The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence has prompted renewed reflection on the history and meaning of the American Revolution. While the Revolution is often framed primarily as the founding moment of the United States, historians increasingly emphasize that the conflict unfolded within a much broader global context, shaped by interconnected political, economic and cultural forces spanning multiple empires, regions and societies.
In this exhibition, Duke students from the fall 2026 course History 267: The Worlds of 1776: The American Revolution in Global Context, trace connections across local, regional and global dynamics. The exhibition asks “What else was happening in 1776?” and examines how the Revolution unfolded within the wider ambitions of the British Empire, Indigenous nations and confederations, other European maritime empires, and societies across the Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds. Together, this work advances a more global understanding of a moment often framed in primarily local or proto-national terms.
