The Old World with Will Tanner

In the winter of 1750, the death of Thomas Lee left his six sons to inherit a massive empire of Tidewater land and transatlantic commerce—an inheritance that would ultimately forge them into the most formidable family alliance of the American Revolution. Steeped in the stern classical traditions of Greece and Rome, the five younger brothers—Thomas Ludwell, Richard Henry, Francis Lightfoot, William, and Arthur Lee—found themselves bound together by a shared Classical tradition, patriotic American outlook, and bitter domestic feud over their patrimony against their overbearing eldest brother, Philip Ludwell Lee. From the splendorous river wharves of Stratford Hall to the quiet gardens of Chantilly-on-the-Potomac, and from the legislative benches of Williamsburg and Philadelphia to the precarious courts of Europe, this chronicle follows five of the greatest men of the Lee Family of Virginia as they sacrificed their ease, fortune, and peace to win the American Revolution and build the American Republic. CHAPTERS: 0:00 The Death of Thomas Lee at Stratford Hall 3:15 How A Classical Education Created Four Founders 10:13 Philip Ludwell Lee—"Colonel Phil"—Takes Control 13:00 The Lee Brothers Work Together, But are Divided by Thomas's Will 21:15 Chantilly on the Potomac Becomes The Base of the Founding Brothers 23:12 How the Lee Brothers Helped Win the American Revolution 29:12 William and Arthur Abroad 33:05 The Cost of Revolution: Death and Disillusionment 38:18 The Legacy of the Lee Brothers of Stratform Hall Sources Referenced in this Episode: I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks! Nagel, Paul C.: The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Dynasty, https://amzn.to/4uCI6o9 Hendrick, Burton J.: The Lees of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4uCN4BF Lee, Cazenove G. Jr.: Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4vGzbDe Dowdey, Clifford: The Virginia Dynasties, https://amzn.to/4vlqoqN Dowdey, Clifford: The Golden Age, https://amzn.to/3QbGNi4 Dowdey, Clifford: The Great Plantation, https://amzn.to/4gdOxKR Wright, Louis B.: The First Gentlemen of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4ekuR5z McGaughy, J. Kent: Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4ewtGA4 Burt, Nathaniel: First Families: The Making of an American Aristocracy, https://amzn.to/3Sopnj2 Evans, Emory G.: A "Topping People": The Rise and Decline of Virginia's Old Political Elite, 1680-1790, https://amzn.to/43UPMaK Morton, Richard L.: Colonial Virginia VOLUME II Westward Expansion and Prelude to Revolution, 1710-1763, https://amzn.to/4vynVJw Potts, Louis W.: Arthur Lee: A Virtuous Revolutionary, https://amzn.to/4vpFLOF

This is the tale of how the Lee Family of Virginia became a fledgling American aristocracy after Richard Lee I died in 1664, leaving behind the foundations of a great family fortune: a large commercial and landholding empire divided between Virginia and London. In this episode, we dive into how Richard Lee II, known as Richard the Scholar, became the patriarch and guided his family into becoming a dynasty, while navigating crises like Bacon's Rebellion and the Glorious Revolution, always working to preserve the family estates and secure their future for later generations, including great men like Thomas Lee, Richard Henry Lee, and Francis Lightfoot Lee. Subscribe for more deep-dive history: https://www.youtube.com/@realTheOldWorldShow Listen ad-free here: Who was the real driving force behind the famous Lee Family of Virginia? While Colonel Richard Lee "The Emigrant" built a staggering transatlantic shipping and tobacco empire involving 15,000 acres of land, multiple ships, and a London headquarters, the true test of the dynasty belonged to the children he left behind in the wild country of the Northern Neck, particularly his second-oldest son, Richard "the Scholar" Lee. In this long-form historical podcast about the Lee family, we investigate the dramatic, often-overlooked history of the second generation of that dynasty that later proved so influential in American history, particularly during the American Revolution. We track the contrasting lives of the sons of Richard Lee I: John Lee, the Oxford-educated "Golden Boy" who created America's very first country club before dying young; Francis Lee, the calculating London merchant who built a great fortune but fell out of the family; and the central patriarch, Richard Lee II—"The Scholar in the Wilderness". Richard Lee II was a pious and private man who much preferred his library of 300 books to the chaos of colonial politics and fortune building. Yet, following his brother's sudden death, he was dragged from his study to lead the family through the bloodiest upheavals in early American history—enduring a harrowing imprisonment during Bacon's Rebellion and an almost career-ending standoff in the Glorious Revolution, before later working with the Fairfax family to bring order and aristocracy to the Northern Neck. Finally, we uncover how feuding over a poorly written will helped him set up the third generation of Lees for success, and how Richard II's legacy as the unwilling but dutiful patriarch of the Lees of Virginia ought be considered and remembered. CHAPTERS: 0:00 The Death of Richard Lee I 1:37 The Lee Family's Second Generation 6:07 John Lee, the Golden Son 11:21 Francis Lee: Critical Merchant Across the Atlantic 15:22 "The Scholar": Richard Lee II Takes Charge 22:07 The Cousinage: Richard Lee's Marriage Into the Corbin Family 26:10 How Richard Lee II Stood Down Bacon's Rebellion 33:10 Richard Lee II's Glorious Revolution Crisis 37:18 The Dynasty Solidifies: Fighting for Family Lands 43:30 The Lee Family of Virginia: Richard Lee II's Lasting Legacy Sources Referenced in this Episode: I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks! Nagel, Paul C.: The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Dynasty, https://amzn.to/4uCI6o9 Hendrick, Burton J.: The Lees of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4uCN4BF Lee, Cazenove G. Jr.: Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4vGzbDe Dowdey, Clifford: The Virginia Dynasties, https://amzn.to/4vlqoqN Dowdey, Clifford: The Golden Age, https://amzn.to/3QbGNi4 Dowdey, Clifford: The Great Plantation, https://amzn.to/4gdOxKR Wright, Louis B.: The First Gentlemen of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4ekuR5z McGaughy, J. Kent: Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4ewtGA4 Image credits: Lee Family Coat of Arms based on Glasshouse using elements by Sodacan, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Theodor de Bry, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

These are the works I read to study and learn about the history of Virginia, from the earliest days of colonization into the modern, postbellum era. Collectively, these are a good way of learning about practically every aspect of the Old Dominion over that time period, from managing a plantation and Cavalier culture, to the mechanics of politics in the state and Westward expansion. In this video, I discuss which ones are best for getting a general history of the state, learning about the development of the Virginia Gentry, understanding plantation life and the economics of the plantations, understanding what set Virginia apart from the rest of the South, and getting into learning about the great men of the state's history. I'll also cover which ones are terrible, and should be avoided. Note: I am an Amazon affiliate. If you would like to help support the show at no cost to yourself, you can do so by using the link I have attached for each book, if that book is one you would like to read. A Disease in the Public Mind: A New Understanding of Why We Fought the Civil War By Thomas Fleming, https://amzn.to/4oeeRqs A "Topping People": The Rise and Decline of Virginia's Old Political Elite, 1680-1790 By Emory G. Evans, https://amzn.to/4o7ILN0 Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America By David Hackett Fischer, https://amzn.to/4fHA89R Behold Virginia: The Fifth Crown By George F. Willison, https://amzn.to/3RZUalS Colonial Virginia: Its People and Customs By Mary Newton Stanard, https://amzn.to/4e2nT4W Colonial Virginia, Volume I: The Tidewater Period, 1607-1710 By Richard L. Morton, https://amzn.to/3SjTUy8 Colonial Virginia, Volume II: Westward Expansion and Prelude to Revolution, 1710-1763 By Richard L. Morton, https://amzn.to/3SjTUy8 Economic History of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century, Volume I and II By Philip Alexander Bruce, https://amzn.to/4vsQ4RP Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815 By Gordon S. Wood, https://amzn.to/4xcNUaO First Families: The Making of an American Aristocracy By Nathaniel Burt, https://amzn.to/4dWhGaJ Gentlemen Freeholders: Political Practices in Washington's Virginia By Charles S. Sydnor, https://amzn.to/4dZsPaZ George Washington, Entrepreneur: How Our Founding Father's Private Business Pursuits Changed America and the World By John Berlau, https://amzn.to/4ui7PCq Lee By Clifford Dowdey, https://amzn.to/4o7H7Lk Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees of Virginia By Cazenove Gardner Lee, Jr., https://amzn.to/43dYssh Myths & Realities: Societies of the Colonial South By Carl Bridenbaugh, https://amzn.to/4dMbKlV Old Virginia: The Pursuit of a Pastoral Ideal by Robert S. Tilton and William M. S. Rasmussen, https://amzn.to/4e2mueG Patrician and Plebeian in Virginia: Or the Origin and Development of the Social Classes of the Old Dominion By Thomas J. Wertenbaker, https://amzn.to/43efFll Robert Carter of Nomini Hall: A Virginia Tobacco Planter of the Eighteenth Century By Louis Morton, https://amzn.to/4xmlX0e Savage Kingdom: The True Story of Jamestown, 1607, and the Settlement of America By Benjamin Woolley, https://amzn.to/43ccJWA Seat of Empire: The Political Role of Eighteenth-Century Williamsburg By Carl Bridenbaugh, https://amzn.to/4ellGmz Sir William Berkeley and the Forging of Colonial Virginia By Warren M. Billings, https://amzn.to/49FDqqd Social Life in Old Virginia Before the War By Thomas Nelson Page, https://amzn.to/4fXkhUn Social Life of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century By Philip Alexander Bruce, https://amzn.to/4x2jkk5 The Age of Federalism: The Early American Republic, 1788-1800 By Stanley M. Elkins and Eric L. McKitrick, https://amzn.to/3QfnQuR The Birth of Virginia's Aristocracy By James C. Thompson II, https://amzn.to/4dZDoun The British Gentry, the Southern Planter, and the. Northern Family Farmer: Agriculture and Sectional Antagonism in North by James L. Huston, https://amzn.to/4uhZOgx The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787 By Gordon S. Wood, https://amzn.to/4uVFwLi The First Gentlemen of Virginia: Intellectual Qualities of the Early Colonial Ruling Class By Louis B. Wright, https://amzn.to/43dW3Oh The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 By Robert Middlekauff, https://amzn.to/4uIXcJH The Golden Age: A Climate for Greatness, Virginia 1732-1775 By Clifford Dowdey, https://amzn.to/4obCIXQ The Great Plantation: A Profile of Berkeley Hundred and Plantation Virginia from Jamestown to Appomattox by Clifford Dowdey, https://amzn.to/4vkxLy2 The Landed Gentry By Sophy Burnham, https://amzn.to/4vq7Vss The Lees of Virginia: Biography of a Family By Burton J. Hendrick, https://amzn.to/3RL7nip The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Family By Paul C. Nagel, https://amzn.to/4opLnWN The Old Dominion: Her Making and Her Manners By Thomas Nelson Page, https://amzn.to/4uNU0wn The Planters of Colonial Virginia By Thomas J. Wertenbaker, https://amzn.to/4dNhls9 The Radicalism of the American Revolution By Gordon S. Wood, https://amzn.to/43xdklT The Revolution in Virginia, 1775-1783 By John E. Selby, https://amzn.to/4uer7sa The Sociology of Colonial Virginia By Morris Talpalar, https://amzn.to/4o8Ny0v The Soul of a Nation: The Founding of Virginia and the Projection of New England By Matthew Page Andrews, https://amzn.to/4dMwUjV The Transformation of Virginia, 1740-1790 By Rhys Isaac, https://amzn.to/4e4YZSs The Virginia Dynasties: The Emergence of "King" Carter and the Golden Age By Clifford Dowdey, https://amzn.to/4o8o2Zm The Virginia Plutarch, Volumes I and II By Philip Alexander Bruce, https://amzn.to/4uTuAxy Tobacco Coast: A Maritime History of Chesapeake Bay in the Colonial Era By Arthur Pierce Middleton, https://amzn.to/4dRzKmg Tobacco Culture: The Mentality of the Great Tidewater Planters on the Eve of Revolution By T. H. Breen,https://amzn.to/43N4FLY Virginia, 1705-1786: Democracy or Aristocracy? By Robert E. and B. Katherine Brown, https://amzn.to/3S3TLil Virginia Baron: The Story of Thomas 6th Lord Fairfax By Stuart E. Brown Jr, https://amzn.to/4uVBIK0 Virginia: The English Heritage in America By Parke Rouse, Jr., https://amzn.to/4x4dcrg Virginia: The New Dominion By Virginius Dabney, https://amzn.to/4vjjSQO Virginia, The Old Dominion By Matthew Page Andrews, https://amzn.to/4dZmjB3 Virginia Under the Stuarts, 1607-1688 By Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker, https://amzn.to/4o8LPIz Washington By Douglas Southall Freeman, https://amzn.to/4fY4rJe

In this episode, Will and Gregory Treat, an attorney who helps families plan for multiple generations into the future. They discuss Great Houses—families that build a multi-generational legacy and use it to influence and lead their polities—and how such a concept is relevant today. They discuss democratic vs. aristocratic technologies, the mindset behind Great Houses, whether the form of wealth matters, some examples of Great Houses acting for the best in American life, and how technological change could lead to a very different world…that will likely still rely on Great Houses. Find Gregory Treat on Substack here: ⁠Gregory Treat⁠ Listen to His Great Houses episodes here: ⁠https://greathouses.forum/⁠ Check out his consulting here: ⁠https://avaloncircle.com/⁠ Read Will's thoughts on this here: ⁠https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/all-elites-are-not-created-equal⁠

In this episode, Will and Donald Maclean, whose family moved to South Africa and spent a good bit of time in Rhodesia before its fall to Mugabe, discuss what life was like in Rhodesia and South Africa before they fell to Mugabe and Mandela, respectively. They begin by describing the First World nature of South Africa in the 1970s. They then describe life in Rhodesia over the 1970s, with a focus on the unique Rhodesian spirit and culture, particularly the polished nature of Rhodesian society and how they defeated sanctions. They then discuss what life was like in South Africa for its waning days, with a focus on Donald's military service in the Angolan Border War in support of 32 Battalion, and the essentially evil nature of Nelson Mandela. They discuss the reality of apartheid, Mandela's many crimes, and the utter destruction of South Africa under his rule.

In this episode, Will and Roman Cabanac, a South African, discuss the reality of life in a South Africanizing world. They discuss the complex political situation in South Africa, what the crime and infrastructure situation is like, how to deal with such a world, and how to succeed despite the race communism. They also discuss what Westerners can learn from South Africa's experience. Find Roman on X here: https://x.com/RomanCabanac Check Will's new YouTube show out here: James Brooke And read his thoughts about South Africanization here: https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/how-south-africans-defend-their-lives

In this episode, Will and Jonas discuss the history of Rhodesia, focusing on how it created a new people out of the unique conditions it found in Africa, and how a change in the Western ideology doomed it. The comment on Sweden's role in destroying colonial Africa, the ideology of decolonization, Orania, South Africa, and what we in the West can learn from Rhodesia's fall. Check out Jonas's article on Rhodesia here: https://jonasnilssonen.substack.com/p/what-rhodesia-teaches-us-about-our Get his book on Orania here: Orania: Building a Nation Get his book on migration here: When Migration Becomes Conflict: Political Group Dynamics

In this episode, Will and Mortiz discuss the failing institutions in America, the problems lurking across much of the West, and how he is helping combat it by teaching men to be Modern Minutemen. They discuss what that means, what civic actions it can translate into, the importance of language, and how teach and use statecraft to our advantage Find Moritz on Substack here: https://substack.com/@moritzbierling Check out his Modern Minuteman project here: https://modernminuteman.net/