1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 3 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 4 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales right 5 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:25,639 Speaker 2: there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome 6 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 2: to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 7 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: It probably goes without saying that the British conquest of 8 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:43,280 Speaker 1: India was the result of decades of ruthless subterfuge. First 9 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,519 Speaker 1: arriving on the subcontinent under the guise of simple traders, 10 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:49,599 Speaker 1: the British bargained and betrayed their way into being the 11 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:53,519 Speaker 1: only European power operating in India. They then worked to 12 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: undermine the Indian government itself. In eighteen oh two, a 13 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 1: loose confederation of India princes went to war with one another, 14 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:06,040 Speaker 1: and Britain used this as an opportunity to justify their takeover. 15 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:09,640 Speaker 1: They offered protection to the losing prince, claiming that he 16 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,559 Speaker 1: was the rightful ruler of India, and then they launched 17 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 1: an assault on central India that would cement their control. 18 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:18,960 Speaker 1: One of the defining battles of this campaign was the 19 00:01:18,959 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: Battle of Aussay, where British forces were led by Major 20 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:26,320 Speaker 1: General Sir Arthur Wellesley. Although he was Irish not English 21 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:30,200 Speaker 1: by birth, he embodied the ruthless efficiency of British forces, 22 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:32,959 Speaker 1: though he would soon find that his victories came at 23 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: the cost of his soul. Major Wellesley awoke at the 24 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 1: crack of dawn and ordered his troops on the march. 25 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:42,479 Speaker 1: They raced across the hills of India, hoping to catch 26 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:46,320 Speaker 1: the retreating Indian army. The Major wanted to prove himself 27 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:49,480 Speaker 1: by defeating them in battle. His older brother was the 28 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:52,240 Speaker 1: British Governor of India, and so he had a personal 29 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: stake in this as well as professional. He wanted to 30 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 1: bring honor to his family name, not stopping to think 31 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: what he was doing to the kun It just didn't 32 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:03,880 Speaker 1: occur to him that he was bringing British oppression to 33 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: these people in the same way that his own Irish 34 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 1: ancestors had been colonized hundreds of years earlier. The rapidly 35 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: advancing army stopped suddenly when they came across a river 36 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 1: blocking their path on the other side. Major Wellesley was 37 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:19,640 Speaker 1: shocked to see that the Indian Army had set up 38 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: a defensive position with cannons lining a ridge on the 39 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 1: other side of the river. Wellesley could tell the Indian 40 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: general wanted to trap his army in the river with 41 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:31,919 Speaker 1: cannon fire, and he wasn't about to let that happen. 42 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 1: He looked at a map and saw that there were 43 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: two villages very close to one another further east down 44 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,359 Speaker 1: the river. The map didn't indicate whether the river was 45 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: crossable there, but Wellesley felt that there had to be 46 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 1: a crossing at that spot. Two villages wouldn't just crop 47 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:48,239 Speaker 1: up next to each other on opposite sides of a 48 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,280 Speaker 1: river with no way to travel back and forth. So 49 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 1: he ordered his army east, and soon they arrived at 50 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,360 Speaker 1: these villages, where sure enough there was a crossing of 51 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: the river. Wellesley smiled at his cleverness, then forced his 52 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 1: men on. They turned toward the Indian army and prepared 53 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: to surprise them, but their enemies were more clever than that. 54 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: The Indian general anticipated this tactic and swiveled the Indian 55 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:15,680 Speaker 1: cannons up perfect ninety degrees. They opened fire on the 56 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:19,920 Speaker 1: British army, tearing them to pieces. Major Wellesley saw no 57 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: way forward but ahead. He ordered his men to march 58 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: toward the cannons. They suffered heavy losses, but were soon 59 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: within rifle range. Their regiments opened fire on the cannons, 60 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 1: killing their operators, and then they ran at the Indian 61 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: infantry with their bayonets. But once again they had underestimated 62 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: their enemy. Many members of the Indian cannon regiment had 63 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: seen the rifle attack coming and were only playing dead. 64 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 1: Once the rifle infantry passed over them, they got back 65 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: up and started firing into the British infantry from behind. 66 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:56,080 Speaker 1: The Major swore at this deception, ordering his cavalry to 67 00:03:56,160 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 1: swarm the Indian cannons. This time, he made sure they 68 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 1: stayed dead. Soon Major Wellesley's army forced their enemy into 69 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 1: a retreat. They killed thousands of enemy soldiers, but at 70 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: the cost of hundreds of dead and wounded of their own. 71 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 1: Not that any of this affected Wellesley much. Over the 72 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 1: next several years, he and his brother ruled India with 73 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:21,520 Speaker 1: an iron fist, strictly enforcing segregation between the Indian people 74 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:25,560 Speaker 1: and their own men, allowing very little intermingling to them. 75 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: The Indians were a resource for Britain to exploit, and 76 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:32,800 Speaker 1: this attitude served Wellesley well throughout his career. At first 77 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: he had very little sympathy for his enemy or the 78 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:38,920 Speaker 1: men under his command. He won stunning victories in Spain 79 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:42,440 Speaker 1: and then in France, where he famously defeated Napoleon at 80 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 1: the Battle of Waterloo in eighteen fifteen. Soon he was 81 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:49,040 Speaker 1: better known throughout the Empire by his noble title, the 82 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 1: Duke of Wellington. He even became Prime Minister two different times, 83 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:57,280 Speaker 1: where he was violently pro slavery and against social programs 84 00:04:57,279 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: to help the poor. He was a big proponent of 85 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: child labor, but the many battles would eventually take their toll. 86 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:07,080 Speaker 1: Later in his career, the Duke was seen weeping openly 87 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: at the sight of casualties on the battlefield. When he 88 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:13,200 Speaker 1: was asked what he would have done differently in his career, 89 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:16,640 Speaker 1: he answered, I should have given more praise, as if 90 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:19,919 Speaker 1: to say he should have better appreciated the sacrifice of 91 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 1: his troops. There was a curious way to admit that 92 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: he had failed to learn the value of human life. Fortunately, 93 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:29,480 Speaker 1: most of us don't have to fight three separate wars 94 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 1: across two different continents just to learn an obvious lesson 95 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 1: like that ourselves. Ask any police detective and They'll tell 96 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: you that anonymous tip lines can be crucial to solving 97 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:58,360 Speaker 1: an investigation. When people see wrongdoing they want to report it. 98 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: They just have to find an in case conspicuous way 99 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: of sharing what they know, which could be why in 100 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:08,040 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy two, an anonymous informant reached out to future 101 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 1: Founding father Benjamin Franklin. He had vital information that could 102 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:14,840 Speaker 1: decide the course of a revolution, so in the dead 103 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:17,920 Speaker 1: of night he delivered a smoking gun that would lead 104 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:21,359 Speaker 1: to the shot heard round the world. In December of 105 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy two, Benjamin Franklin walked back to his house 106 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:29,480 Speaker 1: in London, England, to find a mysterious package on his doorstep. Franklin, 107 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:32,280 Speaker 1: you see, had been living in London for fifteen years 108 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: as an agent for the House of Representatives of Massachusetts, 109 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:38,760 Speaker 1: so he was used to finding correspondence on his doorstep, 110 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:43,320 Speaker 1: but usually his letters bore a return address. He unwrapped 111 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:46,960 Speaker 1: the package and his eyes went wide. Inside were thirteen 112 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:51,640 Speaker 1: letters written by Thomas Hutchinsondy, new Royal Governor of Massachusetts, 113 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 1: and his lieutenant Governor, Andrew Oliver. The letters were written 114 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:59,039 Speaker 1: about five years before, between seventeen sixty eight and seventeen 115 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:02,040 Speaker 1: sixty nine, a time period that Franklin knew had been 116 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 1: one of social unrest in Boston, where Governor Hutchinson was stationed. 117 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:10,600 Speaker 1: In the letters, Hutchinson vents his frustration over the growing 118 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:14,520 Speaker 1: political tension in the colonies. The colonists were upset over 119 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 1: taxes imposed by the British government on common goods like sugar, paper, glass, 120 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: even playing cards, and yet the colonists themselves had no 121 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:27,720 Speaker 1: representation in Parliament. They called the taxes tyranny. The colonists 122 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:30,960 Speaker 1: grew so frustrated that in seventeen sixty five a group 123 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:35,160 Speaker 1: of angry over taxed rebels sacked the Governor's mansion, costing 124 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:38,080 Speaker 1: half a million dollars in damages in today's money. 125 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:40,480 Speaker 2: After that, protests. 126 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: Became commonplace in Boston anti British sentiment grew. Hutchinson became 127 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 1: worried that Boston was on the brink of an all 128 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:50,600 Speaker 1: out revolt. In these letters, he encouraged Parliament to send 129 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 1: more troops to Boston and to give them the freedom 130 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:57,840 Speaker 1: to enact harsher punishments on colonial protesters. He also suggested 131 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:01,160 Speaker 1: that the Massachusetts government be restructure to give the governor 132 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:05,400 Speaker 1: more power. Franklin was shocked. He realized that these letters 133 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:08,760 Speaker 1: were the reason why a few years before, Parliament actually 134 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:12,440 Speaker 1: did send more troops to Boston, but instead of maintaining peace, 135 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:16,600 Speaker 1: the soldiers only exacerbated the tension between the patriots and 136 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 1: those loyal to the crown. The tension reached a boiling 137 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: point in seventeen seventy when a crowd of angry protesters 138 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:26,600 Speaker 1: gathered in front of the Old State House to harass 139 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,040 Speaker 1: the Red Coats that were stationed there. A few of 140 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:33,200 Speaker 1: them threw rocks, and to retaliate, nine British soldiers fired 141 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:37,840 Speaker 1: into the crowd, killing five colonists. After that, protests erupted 142 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 1: in major cities like Boston and New York. Hutchinson had 143 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:43,680 Speaker 1: worried that the colonies were on the verge of a revolution, 144 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:47,079 Speaker 1: and now it seemed that his call for military intervention 145 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: would be the cause of it. Franklin wanted to avoid 146 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:53,400 Speaker 1: that at all costs. He was actually neutral to the 147 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:56,680 Speaker 1: idea of independence. He believed that a compromise between the 148 00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:00,440 Speaker 1: colonies and Parliament was possible, especially to a void a 149 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:04,560 Speaker 1: bloody revolution, and so he hatched a plan. He would 150 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 1: show these letters to a few members of the Massachusetts 151 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 1: Assembly and they would realize that Hutchinson was largely to 152 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:14,040 Speaker 1: blame for the escalating tensions in Boston. They could remove 153 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 1: the governor and his lieutenant from office and find a 154 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 1: path toward reconciliation with Parliament. And so Franklin sent the 155 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:24,760 Speaker 1: letters back to North America to Thomas Cushing, the speaker 156 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: of the Assembly in Boston. He made it clear that 157 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,640 Speaker 1: Cushing was not to make the letters public for any reason. 158 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 1: But months later Franklin learned that instead of keeping those 159 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:37,840 Speaker 1: letters private, the Massachusetts Assembly leaked them to the press, 160 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:41,960 Speaker 1: and the public took to the streets. Effigies of Hutchinson 161 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,400 Speaker 1: and Oliver were burned on the Boston Common. The letters 162 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: were reprinted in newspapers up and down the coast, and 163 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:52,360 Speaker 1: when Parliament found out about it, all hell broke loose. 164 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 1: They launched an all out investigation looking for the trader 165 00:09:56,040 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 1: who sent the letters to Massachusetts, and eventually they pinned 166 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:03,360 Speaker 1: the blame on three innocent men. And that's when Franklin 167 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:05,680 Speaker 1: knew that he had to come forward and admit what 168 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 1: he had done. As a result, he was hauled into 169 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: the Privy consul chamber, where thirty five ministers of Parliament 170 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:14,520 Speaker 1: spent the better part of an hour dressing him down 171 00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 1: and berating him with insults. He tried to plead his case, 172 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:20,280 Speaker 1: but they wouldn't hear him. They called him a thief 173 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: before dismissing him from his post. As Franklin turned to 174 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:28,000 Speaker 1: leave the chamber, he realized that Parliament would never compromise 175 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:31,920 Speaker 1: with the colonies, that revolution would be the only way forward. 176 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 1: As he reached the chamber door, it said that he 177 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:38,240 Speaker 1: turned to the Solicitor General and he whispered, I will 178 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:41,440 Speaker 1: make your master a little king for this, and then 179 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:45,120 Speaker 1: he left and sailed home to Philadelphia. He soon rejoined 180 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:48,880 Speaker 1: the Continental Congress and helped Thomas Jefferson draft the Declaration 181 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:51,959 Speaker 1: of Independence. He never figured out who sent him the 182 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:55,920 Speaker 1: Hutchinson letters, though, but that unmarked package added fuel to 183 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:59,720 Speaker 1: a growing fire and a sparked a revolution the change 184 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:06,840 Speaker 1: the course of history. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided 185 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:10,320 Speaker 1: tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on 186 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting 187 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 1: Curiosities podcast dot com. This show was created by me 188 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:21,920 Speaker 1: Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works, I make 189 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:25,520 Speaker 1: another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 190 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:28,560 Speaker 1: book series, and television show and you can learn all 191 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:32,120 Speaker 1: about it over at the Worldoflore dot com. 192 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:35,040 Speaker 2: And until next time, stay curious.