Carolina was a colony for a new era. The Jacobean settlements of Virginia, Bermuda and Plymouth had been tiny, struggling outposts in a very New World. The colonies formed under Charles I (the rest of New England, Barbados, Maryland and others) had been defined by the political and religious turbulence of his reign. Now, a Read more about Carolina 1: Cape Fear[…]
Listen on: iTunesSubscribe on Android, Stitcher and more How did things ever get so far? Royalists, and indeed Presbyterians, in every colony were probably asking themselves that in 1644, but nowhere moreso in Bermuda, Virginia and Maryland. In slightly different ways, but at the same time, those royalist-dominated colonies became the first in the Americas to really Read more about English Civil War 6: War comes to America[…]
If you’re interested, I gave a similar treatment to the Earl of Strafford’s execution here and here. About George Digby In 1641, George Digby was the 29 year old son of the Earl of Bristol. He was born in Madrid while his father served as ambassador to Spain, and his father had been a leader Read more about George Digby’s speech on the Earl of Strafford’s attainder[…]
Listen on: iTunesSubscribe on Android, Stitcher and more Transcript Welcome back! Last week, we saw the second Spanish attack on Providence Island, and the final reorganization of the venture into a potentially successful enterprise. It was the colony’s last hope. They adopted vital reforms, sold most of their slaves, and removed colony’s most belligerent citizens, and a Read more about Providence Island 9: End of an era[…]
Listen on: iTunesSubscribe on Android, Stitcher and more Transcript Welcome back, last episode, we discussed the final descent of the Providence Island project into irrecoverable failure, and this week, we’ll discuss the last couple years of the colony’s existence. I’d intended to finish this in just one episode, but there’s just so much that happens that I Read more about Providence Island 8: The second Spanish attack[…]
Listen on: iTunesSubscribe on Android, Stitcher and more First things first, Happy New Year! Last episode, we discussed the economic failures of 1632-33. Too little agricultural knowledge, too many orders from England, too little support, too few laborers, and too poor a government meant that nothing of value was produced in the fledgling colony. Resentment festered, Read more about Providence Island 4: Differing Puritan visions[…]
Listen on: iTunesSubscribe on Android, Stitcher and more Privateering and slavery Faction fighting crippled Providence Island, but the company insisted on maintaining control from London. The company also sent fewer servants than promised, while insisting colonists experiment with a huge variety of commodities. But, Governor Bell had an idea. Slaves could be a cheap way to make Read more about Providence Island 3: Old problems and new solutions[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more Debt and mutiny in the New World The history of new American colonies had a number of consistent themes. There were: So, inevitably, there was rampant factionalism, constant conflict and harsh accusations being thrown around. Providence Island wasn’t alone in dealing with this, so why did it fail, when Read more about Providence Island 2: You have to spend money to make money[…]
On May 12, 1641, Thomas Wentworth, the Earl of Strafford was executed. It was a pivotal moment in the relationship between King Charles and the Parliament he would be at war with just a few months later. Strafford also gave a speech to the Lords earlier in the day. This, however, is the speech he gave Read more about Execution speech of the Earl of Strafford[…]
Background On May 12, 1641, Thomas Wentworth, the Earl of Strafford was executed. It was a pivotal moment in the relationship between King Charles and the Parliament he would soon be at war with. This may not strictly speaking be American history, but it’s very connected to the history we’re discussing right now, and though Read more about The Earl of Strafford’s execution speech to the Lords in the Tower[…]