From Lexington to Bwaston by Brandon Young of The Bay Area, California

 From Lexington to Bwaston

by Brandon Young

The Bay Area, California

“No taxation without representation” as countless barrels of British tea ended up in the Bwaston Hahbuh. Yes, I know that it was spelled incorrectly, but this just helps to frame things a little better and to get more involved in the story. There was no fake news, heck, there wasn’t news at all. News could not be published with a quick pic and a the thumbs of a young reporter. Paul Revere was significant in spreading news, but even that took significant time. Ezekiel Young, one of those men on that ship climbed to the top where all could see and hear as he spoke out to his friends and anyone who would listen. “I’m tired of tyranny and I’m tired of doing all the work while these Brits hang around and do nothing. How much longer are we going to put up with these over-imposing, self-serving pigs who just take and take with no regard for the residents of the colonies. Imagine what we could do if all of the colonists united and took a stand. With violence, it might work, but with numbers, it will work.” “Yah!” The crowd roared. “I’m sick of the fact that they sleep in our beds, eat our food and patrol our streets. And I’m sick that I don’t have the freedom to go to the store without being surveilled and constantly monitored with bull---- orders.” 

At this point in time, it’s important to remember that it was still the 13 colonies. There was no American ownership and there were always British eyes and ears that were loyal to the King in what seemed to be every part of Massachusetts and the remaining colonies. There were the loyalists who wanted Britain to continue to impose heavy taxes and limit the natural born rights of Americans, but people were done with that. Public gatherings, especially those that went against the Kingdom of Great Britain were disallowed, but with the angry colonists and limited patrol, it could not be enforced as much as the King wanted. Ezekiel made sure that he made his point and when the guards came through to break up the crowd, everyone went away peacefully. That was that. With the severely understaffed British guard, they wouldn’t and frankly couldn’t round up and arrest all of the colonists due to the sheer 1:6 ratio between guards and colonists. 

At that time, the American population greatly outnumbered the Brits in the royal guard and those who voluntarily moved to the states to start a new life, but were loyal to the King. 

As the weeks continued to fly by and the colonists started to sleep on what Ezekiel Young said, it was time that they do something about their situation. It was time to take ownership of America and to be independent. We don’t need Britain as a parent. We need Britain to leave us alone. So the American colonists would meet in secret and discuss logistics on how they were going to rebel against the brits. They were fine with whatever measures necessary because they were fed up. If they needed to resort to violence to get what they so desperately craved, then it must happen. 

Crippling the British economy would subsequently damage the livelihoods of the American colonists, but the colonists were playing the long game. They were running a marathon not a sprint. They knew that this rebellion would take months or even years to flatten those Brits right on their bums. They would spread the world about the plans to rebel to anyone, those out in the countryside, those in the city, the harbor, the other colonies, across lines, in factories, in farms and wherever else they went. They would talk about it in bathrooms, they would meet in underground basements, they would hang clothes on the line as another ruse to make plans and get supplies. They knew that it would be a deadly fight and they knew that they might not survive in order to see the fruits of their labor. But that’s what made them so successful. Britain and their cocky attitudes thought that they could take over the whole world. They took over 25% of the discovered landmasses, so what could stop them from taking all of it. They owned colonies in the pacifc, they owned ⅓ of the America. They owned parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, but Spain beat them to the last piece of the South American pie. They worked with arms smugglers that were sympathetic to the colonists desires. The colonists knew that they would have to make friends with Brits that could get them what they needed. It didn’t matter how long it would take, because it had been too long. The Americans in their pride couldn’t handle being controlled and governed by someone who wasn’t them. They needed independence. Not just from Britain, but they needed independence in their lives. The colonists were about to pull off the greatest upset in World History. 

So they got the resources that they needed. They called on Paul Revere to do what he does best. What he did was ride horses like no one else. He was a legend from a young age, even a bad boy at times as he would take his dad’s horse out for a run late in the night. He wasn’t rich at all, but everyone in the Lexington countryside had at least one horse as we got them from the Spanish in the Andalucia. Think of it like the Model T Ford that came off the assembly line in 1915. They were all the same and they were affordable for the common person. Obviously, not all horses are the same, but they all had the same drive to please their owner and to help their human transport to wherever they needed to. It made going into town much easier. As Ezekiel went through by foot in the Massachusetts harbor, Paul Revere continued to sneak in little pieces of intel and information on the British. What made their plan so genius was that he was hidden in plain sight. Paul would walk up to the British horse stables, talk and make light-hearted conversation with the guards, the Brits all knew him as the guy who would talk about horses. What they didn’t know was that every time he came to town he was not just there to talk about horses. His real plan was bypassing the Brits at the gates by being friendly and from there going into the workplaces, onto the farms and in homes and tell them what they needed to do as there were loyalists and colonists everywhere along the east coast. Revere did his very best to make sure that the right people got the right intel. Little did those guards know that the “horseman” as we was called, would be the start to their downfall. Frankly, how could they? He appeared to be a local guy just trying to go into the markets and get his daily rations for the week and since guards were only stationed at the front gate, all one would have to do is get past the front. Paul had his way with people and he was very likable, he would even leave that town and drop some food off for the British horses and some good bourbon for the guards. 

Paul was the complete opposite of Ezekiel Young. My great great great… great grandfather never had a way with people. He would ruffle a few feathers from time to time. He wasn’t a bad dude, he was actually liked by some, but he came off as unapproachable. Without him and his buddy Crispus Attucks, this wouldn’t have been possible. As we know from our American history, Crispus Attucks becomes the first black colonist to die for American freedom. Honestly though, what a true shame. He was fighting for justice, but he never received it. One would hope that God has a special place for him and that he was there smiling and pushing Ezekiel Young and his boys to keep fighting. 

But, let’s get back to the story. Ezekiel needed several friends, along with Attucks and Revere, he had a friend by the name Mason Diller who worked as a banker. As a converted colonist from a former loyalist, he would help siphon some of the funds as a way to help the colonists that were struggling under the oppressive British empire. There were a few more key players and they all had different roles that proved crucial. A reformed criminal Jack Daniels, along side his son and daughter in law, Bonnie and Clyde who were responsible for getting the militias and arms through the British lines to the commoners, but he was also important in helping smuggle intel through his own whiskey corks. Alexander Hamilton, a part time lawyer and part time farmer worked alongside his wife Betty Jane to make sure that the women and children would be financially taken care of if the men never made it back home. It was a tough job as he watched many die daily from work related injuries and disease that killed most prematurely. 

Then finally we have one more man that everyone had heard of, General George Washington. As a young boy, he had impressive leadership and he was scouted by the British army to lead for them and to help control the colonists, but he decided not to and ran away from the army. He saw the way that the Brits would abuse their “leadership” and harm the poor colonists so he decided to dessert. He knew from that moment on that he would be an enemy of the state, but he didn’t care. In order to keep his parents safe, he left them back at home and told them that he had to do this, that he felt some divine calling and couldn’t watch people get hurt. His parents, devout non-denominational Christians asked why he was doing this and his response was simple, “I need to do this because this is what God wants me to do. I’m supposed to help people against the British. I am willing to sacrifice myself if it means that my fellow colonists can start being treated better.” So he left and by the time America was independent, both of his parents had died and he had no other family. It puts into perspective what one does for freedom. Some people barely pay anything, but some pay as much as their own existence and the lives of their loved ones.