The true story of Hamilton: What is the musical about?

Hamilton the popular musical, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, had been staged at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London since December 2017.

But what is the true story behind the smash-hit musical?

*Warning: spoilers ahead.*

Hamilton is based on the biography of American statesman Alexander Hamilton, written by historian Ron Chernow.

Alexander Hamilton - whose face is imprinted on the $10 bill in the US - lived an extraordinary life, born on the Caribbean island of Nevis in 1755 and moving to New York as a teenager to get an education.

With a keen interest in politics, he went on to become a soldier, statesman and scholar who founded the US legal system.

In the early stages of the American Civil War, he joined the New York militia and rose up through the ranks, leading a raid on British cannons in the Battery.

George Washington invited Hamilton to become his aide with the rank of lieutenant colonel, which he accepted, but was desperate to get back to the battlefield.

Washington relented in 1781 and Hamilton led three battalions in successful assaults on Yorktown, leading to the British surrender and effectively ending the war.

After the war, Hamilton went on to a political career, and in 1789 was appointed by Washington as the first US Secretary of the Treasury.

After helping defeat politician Aaron Burr in the 1804 New York gubernatorial race, Burr challenged him to a gunfight, and he died before the age of 50 after sustaining a gunshot wound to the abdomen.

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical portrays Hamilton as progressive and pro-immigration, but this has been disputed by historians.

Writer Ishmael Reed published a book titled The Haunting of Lin-Manuel Miranda, which criticises Hamilton and reminds readers of his complicity in slavery and aggression against Native Americans.

Some historians argue that Hamilton may have been a slave owner himself, and his portrayal in the musical has drawn criticism from experts at universities such as Harvard and Rutgers.

“It’s a fictional rewrite of Hamilton. You can’t pick the history facts that you want,” Nancy Isenberg, a professor of American history at Louisiana State University, told Associated Press.

She also wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post arguing Burr was the real progressive, saying he was “in most ways more forward-thinking, by our standards, than his nemesis Hamilton, and the romantic recasting of Hamilton’s life story comes at the expense of a true progressive champion.”

Hamilton is available to stream on Disney+ now.