statute of limitations had expired.
Do you really think someone burned the Treasury Department to the ground and then walked away free?
That is absurd.
The whole story reeks of a cover up.
In all likelihood, the bank’s true shareholders – i.e., British bankers and merchants – were covering their tracks from the prying eyes of future historians, and in this endeavor were completely successful.
The First Bank remains shrouded in mystery.
The few independent researchers who look into it are left scratching their heads about why a newly independent America so readily turned itself over to a private bank largely owned by England, when it had just finished fighting that country on the battlefield.
It makes no sense until you comprehend the thesis I advanced throughout the paper, that the English bankers and BEIC were on the American side (and in all likelihood formed the majority of the First Bank’s shareholders).
This all sets the stage for the War of 1812 and the subsequent founding of the Second Bank of the United States, which I will cover in Part 2 of this series.
