Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more England’s second most important failed colony Providence Island failed in ways that illuminate American character, but it was also an extremely important colony. It was the first colony to introduce widespread slavery. It was one of England’s first Caribbean colonies. It traded with New England, and some of Read more about Providence Island 1: Anatomy of a failure[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more Governing the ungovernable There’s no record of West’s term. Harvey’s return ended in utter failure, and Wyatt (who was appointed to replace him) grew too political for the king’s comfort. And that’s when the one and only William Berkeley arrived. People wondered why he’d choose to waste his Read more about Royal Virginia 4: Harvey’s second term (and Berkeley’s arrival)[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more A 17th Century American Revolution John Harvey’s governorship had some real highs. The population doubled in his term, war with the Powhatan was ended, food shortages disappeared, and tobacco problems started to be fixed. But, he was in a difficult political situation, and was not a skilled politician. Read more about Royal Virginia 3: The thrusting out of Governor Harvey[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more Governor Harvey arrives John Harvey was one of the most important 17th Century Virginia governors, but he was a volatile ship’s captain trying to navigate the tricky politics of colonial Virginia. And Virginia had unique politics even for an English colony. The king, the merchants, the former Virginia Read more about Royal Virginia 2: Factions, again …[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more From company-owned to royal control The years 1625-1630 saw Virginia stabilize and grow, under governors like Francis Wyatt, George Yeardley, Francis West and John Pott. The King’s quo warranto proceedings to take over the Virginia Company were popular in the colony, but some new and recurring issues did Read more about Virginia under Charles I, ep. 1: Transition[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more The historical record is sparse in the years leading up to the English Civil War in Maryland. But, there are a few themes which emerge in what we do know: Catholics vs. Puritans A Catholic named William Lewis found two Puritans (one an indentured servant he managed) Read more about Maryland 6: To the edge of war[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more And, America’s first Bill of Rights As Maryland colonists tried to establish the laws which would govern the colony, one of the biggest divisions was the issue of Church and state. The Jesuits wanted to see a very traditional interpretation of Church privilege, whereas some of the colonists Read more about Maryland 5: Church and state[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more Struggle for the Chesapeake After a series of violent confrontations between Claiborne’s Kent Islanders and Calvert’s Marylanders, the courts of England take up the case of Baltimore’s patent vs. Claiborne’s trading rights. Virginia governor Harvey is also deposed and sent to England. Ultimately, Clobbery and Company sends George Read more about Maryland 4: The fight for Kent Island[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more Catholicism and conflict in the Chesapeake In many ways, the establishment of Maryland was remarkably smooth. The settlers had been sent with enough supplies to get through the first growing season, and they established great relations with the local tribes. They prioritized growing corn, then building the town, Read more about Maryland 3: The first year[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more Baltimore’s charter, Virginia’s reaction, and a rough voyage to America George Calvert’s heir, Cecil Calvert, the Second Baron Baltimore, got a charter to create a semi-feudal palatinate in America in 1632. This would give his colonists the maximum amount of independence to peacefully establish a Catholic haven. Virginia Read more about Maryland 2: The Ark and Dove[…]