The Hidden History of Monopolies

Birthed in the Fight Against Monopoly

America was birthed in a fight against monopoly.

There’s a pervasive myth in America—promoted by wealthy anti-tax activists—that the Revolutionary War was fought because colonists didn’t want to pay taxes to England. While that sentiment was certainly widespread, the spark that lit the fuse of the Revolution was monopoly and a giant tax cut for the world’s largest corporation, not an increase in taxes.

By 1773, Great Britain had a stranglehold on the economy of the colonies, enforced through the British East India Company, which held monopoly rights to much of the commerce with North America.¹

The Company, whose stock was heavily held by the British royal family and senior government officials, successfully ...