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History of the United States:
The Colonial Period

This orientation page collects, for convenience' sake, the main resources onsite covering the colonial period of American history. There may be others — even important ones, if I am remiss in updating this page — on my American & Military History page.

[image ALT: An engraving of a port scene, with two wooden sailing ships at dock, and in the background, two blocks or so of urban landscape, four-story gabled houses and a taller and larger building in the center, surmounted by a cross-topped lantern. It serves as the icon on my site for Fiske's book, 'The Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America'.]

[ 617 printed pages
presented in 20 webpages ]

Modern Americans tend to forget that not all the colonies were English! The Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America, by John Fiske, is a very readable yet nicely comprehensive account of its subject.

[image ALT: A map of the United States, in which a swath from Pacific to Atlantic, including about a third of the country from the southern border, is shaded. It represents the approximate area explored or colonized by Spain, and serves as the icon on my site for Bolton's book, 'The Spanish Borderlands'.]

[ 303 printed pages
presented in 11 webpages; unillustrated ]

Herbert E. Bolton's The Spanish Borderlands presents the history of Spanish exploration and colonization of the territories within the present boundaries of United States, which are viewed as defensive border marches protecting Mexico, the far more important possession from Spain's standpoint.

[image ALT: A map of roughly the central half of the American continent, from the present S border of kind in the north to Paraguay in the south; patterned with a checkered design alternating squares with a crenellated tower and squares with a lion rampant. The image is further explained on the text of this webpage, and serves as the icon on my site for Bourne's book, 'Spain in America'.]

[ 366 printed pages
presented in 26 webpages; 2 maps ]

Less focused on the present territory of the United States, but useful background, Edward Gaylord Bourne's Spain in America recounts the Spanish voyages of exploration (as well as some of the others) and the early colonization of the Americas, and lays out the Spanish colonial system, that at one time or another governed about half the present United States.

[image ALT: An oil painting of a man of about 30 years of age, dressed in a loose tunic or shirt exposing some of his chest, and a heavier long cloak; in his left hand he holds a wooden bow, and he wears a large earring in his right ear. He looks straight at us. It is Metacomet, sachem of the Wamapnoags in the 17c, alias 'King Philip', and serves on my site as the icon for the book 'King Philip's War' by Ellis and Morris.]

[ 315 printed pages
presented in 20 webpages, with 24 photos ]

One of the earliest real wars fought on the soil of the United States was also the bloodiest of our history in terms of the casualty rate; and very similar in a number of respects to the Twin Towers War we are now fighting. King Philip's War by George Ellis and John Morris is a serviceable account of it.

[image ALT: An engraving of the head of a bearded man. It is a portrait of the Louisiana historian Charles Gayarré.]

[ 1569 printed pages ]

Charles Gayarré's History of Louisiana, written over a span of years from 1846 to 1864, provides in‑depth coverage of the early life of the state and territory; three of the four volumes cover the colonial period.

[image ALT: A close-up of a collection of papers spread out on a table. It is the icon used on this site to represent my American History Notes subsite.]

The American History Notes section of my site is devoted to journal articles on various topics. Among these articles, the following are mostly concerned with the colonial period:

Ralph M. Brown: A Sketch of the Early History of Southwestern Virginia (17c‑18c)

Excerpts from Bossu's Travels in North America  (1729)

Bernardo de Galvez' Diary of the Operations against Pensacola (1781‑1785)

General Collot's Reconnoitering Trip Down the Mississippi  (1796)

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Site updated: 14 Jan 09