History, Natural History & the Arts
When did the fighting of the American War for Independence end?
In school we learn that the war came to an end at the Battle of Yorktown. But, this lesson omits all of the fighting that took place after Charles, Earl Cornwallis’ surrender in October 1781.
[Read more…] about Fighting After Yorktown: The End of Revolutionary War
Neither colonial North America nor the United States developed apart from the rest of the world. Since their founding, both the colonies and the United States have participated in the politics, economics, and cultures of the Atlantic World.
And every so often, the politics, economics, and cultures of lands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans intersected with and influenced those of the Atlantic World. That’s why in this episode, we’re going to explore the origins of the English trade with India and how that trade connected and intersected with the English North American colonies.
[Read more…] about India and the Making of Britain & America
Colonial America comprised many different cultural and political worlds. Most colonial Americans inhabited just one world, but today, we’re going to explore the life of a woman who lived in three colonial American worlds: Frontier New England, Northeastern Wabanaki, and Catholic New France.
[Read more…] about One Woman, Three Colonial American Worlds
Early North America was a place rife with violent conflict. Between the 17th and 19th centuries we see a lot of conflict between different Native American peoples, Native American peoples and colonists, colonists from one empire versus colonists from another empire, settlers from one state quarreling with settlers from another state, and in the 19th century, we also see strife between Americans, Canadians, and Mexicans.
[Read more…] about Thundersticks: Guns and Native America (Podcast)
Between 1500 and the 1860s, Europeans and Americans forcibly removed approximately 12 million African people from the African continent, transported them to the Americas, and enslaved them.
Why did Europeans and Americans enslave Africans? How did they justify their actions?
How and where did the colonies of North America and the Caribbean fit within the British Empire?
The answer to this question depends on whether you explore the views of a British imperial officer, such as the King of England, or a colonist who lived in one of the North American or Caribbean colonies.
[Read more…] about Competing Visions of Empire in North America, Caribbean
The new Museum Education Act (A.9695) sponsored by Assembly Member Patricia Fahy to fund museum programs that serve high-need, low-resource communities regardless of location, has been voted out of the Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development Committee. [Read more…] about New Museums Education Bill Clears Hurdle
The Atlantic World has brought many disparate peoples together, which has caused a lot of ideas and cultures to mix.
How did the Atlantic World bring so many different peoples and cultures together? How did this large intermixing of people and cultures impact the development of colonial America?
Ben Franklin’s World: A Podcast About Early American History is taking a production break. It will be back with all new episodes on April 21, 2020. In the meantime, BFW is featuring some older episodes that will help you get a feel for the vast nature of early American history.
The Spanish, French, and English played large roles in the origins of colonial America. But so too did the Dutch. During the 17th century, they had a “moment” in which they influenced European colonization and development of the Atlantic World.
Ben Franklin’s World: A Podcast About Early American History is taking a production break. It will be back with all new episodes on April 21, 2020. In the meantime, BFW is featuring some older episodes that will help you get a feel for the vast nature of early American history.
We’re living in a period of climate change. Our Earth has been getting warmer since the mid-19th century.