Showing titles in Colonial Period

The Seven Years’ War, also known as the French and Indian War in North America, was fought between 1756 and 1763, and it involved all of Europe’s great powers and many of the so-called middle powers. By the end of the conflict, Britain would gain control over Canada and Florida, but the war would nearly bankrupt the country as it doubled its national debt. Still, the war marked the beginning of the era of British dominance in North America. The war also had profound consequences for indigenous groups in North America.

It was the year 1740 and Alexander Joyce, a Scots-Irish settler, was living in absolute misery. As he watched the misty hillside of County Down, Ireland, he pondered on all of the hardships he had grown accustomed to throughout the years. From famine, religious persecution, and political persecution, he had experienced much. But now, he was facing his most challenging obstacle yet. Left with little choice, he would soon embark on the journey of a lifetime, and leave his old life behind.

On Thursday, December 16, 1773, an estimated seven dozen men, many amateurishly disguised as Indians—then a symbol of freedom—dumped about £10,000 worth of tea in the harbor. Whatever their motives at the time, they unleashed a social, political, and economic firestorm that would culminate in the Declaration of Independence two and a half years later.

When the American Revolution ended, the United States and Britain reached an impressively comprehensive peace in the Treaty of Paris. Among the important terms of the treaty, Britain recognized the colonies as free and relinquished territorial claims to them. The two sides then negotiated the boundaries that separated the United States from the British colonies in present-day Canada. Additionally, the British and Americans strove to share certain waters, including the Mississippi River and the fishing waters off Newfoundland.

Do you want to learn about the Declaration of Independence but don’t have the time or patience to read a thick book? Then this is the short and concise book for you! Some of the interesting topics covered in the book are: Meeting of the First Continental Congress at Philadelphia in 1774 and how the delegates from the colonies dealt with the Coercive Acts forced upon the American colonists by the British. The impact of Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” on the cry for independence of the American colonies from Great Britain. The resolution introduced by the Virginia delegate Richard Henry...

Dive into a riveting exploration of one of history's most astonishing chapters – the audacious conquest of the Americas by a handful of daring conquistadors. This book peels back the layers of history to reveal a story far more complex and gripping than the simplistic tale of firepower overcoming sheer numbers.

April 19, 1775 was one of the most momentous days in American history. Over the course of nearly 18 hours, a morning that began with midnight riders spreading an alarm about a British raid headed for Concord would lead to the British column fleeing for their lives. By the time the sun went down, 10 years of strife between the 13 colonies and Great Britain finally boiled over into revolution.

The Whig Party: The History and Legacy of the Influential Political Party in 19th Century America looks at how the party came into being, its most important leaders and ideas, and why the party disappeared shortly before the Civil War. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Whig Party like never before.

Pocahontas was the daughter of Powhatan. When Captain John Smith was captured by these Indians in 1607, he was brought before Powhatan, who sentenced him to death. Sixteen-year-old Pocahontas convinced her father to spare Captain Smith's life, thus becoming a friend of the settlers and eventually influencing her father to be friendly, too.

Most people have heard about the French and Indian War, but you will find that most history classes have “forgotten” to explore some of the most interesting and important facets of this conflict. Its little-told stories and often underrated importance in world history have begun to be buried over the centuries. Was this epic struggle simply another war among many others in history?

In these transcripts of her American Atheist Radio programs, Dr. Madalyn Murray O'Hair tells us about Freedom of Religion in Colonial America, American Deism, Rewriting of History by Christians, The Christianity of our Founding as a Nation, Free thought in American Historical Documents, Free thought Organizations in the Early U.S., Thomas Paine - American Deist and Freethinker, Colonel Ethan Allen, James Madison's Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments, Jefferson's Idea of Religious Freedom, and Jefferson on Christianity.

The English settlement at Plymouth has usually been seen in isolation. Indeed, the colonists gain our admiration in part because we envision them arriving on a desolate, frozen shore, far from assistance and forced to endure a deadly first winter alone. Yet Plymouth was, from its first year, a place connected to other places. Going beyond the tales we learned from schoolbooks, Carla Gardina Pestana offers an illuminating account of life in Plymouth Plantation.

Copper mining is as ubiquitous to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as the automobile industry is to the Lower. Centuries before the first white man set foot in the New World, local natives used rocks to pound copper free from the earth, shaping it into goods traded across the continent. It was not long before European settlers followed up on the natives’ work, and when industry came to Copper Country, mines sprung up, quickly dominating the economy and lives of the Upper Peninsula’s residents.

Immerse yourself in a journey through early 18th century America with this richly detailed historical fiction saga set amidst the backdrop of the New York and the American frontier. This riveting narrative chronicles the adventures of Otetiani (Master Ormerod), a dispossessed English nobleman forced to brave the untamed wilderness of a youthful America in search of solace, redemption, and maybe even, a touch of mystic. The Journey Begins: Otetiani's tale begins with his exile from England and the blissful, yet fleeting, solace he found in the New World. After the tragic loss of his beloved ...

George Washington is remembered for leading the Continental Army to victory, presiding over the Constitution, and forging a new nation, but few know the story of his involvement in the establishment of a capital city and how it nearly tore the United States apart. In George Washington's Final Battle, Robert P. Watson brings this tale to life, telling how the country's first president tirelessly advocated for a capital on the shores of the Potomac.

King Philip’s War was a conflict fought between English colonists and indigenous peoples in North America toward the end of the 17th century. Primarily, the clash occurred because the European migrants were encroaching on native land. But more than that, it was also a struggle for survival: The fledgling colonies were fighting to establish a semblance of European society against the Native Americans, who saw their cultures evaporating with the tremendous loss of land and life.

Nearly 20 years before Jamestown was settled, the English established one of the earliest colonies in North America around the Chesapeake Bay region, until the colony had over 100 inhabitants. Like other early settlements, Roanoke struggled to survive in its infancy, to the extent that the colony's leader, John White, sailed back to England in 1587 in an effort to bring more supplies and help. However, the attempts to bring back supplies were thwarted by the Spanish in the midst of the Anglo-Spanish War going on at the time.

I am born on November 22, 1744, in Weymouth, Massachusetts. My name is Abigail Smith. Maybe my last name will change when I’m older. My family owns four slaves. Phoebe is a slave who takes care of me while I am a child. When I grow up, I want to teach our slaves to read and write, give them freedom, and pay them to work for me. I do not believe in slavery for men or ladies.

What was the bloodiest war in American history? Most people with at least a little knowledge of history would quickly say that it was the Civil War (1861-65), and they would certainly be correct overall. However, when historians go farther back in time and include colonial wars and look at casualties per capita, the correct answer would be the much-lesser known conflict known as "King Philip's War" (1675-76).

The short war between a confederation of Native American tribes under Little Turtle’s leadership has been referred to by many names, including the Northwest Indian War, the Ohio War, and the Miami War, but it is probably best known as Little Turtle’s War. Before Little Turtle’s War, it was believed that the U.S. did not need a professional army, that ordinary citizens would take up arms in times of threat and serve in militias as they had done in the fight against the British.