The History of the Americans

The History of the Americans


Latest Episodes

Raid on America 3: “All Theyr Cry was for New Yorke!”
January 20, 2025

This is the last of a three-episode series on the Dutch "raid on America" in 1673, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. Commander Cornelis Evertsen the Youngest of the Admiralty of the Dutch province of

Raid on America 2: Kees the Devil Sails
January 13, 2025

This is the second of three episodes about a daring Dutch raid on the West Indies and the English colonies of North America during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. The extended raid, led by Commander Cornel

Raid on America 1: Overview of the Anglo-Dutch Wars
December 31, 2024

This is the first of three episodes about a daring Dutch raid on the West Indies and the English colonies of North America during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. The extended raid, led by Commander Corneli

New Jersey Is Revolting!
December 18, 2024

In 1672, the settlers of the New Jersey proprietary colony arose in a bloodless rebellion against Philip Carteret, appointed by the proprietors as governor. The wannabe rebels formed an illegal legisl

The First English Settlement of South Carolina
November 30, 2024

The first English settlers in today's South Carolina departed England in August, 1669, but would not actually get to the coast of Carolina until April and May the next year. Along the way they would

Lord Ashley, John Locke, and the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina
November 14, 2024

Notwithstanding the promising expeditions of William Hilton and Robert Sandford, by the end of 1666, with the Carolina proprietors waging war with the Netherlands and contending with plague and fire i

Barbadians Explore South Carolina
October 28, 2024

Spaniards had been in South Carolina off and on since perhaps 1514, and certainly by 1521. Even in the 1660s Spaniards occasionally came up the coast to trade and visit Santa Helena on Parris Island,

Ohhhh! Whaddabout New Jersey?
October 17, 2024

New Jersey is something of a puzzle, especially as a matter of early colonial history. The future Garden State rates barely a mention in most surveys of American history until it becomes a primary ba

Introduction to the Columbian Exchange (Revised)
October 12, 2024

In recognition of the holiday(s),* this is a revision of one of the podcast's earliest episodes, Introduction to the Columbian Exchange. The "Columbian Exchange" refers to the interhemispheric transmi

English Colonial Governance in a Nutshell: Charters, Proprietaries, and Royal Colonies
October 07, 2024

This blessedly short episode encapsulates the types of English colonial government in the 17th and 18th centuries, which were chartered corporations, proprietary "counties palatine," and royal colonie