While the British and the French battled for hegemony in the woods of eastern America, another series of adventures and struggles shaped America along its Pacific coast. Once again, it was more disinformation than information which caused some things to happen. The Spanish, ever wary of any threat to the jewel of their empire, MexicoContinue reading “The Greatest Ocean of All”
Tag Archives: history
The Great Plains Indians
The storied life of the Great Plains Indian nations is filled with contradictions. In the imagination of today it is easy to imagine the unsullied and pristine life of the nomadic Plains tribe, following the buffalo and secure in the vastness of their isolated terrain. Our minds eye is shaped as much by Hollywood asContinue reading “The Great Plains Indians”
French America
For the French being weak in some ways made them strong in others. They had a colder climate, and their rivers were ice bound for a good part of the year. This made it harder to attack them. They had less people. This made their presence less onerous to the Indians and caused them toContinue reading “French America”
Awakenings
In the middle of the Eighteenth Century a series of great revivals swept through the British colonies. Collectively they have become known as the First Great Awakening. This was a manifestation of the great Evangelical movement which was also sweeping the British Isles. Preachers thundered from hundreds of pulpits assuring people that Christ’s millennial returnContinue reading “Awakenings”
The Atlantic
That the Atlantic Ocean was a barrier between the Old World and the New was attested to by the thousands of years the Americas lay in splendid isolation. Sporadic contact by the Norse, Irish fisherman and the stray mariner blown off course did nothing to end the nearly insurmountable barrier. Then as the technological expertiseContinue reading “The Atlantic”
Revolutions
The always grasping never satisfied Stuart dynasty had a rough time during their four reigns as the kings of England. They sought absolute power and ended up losing the constitutional power they had. The second one was beheaded by his own people and the last one was chased out of the country. The first andContinue reading “Revolutions”
The Middle Colonies
Between the Chesapeake Colonies and New England there existed an expanse of coast and its associated hinterlands that would soon join the English holdings and become known collectively as the Middle Colonies. They had a better climate than New England and healthier than the Chesapeake region. They proved extremely well suited for growing grains andContinue reading “The Middle Colonies”
Carolina
Unlike the other English colonies in North America the Carolinas were established under the auspices of the Lords Proprietors by West Indian planters. The Lords Proprietors, 8 extremely rich men were based in London, and they wanted experienced colonists to ensure the success of their financial venture. Many of the rich planters of the WestContinue reading “Carolina”
The West Indies
The Seventeenth Century saw the rise of the West Indies as the most important colonies of England. They were the most important because they produced abundant crops of sugar and sugar was what greased the financial wheels for the entire colonial enterprise. It afforded the profits and covered the losses to fuel a growing empire,Continue reading “The West Indies”
Puritans and Indians
The Puritans didn’t see the land they colonized as pristine, which it wasn’t, and they didn’t see it as merely undeveloped, which it wasn’t, instead they saw it as a “hideous and desolate wilderness full of wild beasts and wild men.” With such an outlook is it any wonder that they looked upon the landContinue reading “Puritans and Indians”
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