Time Travel Espionage

A Webquest on the American Revolution

by Rick Riordan

Saint Mary's Hall

The following is a simulation designed to teach about the American Revolution. The scenario is purely fictional!

Introduction 

The Task: The American Task | The British Task 

The Process: American North, American Middle, American South, British North, British Middle, British South 

The Big Question

Introduction

Agents, at ease.

As you may know, rival groups of British and American scientists have been working for years in ultra-secret laboratories to develop the world's first operational time machine. Both the British and American teams have now succeeded.

What you may not know: radical factions in both countries plan to use this new technology to change history for their own advantage.

The British and American time machines are believed to have an approximate 230-year maximum jump range, meaning time travel agents can go back in time as far as the American Revolution.

A team of British agents has been secretly training for a time jump to the American colonies during Revolution. Their goal: analyze what went wrong for the British, come up with specific recommendations for the British monarch of the time, George III, to win the war, and change history to make sure America loses the Revolution. With America still part of the British Empire, some British radicals believe that Great Britain would never have lost its world dominance, and would still be the world's greatest superpower in the 21st Century.

A team of American agents has been training to stop the British. Their goal: discover the biggest problems for the Americans during the Revolution, make a list of specific recommendations for the American military commander George Washington, and make sure America wins the Revolution even more convincingly than before by avoiding their mistakes.

Note: The time portals are unstable. Only a small number of people with a minimum of gear can be transported, and only for a very limited time, meaning time travelers can't do much more than observe events and talk to the people of the day. We cannot, for instance, arm the Revolutionary forces with modern weapons. All we can do is advise them how to proceed, with the resources they have, based on what we know. Our best weapon is knowledge of their future.

Agents, as you are all historical experts on the Revolution, both sides are eager to recruit you. When you have decided where your loyalties lie, and are ready to proceed, click on the task button below.