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History

1776: American Independence

2026SeriesDaniel Sharp

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A revolution with several different meanings

1776: American Independence traces the American Revolution from opposition to British taxes into a conflict that reshaped empires. The six-part series brings several struggles into the same account: a war within colonial society, the movement of enslaved people seeking freedom, Indigenous efforts to preserve sovereignty and a wider international war. Independence is the connecting subject, but different participants faced very different stakes.

The opening chapter, Unlikely Revolutionaries, begins with taxes imposed on the North American colonies and the growth of a violent protest movement. Britain’s response intensifies the dispute, moving formerly loyal colonists towards a break. The series treats the revolution as a developing conflict rather than an outcome already settled in its first protests.

Beyond a contest between Britain and the colonists

The programme brings the experience of enslaved people and Native nations into a story often told through political leaders and armies. Attempts at emancipation and the defence of Indigenous sovereignty complicate the meaning of a war fought in the name of freedom.

A New World, the final chapter, moves through the surrender at Yorktown into the movement of refugees and treaty negotiations. The changing territorial balance affects Native nations and European powers as well as the new United States. The aftermath is presented as part of the revolution’s history, extending the account beyond a battlefield victory.

A broad historical account from Dash Pictures

Daniel Sharp directs the Dash Pictures production. Its six-chapter structure gives the political and military story room to intersect with questions of empire, displacement and sovereignty. The title identifies the central year of independence, while the documentary’s subject includes the events leading towards it and the settlement that followed.

Episodes

S01 · E01

Unlikely Revolutionaries

When Britain imposes a series of taxes on its North American colonies, a violent protest movement erupts. Parliament's forceful attempts to quell the unrest only enflame the once-loyal colonists, and they take their first steps toward independence.

S01 · E02

The Other American Revolution

Slavery is still legal across all thirteen American states in 1776, and tens of thousands of Black Americans take matters into their own hands by fleeing from bondage, sparking the largest slave rebellion in modern world history up to this point.

S01 · E03

The Other American Revolution

To crush the rebellion, Britain assembles the largest invasion force ever to set sail from Europe. Outgunned and outnumbered, the American army battles for survival, while General Washington contemplates the possible collapse of the American cause.

S01 · E04

The Times That Try Men's Souls

Thanks to the diplomacy of Benjamin Franklin, France comes to America's aid. When Benedict Arnold turns traitor, he sets off the final desperate campaign of the war: a British invasion into the heart of Virginia.

S01 · E05

The Indigenous Wars of Independence

Long-running tensions between Native nations and North American colonists erupt into open warfare. Although some Indigenous people side with the Americans, the majority see Britain as the better ally in a desperate fight for sovereignty.

S01 · E06

A New World

The British surrender at Yorktown, and 60,000 war refugees flee North America. In treaty negotiations that follow, the United States gains control over a vast swath of the continent as Native nations and European powers reckon with a new world order.

Episode descriptions: TVmaze · CC BY-SA 4.0

Film details

Format
Documentary series
Release year
2026
Premiere date
2026-06-29
Director
Daniel Sharp
Production companies
Dash Pictures
Country of production
United Kingdom
Language
English
Narrator
James MacPhee
Episode runtime
44 min

Catalogue information: TVmaze · CC BY-SA 4.0