The History of the Americans
Latest Episodes
The Popham/Sagadahoc Colony and Other Adventures on the Coast of New England 1602-08 Part 1
The English established a colony on the coast near todays Phippsburg, Maine in 1607, only a couple of months after the founding of Jamestown. It would survive just over a year. The Popham or Sagadah
The Rediscovery of New Mexico and the Last Conquistadors 1580 – 1610
It is 1580. Virtually no Spaniards have returned to New Mexico or the American southwest since the return of the remnants of the Coronado and Soto expeditions in 1542. Neither had found a third great
Novo Albion and Drake’s Legacy
In this episode we look at the tangled debate over the location of Drake's "fair and good bay." Was it in California? Or do we only believe that because of unbelievably unscrupulous behavior by famou
Sidebar: Notes on Thanksgiving
This November, it has been 400 years since the traditional First Thanksgiving at Plymouth Colony - Patuxet in 1621. But the history of that collaborative feast of the English and the Wampanoag Indians
Sidebar: Announcements and Some News From History Twitter
This episode is off the timeline. We look at the various crimes against humanity to be found on "History Twitter," the idea of pursuing a "useable" history and the perils therein, whether we should re
Epilogues and Consequences: After the Armada and the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke
In this episode we wrap up loose ends before moving on down the timeline: What happened after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and what happened after John White left the Roanoke Colony in August 15
The Defeat of the Spanish Armada and the Survival of Protestant England Part 2
At some point in the second week of August, 1588, a merchant ship from one of the cities of the Hanseatic League, sailing through the North Sea off the east coast of England, found itself surrounded,
The Defeat of the Spanish Armada and the Survival of Protestant England Part 1
On August 28, 1587, John White, the leader of the last Roanoke Colony, climbed on board Edward Spicers flyboat and returned to England. His mandate was to secure supplies and more settlers to reinfor
Set Fair for Roanoke Part 4
This episode looks at the fate of the 15 settlers Sir Richard Grenville had left on Roanoke Island in 1586, and the expedition of 1587, which Sir Walter Ralegh, John White, and more or less everybody
Drake Burns Down the West Indies and St. Augustine!
We are back in the summer of 1585, and careful listeners could hear the ever louder drums of war between Spain and England. In this episode we tell the story of Drakes voyage to the West Indies in 15