Atlantic World

Tacky’s Revolt: Slave Insurgency in Jamaica

September 16, 2020 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

Between 1760 and 1761, Great Britain witnessed one of the largest slave insurrections in the history of its empire. Although the revolt took place on the island of Jamaica, the reverberations of this revolt stretched across the Atlantic Ocean and into the British North American colonies.

In this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World podcast, Vincent Brown, author of Tacky’s Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War (Belknap Press, 2020), joins us to investigate Tacky’s Revolt and how that revolt served as an eddy within the larger current of Atlantic warfare.

India and the Making of Britain & America

March 25, 2020 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

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.

Featured Collections: Fort Ti’s Early American History Materials

October 14, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Fort Ticonderoga holds one of North America’s largest collections of military material culture, covering the colonization of North America and the ensuing colonial conflicts, the Seven Years’ War (a.k.a. French & Indian War), the American Revolution, and the War of 1812. [Read more…] about Featured Collections: Fort Ti’s Early American History Materials

Post and Travel in Early America

May 29, 2019 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

How did the postal system work in Early America? How did people send mail across the North American colonies and the British Empire?

You sent these questions for Episode 200: Everyday Life in Early America. You also said you wanted to know more about transportation in early America. [Read more…] about Post and Travel in Early America

A 17th-Century Native American Life

May 1, 2019 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

What does early America look like if we view it through Native American eyes?

Jenny Hale Pulsipher, author of Swindler Sachem: The American Indian Who Sold His Birthright, Dropped Out of Harvard, and Conned the King of England (Yale University Press, 2018) and Associate Professor of History at Brigham Young University, is a scholar who enjoys investigating the many answers to this question. In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World: A Podcast About Early American History, she introduces us to a Nipmuc Indian named John Wompas and how he experienced a critical time in early American history, the period between the 1650s and 1680s. [Read more…] about A 17th-Century Native American Life

The Dutch Moment in the Atlantic World

February 22, 2017 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

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.

In this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World podcast, Wim Klooster, a Professor of History at Clark University and author of The Dutch Moment: War, Trade, and Settlement in the Seventeenth Century Atlantic World (Cornell University Press, 2016), guides us through Dutch contributions to the Atlantic World. You can listen to the podcast here: www.benfranklinsworld.com/121

Saltwater Frontier: Contest for the American Coast

October 26, 2016 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

When we think of Native Americans, many of us think of inland dwellers. People adept at navigating forests and rivers and the skilled hunters and horsemen who lived and hunted on the American plains.

But did you know that Native Americans were seafaring mariners too?

In this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World podcast, Andrew Lipman, an Assistant Professor of History at Barnard College, Columbia University and author of The Saltwater Frontier: Indians and the Contest for the American Coast (Yale University Press, 2016), leads us on an exploration of the northeastern coastline and of the Native American and European peoples who lived there during the seventeenth century. You can listen to this episode here: http: www.benfranklinsworld.com/104

Pirates & Pirate Nests in the British Atlantic World

September 21, 2016 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

Pirates are alive and well in our popular culture. Thanks to movies like Pirates of the Caribbean and television shows like Black Sails, we see pirates as peg-legged, eye-patch wearing, rum-drinking men.

But are these representations accurate? What do we really know about pirates?

In this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World podcast, Mark Hanna, an Associate Professor of History at the University of California, San Diego, and author of the award-winning book Pirate Nests and the Rise of the British Empire, 1570-1740, (UNC Press, 2015) helps us fill in the gaps in our knowledge to better understand who pirates were and why they lived the pirate’s life. You can listen to the podcast here: www.benfranklinsworld.com/099

Spain and the American Revolution in the Gulf Coast

July 15, 2015 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

In this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World podcast, we explore the consequences of Spanish involvement in the War for American Independence with Kathleen DuVal, professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of Independence Lost: Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution. You can listen to the podcast here: www.benfranklinsworld.com/037

Competing Visions of the British Empire

July 8, 2015 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

How and where did the North American and Caribbean colonies fit within the British Empire?

In this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World podcast, Abigail Swingen, professor of history at Texas Tech University and author of Competing Visions of Empire: Labor, Slavery, and the Origins of the British Atlantic Empire (Yale University Press, 2015), leads us on an exploration of how colonists and British imperial officers viewed the colonies and their place within the British Empire during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. You can listen to the podcast here: www.benfranklinsworld.com/036