Colonial america

Age of Discovery
 The Age of Discovery was an era when European
sailors and ships left the Old World (Europe) and set
out on an adventure to explore the vastness of the
“green sea of darkness.”
 First to set sail were the Portuguese, followed by the
Spanish. Then in the late 15th to early 16th centuries the
British, French and Dutch set sail to explore the world.
 The countries that backed the explorers were all
looking for Mundus Novus, which was the New World.

Age of Discovery
 When European sailors came upon new lands they
befriended the native populations. Then when
valuable resources such as silver and gold were found
they exploited them.
 The Age of Discovery turned into the Age of
Exploitation.

Treaty of Tordesillas
 The Treaty of Tordesillas was a 1494 agreement
dividing the Americas between Spain and Portugal
along a north-south meridian 370 leagues west of the
Cape Verde Islands. The land to the east would belong
to Portugal and the land to the west would belong to
Spain.

Portugal
 Instead of colonizing its newly discovered territories,
Portugal constructed trading depots from West Africa
to China.
 By the 16th Century the Portuguese had substantially
increased their wealth by becoming the major
importers of luxuries and spices from the East.
 Portugal built an empire that was dependent upon
their sea power.

Brazil
 One of Portugal’s greatest gains during the Age of
Discovery would be the accidental discovery of Brazil
in 1500.

Gaspar de Corte-Real
 The first authenticated European landing in North
America was by a Portuguese navigator named Gaspar
de Corte-Real (c. 1450-c. 1501 CE). He explored the
coast of Labrador and Newfoundland.

Spain
 Spain founded its empire on conquest and
colonization, not trade.
 Possibly the most important Spanish endeavors during
the Age of Discovery were the voyages of Christopher
Columbus (1451-1506)
 Columbus was an Italian explorer.

Christopher Columbus
 Christopher Columbus drew up plans for intended
voyages but they were repeatedly rejected. It would be
King Ferdinand V (1452-1516) and his wife Queen
Isabella (1451-1504) that would finally fund Columbus’
voyages.

 King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain had
promised a large reward to the first person to discover
land.
 At about 10:00 pm on October 11, 1492, Christopher
Columbus saw a faint light off in the distance.
Columbus based his claim on the reward on the
observation he had made.
 The light Columbus had seen could not have been
land. Columbus was still 35 miles from shore.

 A contract was drawn up that specified Columbus
would be:
 Designated Admiral of the Ocean Sea
 Columbus would control all the land he discovered.
 Columbus would retain 10% of all the discovered
riches on his voyages.
 Columbus would also become a member of Spanish
nobility.

 August 3, 1492-1st Voyage to the New World
 Columbus commanded the Santa Maria and was
attended by 2 other ships, the Pinta and the Nina. His
entire squadron consisted of only 120 men.
 After 33 days at sea Columbus sighted Watlings Island
in the Bahamas.
 The first people that Columbus encountered when he
finally reached land (which was in the Antilles and
Bahamas) were the Arawak.
 The Arawak no longer live on most islands in the
region, but still can be found residing in Cuba.

 Columbus then visited the islands of Cuba and
Hispaniola.
 Columbus left a colony of 40 men at Navidad. He then
sailed home to Spain, entering the Spanish port of
Palos on March 15, 1493.

Columbus-1st Voyage
to the New World

 September 24, 1493-2nd Voyage to the New World
 On Columbus’ second trip he set sail with 17 ships,
with the trip lasting 21 days.
 On November 3, 1493, Columbus sighted Dominica in
the West Indies.
 By the end of November Columbus had discovered the
Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

 When Columbus returned to Navidad he found his
fortress in ruins and all the men dead. The men were
killed by the native population of the island.
 Columbus left a new colony on Santa Domingo on the
island of Hispaniola.
 In April 1494 Columbus left the West Indies in search
of a route to China. He arrived in Cuba, but never
made it to China.
 Columbus set sail for Spain on March 10, 1496, with 2
ships. He arrived in Spain on June 8th.

Columbus-2nd Voyage
to the New World

 May 30, 1498-3rd Voyage to the New World
 Columbus took charge of 3 ships on a mission of
exploration while 3 other ships set out for Hispaniola.
 On this voyage Columbus discovered Trinidad and
Margarita.
 Upon Columbus’ arrival at Santa Domingo on the island of
Hispaniola he discovered the colony was in turmoil.
Columbus’ own colonists had begun the revolt against his
administration.
 Francisco de Bobadilla was appointed royal commissioner
and Columbus was arrested.
 In October 1500 Columbus was sent home to Spain in irons.

Columbus-3rd Voyage
to the New World

 May 11, 1502-4th Voyage to the New World
 Columbus’ 4th voyage would be his last to the New
World. He departed Spain with 4 ships and 140 men.
Unfortunately the voyage suffered many hardships at
the hands of constant storms and hostile Indians.
 Columbus was able to traverse the coast of Central
America to Panama.
 Columbus returned to Spain on November 7, 1504.
 Columbus died at Valladolid, Spain, on May 20, 1506.

Columbus-4th Voyage
to the New World

 Columbus’ discoveries were influential in human history.
They opened half of the globe to the Eastern world as well
as advanced navigational technology and meteorology.
 The land Columbus discovered eventually became home to
democracy which would later spread across the globe.
 Columbus’ voyages to the New World were responsible for
discovering and introducing new foods.
 The Middle Ages ended as new discoveries were being
made by Columbus and other explorers.
 Riches from the New World were being shared across
Europe.

 Columbus was considered a failure when he died in
1506 CE.
 Columbus and his men abused the Indians. His
behavior can be considered genocide towards native
populations.
 Columbus also brought slavery to the Americas. He set
a standard for destroying people and land for profit.
 Columbus symbolized white men oppressing non-
white people.

Why Explore?
 Why did the Europeans set forth on a course of
exploration? There are 4 reasons:
 Mans Curiosity
 Religion
 Economic
 Imperialism

Obstacles to Exploration
 There were, however, many obstacles that faced the
explorers. Some of these obstacles were:
 Lack of geographical knowledge.
 The belief that all the world was not populated.
 Africa and Malaysia were connected which left the
Indian Ocean land locked.
 Danger of ocean travel. (The ocean was inhabited by
dragons and sea monsters, and there were great holes
in the sea where ships would simply disappear.)

Obstacles to Exploration
 Wild Natives
 Cannibals
 Reefs and Shoals
 Unmapped Waters
 Running Aground
 Storms
 None of the sailors really knew where they were sailing
to.

Ferdinand Magellan
 Ship conditions on many voyages proved less than
ideal. Ferdinand Magellan recorded that in 1521:
 They were “three months and twenty days without
refreshment from any kind of fresh food.”
 They ate biscuits that were “swarming with worms.”
 “The rats had eaten all the good.”
 “We drank yellow water already many days putrid.”
 The sailors were reduced to eating ox hides and
sawdust.

Ocean Travel
 What was needed for ocean travel was:
 Courageous Men
 Steadfast Leader
 Strong Ships
 Chronometer, which measured longitude. This was
not available until the 18th Century.

Ocean Travel
 Astrolabe, which measured latitude. The astrolabe was
known to the ancient Greeks. It was improved in the
15th Century.
 Magic Needle (Compass)
 More accurate maps.
 Skilled map makers. The 15th Century saw vast
improvements in cartography.

Amerigo Vespucci
 In 1499 the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci sights
the coast of North America. He gets credited for the
discovery of the continent.
 In 1507 the name “America” is first used in a geography
book referring to the New World.

Canada
 Over 1 million Native Americans populated the area
that is now Canada.
 About one third of the Native American Canadian
population was located along the Pacific Coast (Pacific
Northwest Indians) where they lived along ocean bays
and in river valleys.
 The other two thirds of the native population in
Canada lived in the east along the St. Lawrence River
and in the Great Lakes region.

Jacques Carter
 Jacques Carter (1491-1557) was a master navigator who
is credited with discovering the St. Lawrence River in
North America. He also explored the area that would
became modern day Montreal, Canada.
 The name Canada can be traced back to 1536 and the
writings of Jacques Carter. While sailing up the St.
Lawrence River Carter noticed that the local Indians
referred to their settlements as Kanata. The French
took the term Kanata to be the Indian name for the
country.

Ponce de Leon
 Ponce de Leon, who served as the Spanish Governor of
Puerto Rico, was the first conquistador who attempted
to expand Spanish control to North America.
 Ponce de Leon landed on the southern Atlantic coast
of the New World in 1513, which he named in honor of
the Easter season-Pascua Florida.

Ponce de Leon
 In 1513 the Calusas Indians of Florida successfully drive
Ponce de Leon away.
 The Calusas Indians were the dominant tribe of
southwestern Florida.
 Word had spread among the Calusas Indians about the
strange and brutal behavior of the men “with houses
on water.”

Ponce de Leon
 The Calusas Indians mounted strategic resistance to Ponce de
Leon’s second expedition to Florida in 1521.
 Ponce de Leon landed at Carlos Bay with 200 Spanish soldiers
and settlers to establish a colony.
 The Calusa chieftain, known as Carlos I, allowed the Spanish to
build a settlement while he gathered a large force of Calusa
warriors.
 After the settlement was established the Calusas warriors
attacked with weaponry that included poison darts and arrows.
 Ponce de Leon was hit in the thigh with an arrow. He ordered a
retreat back to Havana, Cuba.
 Ponce de Leon died in Havana from the infected poison arrow
wound.

Native Populations
 It was difficult for the Indian peoples to resist Spanish
conquest. Most native populations were no match for
the Spanish mounted soldiers with their steel swords
and man eating dogs.

Native Populations
 In 1518 smallpox first came from the Spanish mainland.
The epidemic was so virulent that according to one
Spanish historian, “it left Hispaniola, Puerto Rico,
Jamaica and Cuba desolate of Indians.”
 The smallpox epidemic made its way into Mexico in
1520 where it destroyed the Aztecs.
 In 1524 the smallpox epidemic severely weakened the
Incan Empire.
 Spanish chronicles states that the smallpox epidemic
killed half of the Native Americans it touched.

Native Populations
 This downward trend in the native population did not
begin to increase until the early 20th Century. By that
time the native populations had decreased 90%.
 The massive decline in native populations in the New
World served as the greatest demographic disaster in
world history.

Hernando de Soto
 The first attempt to penetrate North America was
made by Hernando de Soto in 1539. He landed in
Florida with a Cuban army that consisted of over 700
men.
 Hernando de Soto had been given license by the king
of Spain to “conquer, pacify, and people” the land
known as La Florida, which was Florida, Georgia,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and
Louisiana.
 Hernando de Soto and his men cut a path of
destruction from Florida to Texas.

Hernando de Soto
 Hernando de Soto forced his way through the heavily
populated southeastern portion of the country
demanding food and slaves from the Mississippian
Indian towns that unfortunately were in his path.
 Hernando de Soto reached present day Alabama where
he and his army were besieged by thousands of Native
American warriors.
 Several months later the ancestors of the modern day
Chickasaw Indians ripped apart Hernando de Soto and
his troops.

Hernando de Soto
 Hernando de Soto’s army lost half of its men. In
desperation he drove his men on, moving westward
and crossing the Mississippi River. They moved deep
inside present day Arkansas before retreating back to
the banks of the Mississippi River. Hernan de Soto
died there in 1542.
 The Native Americans had successfully repelled the
Spanish invasion, but their victory was short lived.
Hernan de Soto had introduced epidemic diseases that
eventually depopulated the Mississippi chiefdoms.

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
 During the same year of Hernando de Soto’s
expedition (1539), Spanish officials residing in Mexico
launched an attempt to conquer North America. This
attempt by Spain was aimed at the Southwest.
 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado led 300 mounted men
and infantry and 800 Indian porters north along
Indian trading paths.
 Coronado and his men finally reached the Pueblo
villages along the Rio Grande River.
 The initial resistance from the Pueblo Indians was
halted quickly by Coronado’s troops.

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
 Coronado was disappointed by the towns “of stone and
mud, rudely fashioned.” He sent out expeditions in all
directions in search of the legendary golden cities of
Cibola.
 Coronado led his army as far north as the Great Plains
where they discovered great herds of “shaggy cows,”
(buffalo). He returned from his expedition without the
discovery of gold.
 Spain lost interest in the Southwest for the next 50
years.

Bartolome de La Casas
 There were protests over the horrors brought on by the
Spanish conquest.
 Bartolome de Las Casas, a Spanish Catholic priest,
began to denounce the Spanish conquerors.
 In his book The Destruction of the Indians (1552), Las
Casas blamed the Spanish for cruelties that resulted in
the deaths of millions of Indians.
 Las Casas’ book was translated into other languages
and used by other European powers to condemn
Spain.

Bartolome de La Casas
 Las Casas was incorrect on the cause of so many Indian
deaths. He thought warfare was the main reason Indians
died in vast numbers. Although some did die due to
warfare, still others died due to starvation as their local
economies were destroyed or their food stores had been
taken.
 There was also a decline in native births that contributed to
the problem.
 The primary cause of death among the native populations
of the New World was epidemic diseases such as influenza,
plague, smallpox, measles and typhus. Native populations
lacked the antibodies necessary to protect them from
European diseases.

Peru
 In 1544 silver was discovered in Potosi, Peru.
 85% of the silver shipped to Europe over the following
100 years came from this site.
 The Spanish imported 6,000 African slaves to work the
silver mine.
 Silver changed Europe from a barter to a true money
economy.

Jean Ribault
 Jean Ribault was sent to the New World by France in 1562 to
explore Florida and begin a new colony.
 Traveling with Ribault was 150 Huguenots (French Protestants).
 Ribault landed near the St. Augustine area of Florida. He then
sailed north until he came upon the St. Johns River.
 At the mouth of the St. Johns River Ribault built a stone
monument to mark his visit to the region and claim the area for
France.
 Ribault then continued even further north, finally arriving at a
place he would name Port Royal which was located in modern
day South Carolina.
 It is at Port Royal the Huguenots built Charlesfort, a fort named
in honor of their king.

Jean Ribault
 Supplies at Charlesfort ran low so Ribault sailed back to
France to obtain more.
 Upon arrival in France Ribault was unable to raise money
for supplies because of a religious conflict that had broken
out.
 Ribault then proceeded to England to ask Queen Elizabeth
for assistance. Queen Elizabeth had Ribault imprisoned for
building a French fort on Spanish territory.
 While Ribault was in prison Rene Laudonniere was sent to
rescue the people in Charlesfort.
 When Laudonniere and the Huguenots arrived at the St.
Johns River they built Fort Caroline for protection.

Jean Ribault
 When Ribault was released from prison he was sent
back to the New World. He was going to rescue Fort
Caroline and retake control of the colony.
 The French colonists no longer believed in
Laudonniere’s leadership at Fort Caroline.
 Some of the French colonists had come into conflict
with the Spanish.
 Most of the French colonists wanted to return home.

Jean Ribault
 In 1565 the Spanish sent Don Pedro Menendez de
Aviles to Florida and he established a settlement south
of the French at St. Augustine.
 The Spanish then marched on the French colony,
attacking them from the rear.
 The French settlement was totally destroyed.
 St. Augustine became the oldest continuously
occupied European city in North America.

John Hawkins
 England’s efforts at colonization of the New World
began by participating in the slave trade.
 In 1562 John Hawkins violated Spanish regulations by
transporting a load of African slaves to the islands in
the Caribbean. He then brought back valuable tropical
goods.
 In 1567 John Hawkins made another journey to the
New World and was attacked by the Spanish. English
privateers such as Francis Drake used this attack as an
excuse to raid Spain’s New World ports and fleets.

Spain
 By the late 16th Century the Spanish had developed a
powerful empire within North America. Within this
empire 200,000 immigrants, mostly Spaniards, had
settled. Another 125,000 individuals, African slaves,
had been forcibly settled on the Spanish plantations of
the Caribbean and the Portuguese plantations of
Brazil.
 The Portuguese had colonized Brazil under the terms
of the Treaty of Tordesillas.

Spain
 Spanish women also came to the New World
(America) as early as the second expedition of
Christopher Columbus.
 Spanish women accounted for only 10% of the
population during the 16th Century.
 The low percentage of Spanish women in the colonies
led to men cohabitating with Indian and African
women. The result was the creation of mixed ancestry
groups of people called mestizos and mulattoes.

Spain
 Mestizos were children of Spanish and Indian ancestry.
 Mulattoes were children of Spanish and African
ancestry.
 Populated by Spanish colonists, Africans, Indians and
their mixed offspring, the New World colonies of
Spain became one of the largest empires in history.
 There is a third category of people that are unique to
the New World. The Spanish refer to people of
European descent born in the New World as creoles.

Roanoke Colony
 Between 1584-1587 was England’s first attempts at
colonizing the New World. The Roanoke Colony, set
up on Roanoke Island by Walter Raleigh, seemed
promising at first but eventually failed.

King Philip II
 King Philip II of Spain was angered at the English
incursion into Spanish territory. The king committed
his troops to smashing England. In 1588 Spain sent 130
ships carrying 30,000 men to invade the British Isles.

England vs. Spain
 Countered by captains such as Drake and Hawkins and
their smaller and more maneuverable ships, the
Spanish Armada foundered. The English defeated the
Spanish Armada in 1588.
 The Spanish monopoly on the New World had been
broken by the English.

Virginia Company
 In 1607 a group of London investors known as the
Virginia Company sends ships to Chesapeake Bay
where they have a fort built. The fort is called
Jamestown in honor of King James I.
 Jamestown will become the first permanent English
settlement in North America.
 The Jamestown settlement survives the first year due
to assistance from the Algonquian Indians.

Native Populations
 The French and English differed in their affairs with
the native populations.
 The French favored trading posts and allied Christian
missions that were attached to existing villages.
 The British favored colonies of permanent settlers.

Henry Hudson
 The Dutch first appear in North America in 1609 with
the explorations of Henry Hudson (1565-1611) and
claimed what is now New York for the Netherlands.
 Within a few years the Dutch have settlements on the
Hudson River at Fort Orange (modern Albany) and at
New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island.

Henry Hudson
 In 1609 Henry Hudson sailed up a river and a bay in
present day New York which later would be called the
Hudson River and Hudson Bay.
 Hudson was searching for a northwest passage to the
Indies but instead discovered a territory rich in fur
bearing mammals.
 In 1611 Hudson, his son and several others were cast
adrift when the crew of his ship mutinied. They were
never heard from again.
 It was Hudson’s exploration that helped the Dutch
claim part of the New World.

Jamestown
 Between 1609-1610 the Jamestown colonists, led by Captain
John Smith, grew dependant on Algonquin assistance for
survival. Captain Smith and his men plundered food from
surrounding Algonquin tribes. In retaliation, Powhata, the
Algonquin Chief, decided to starve the colonists out.
 The winter was terrible. Hundreds of Jamestown colonists
starved to death. Of the 500 colonists at Jamestown in the
fall, only 60 were alive by the spring.
 Determined to win over the Indians, the Virginia Company
sent out additional forces. They committed themselves to a
long war with the Algonquians.

Jamestown
 The fighting between the Algonquians and colonists
persisted until Pocahontas, Powhatan’s favorite daughter,
had been captured.
 Wore down by disease, war and the desire to see his
daughter, Powhatan accepted a peace treaty with the
colonists in 1614.
 In 1617 Pocahontas, who had adopted English ways and
married John Rolfe, one of the Virginia Company’s settlers
in Jamestown, fell sick and died on a visit to England.
 Devastated by the news of his daughter’s death, Powhatan
abdicated in favor of his brother, Opechancanough.

Native Americans
 Between 1616-1619 a smallpox epidemic ravaged the
Indian population along the North Atlantic coast from
Massachusetts to Maine, killing off entire tribes.
 The disease was believed to have been spread by
European fishermen who had established temporary
processing stations along the coast.
 One surviving Indian stated that his people were
“melted down by the disease.”
 Nine tenths of the Indian population died.

Mayflower
 In 1620 the ship Mayflower sails for America with 102
colonists. The colonists had obtained a patient for
settlement from the Virginia Company of London,
England.
 In return for the patient the colonists agreed to ship
fish, fur and lumber back to England for seven years.
 After the seven years the colonists could assume
ownership of the land.
 In November 1620 the Mayflower landed at Plymouth
Bay, which was outside the British colony of Virginia.

Mayflower
 The passengers of the Mayflower had landed outside
the approved settlement area known as Virginia. They
had no legal right to form any settlement outside of
Virginia.
 A document called the Mayflower Compact was
created and signed by all the men. This document
established the colony of the Plymouth Plantation.
 The Plymouth Plantation would be a “civic body
politic” controlled by England’s James I.

Peter Minuit
 In 1626 a Dutch colonists named Peter Minuit
purchases Manhattan Island from Native Americans
for 60 guilders, or about $24.00, and names the island
New Amsterdam.

Massachusetts Bay
 In 1629 a royal charter is granted to a group of wealthy
Puritans to settle Massachusetts Bay.
 Puritans are individuals that believe that the Queen’s
reforms of the Church of England did not go far
enough.
 This settlement became the Massachusetts Bay
Company.
 An advance force of 200 settlers left for a fishing
settlement on Massachusetts Bay.
 The settlement, called Naumkeag, was renamed
Salem.

John Winthrop
 John Winthrop was the leader of the Massachusetts
Bay settlement at Salem. He was also the first governor
and came up with the idea of “a city on a hill,” which
was New England's model of reform from old England.

King Charles I
 In 1629 King Charles I dissolves the British Parliament
and attempts to rule England as an absolute monarch.
This motivates many people in England to set sail for
the American colonies.

English Civil War
 Between 1640-1659 the English Civil War is fought.
 In 1642 an armed conflict occurs between King Charles
I of England and the Puritans in Parliament. This
would eventually lead to the execution of King Charles
I.
 The English Civil War would also motivate people to
set sail for America.

Restoration Colonies-King Charles II
 In 1660 Charles II became King of England. He establishes
new colonies in America that come to be known as the
Restoration Colonies. These were colonies granted to
individuals who supported Charles II during the English
Civil Wars. The six Restoration Colonies are:
 Delaware
 New York
 New Jersey
 Pennsylvania
 North Carolina
 South Carolina

Restoration Colonies
 Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania are
called the Middle Colonies, because they are located
on the mid Atlantic seaboard.
 These colonies were proprietorships, which meant that
one man or a group of men owned the entire piece of
land.

King Charles II
 After several Anglo-Dutch conflicts between 1672-1674,
including the Anglo-Dutch War, the British gain
control of New Amsterdam.
 King Charles II grants the new colony to his brother
James who was the Duke of York. The colony was
renamed New York in his honor.

Pennsylvania
 In 1676 property rights to the western portion of New
Jersey were granted to a group of English Quakers
which included William Penn.
 In 1681 William Penn Jr. was granted a huge area of
territory by King Charles II of England to repay a debt
owed to Sir William Penn, who was a close advisor to
the king.
 This territory was to the west of the Delaware River.
 The next year Penn began developing his capital of
Philadelphia on the Delaware.

Pennsylvania
 Between 1682-1683 the Lenape (Delaware) Indians
made an agreement and treaty of friendship with
William Penn. The Lenape Indians permitted Penn to
construct a colony in the area of modern day
Philadelphia.
 The Treaty of Shackamaxon permitted Penn to
purchase the territories that would become
Southeastern Pennsylvania.
 In 1688 the Quakers of Pennsylvania issue a formal
protest against slavery in America.

Sieur de La Salle
 Between 1681-1682 Sieur de La Salle navigated the
Mississippi River to its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico.
 In 1682 Sieur de La Salle explores the lower Mississippi
Valley region and claimed it for France, naming the
area Louisiana for King Louis XIV.
 Sieur de la Salle’s discoveries established French claims
to territories in North America.

Louisiana
 “The banks are almost uninhabitable, on account of the
spring floods. The woods are all those of a boggy
district, the country one of canes and briars and trees
torn up by the roots; but a league or two from the river,
is the most beautiful country in the world, prairies,
woods of mulberry trees, and fruits that we are not
acquainted with.” Henri de Tonty’s 1963 description of
the Mississippi Valley in his account of the founding of
Louisiana.

Benjamin Franklin
 Benjamin Franklin was an inventor, writer and former
Ambassador to France.
 Franklin was the oldest delegate to the Constitutional
Convention. The other delegates admired his wisdom.
 Franklin’s advice was crucial in the drafting of the
Constitution.
 In 1729 Benjamin Franklin begins publishing The
Pennsylvania Gazette, which eventually becomes the
most popular newspaper in the American colonies.
 In 1731 Benjamin Franklin starts the first American
public library in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Benjamin Franklin
 Between 1732-1757 Poor Richard’s Almanac is published
by Benjamin Franklin. The publication contains
weather predictions, humor, proverbs and epigrams.
 An almanac is a popular literary form that contained a
calendar, astrological guide and a sourcebook for
medical advice and farming tips.
 “Well done is better than well said.” Benjamin Franklin

Vitus Bering
 In 1741 Russian Czar Peter the Great sponsors an
expedition by Danish navigator Vitus Bering to explore
the coast of Alaska.
 Vitus Bering’s exploration paved the way for Russian
foothold on the North American continent.

French and Indian War
 In 1754 the French and Indian War begins over a land
dispute in the Ohio River Valley.
 Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie, Colonial
leader of Virginia, was concerned that the French were
encroaching on the Virginia border, so he sent a 21 year
old major in the Virginia military named George
Washington to tell the French to back away from the
border.

Fort Necessity
 Fort Necessity, a hastily constructed fort in Great
Meadows, Pennsylvania, was the site of George
Washington’s first defeat.
 Later in American history Fort Necessity oddly came to
symbolize the rugged spirit of the colonials.

French and Indian War
 In 1756 England declares war on the French as the French
and Indian War spreads to Europe.
 In 1757 Fort William Henry, located near the Hudson River,
was the site of the most notorious massacre in colonial
history. The fort fell to the French. In literature, Lieutenant
Colonel George Munro, the leader of Fort William Henry, is
the central figure in James Fennimore Cooper’s classic The
Last of the Mohicans.
 In 1763 the French and Indian War ends with the Treaty of
Paris. Under the Treaty of Paris France gives England all
French territory east of the Mississippi River with the
exception of New Orleans. The Spanish give up East and
West Florida to the English in return for Cuba. The balance
of power in North America shifts to the British.

Children in Colonial America
 Children in the colonies had little free time because they began
working at a very early age and their colonies were also strict
religiously.
 When the children did have time to play they played the
following games:
 Yo-Yo
 Jump Rope
 Tennis
 Flying Kites
 Cricket
 Marbles
 Hopscotch
 Leap Frog

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