The History of the Americans

The History of the Americans


Latest Episodes

The Popham/Sagadahoc Colony and Other Adventures on the Coast of New England 1602-08 Part 1
December 23, 2021

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
December 17, 2021

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
December 04, 2021

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
November 25, 2021

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
November 18, 2021

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
November 11, 2021

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
November 06, 2021

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
October 28, 2021

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
October 22, 2021

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!
October 17, 2021

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