America’s first Civil War wasn’t in 1861, nor was it in 1775. The war between Charles I and Parliament changed the colonies forever, and the Commonwealth period under Oliver Cromwell saw the rise of the First British Empire.
In the final episode of our English Civil War series, we discuss the Restoration. After Cromwell died, there was chaos that could have erupted in yet another round of war. Instead, though, the return of Charles II to the throne of England occurred without bloodshed, which only intensified the excitement over his return. With the Read more about ECW 32: The Restoration[…]
While New England’s comfort generally increased in the Cromwell years, Rhode Island suffered from a lagging economy, political divisions and even issues with religious dissidents who worked to destabilize the already unstable colony. Plymouth’s prosperity also waned as trade came to dominate the New England economy. And in the United Colonies, the issue of infant Read more about ECW 31: Frustrations in Rhode Island[…]
Cromwell decides in favor of Baltimore’s proprietorship in Maryland, Virginia works to subvert English puritan leadership and reinstall a royalist government, Bermuda has its first slave revolt, and Barbados foreshadows Revolutionary War sentiments by opposing taxation without representation. Full Text While Independent Puritans tried to process and understand the course their revolution was taking, Royalists Read more about ECW 30: How long is this Cromwell thing going to last, anyway?[…]
The Western Design was England’s disastrous attempt to conquer Spanish America, starting with Hispaniola, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Cartagena. Instead, after an unspeakably bad defeat in Hispaniola, they ended up with Jamaica. Jamaica quickly became England’s bloodiest colony, and much of that blood came from Irish victims of transportation. It was a disaster, though, which Read more about ECW 29: The Western Design – Conquering Jamaica[…]
The Quaker movement had its origins in the deepest radicalism of Interregnum England. Characterized by the most extreme of religious and political thought, combined with outlandish and belligerent behavior, they were soon the most feared group in the English speaking world. This fear led to persecution which was even intense by the standards of the Read more about ECW 28: Mary Dyer and the earliest Quakers[…]
Featuring an elk that decided to bugle during my recording, this episode discusses the first witch trials in American history. Forty years before the Salem Witch Trials, these happened mostly in Bermuda and Connecticut, with a few in Massachusetts. Bermuda was a disaster, Connecticut had a disaster of a legal system, and over a dozen Read more about ECW 27: Witch trials in the Devil’s Isles[…]
Massachusetts takes over the floundering colony of Maine … or, the floundering colonies of Maine and Lygonia. Full text In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about a colony we haven’t discussed much. We’ll go a little bit into its history, but ultimately we’re bringing Maine into our story just long enough to kill it Read more about ECW 26: Maine[…]
1655 was the year of the first Virginia law which mentioned slavery as a legitimate institution, and the Commonwealth Era was also the one which saw England take active, organized steps to enter the slave trade. In this episode, we discuss the history of England’s Western Africa trade, and exactly what was going on, slavery-wise, Read more about ECW 25: The Guinea Company[…]
Maryland’s Civil War After taking over Virginia, puritans Richard Bennett and William Claiborne also take control of Maryland. Baltimore orders his governor, William Stone, to fight back. This conflict culminates in a bloody fight near Providence/Anne Arundel, involving nearly 400 Marylanders, known as the Battle of the Severn Full Text One could argue that the Read more about ECW 24: The Battle of the Severn[…]
The foundations of the British Empire were laid as England passed the Navigation Act of 1651, declaring that all English colonies were created by and for Parliament, were directly accountable to the English government, and must trade only with English merchants. It also moved to force colonies who had declared for Charles II into submission Read more about ECW 23: Empire[…]