Class Date: February 11th

Location: Your couch! See your weekly e-mail for Zoom link!

This week we are looking at the Salem Witch Trials and their impact on history. Before we discuss how the trials came about, let’s take a look at what else was happening on the North American continent. 

• 1497 - Cabot crosses the Atlantic

Henry VII of England commissioned John Cabot, an Italian navigator, to search for new English territories across the Atlantic. Though Cabot was searching for a trade route for China. Instead of finding China, he reached somewhere near Newfoundland before returning to England to report. 

• 1507 - America gets its name

Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci proposed the radical idea that the lands Columbus and Cabot had encountered were actually a separate continent. A mapmaker named Martin Waldseemüller created a map of the proposed new continent, labeling it as “America”, using the latinized version of ‘Amerigo’.

• 1534 - Cartier charts the Gulf of Lawrence

French explorer Jacques Cartier spends much of his time between 1525 and 1534 charting what would become Canada. He charted the Gulf of Lawrence and explored up the river as far as present-day Montreal.

• 1584 - English explorers reach Roanoke Island

Walter Raleigh of England sent two ships on a reconnaissance mission to Roanoke Island off the coast of Carolina. The local tribe welcomed the English, offering help and trade. in 1585, the island was settled by the English colonists but in 1587, John White, the governor, left to gather supplies and reinforcements to bring back. When he was finally able to return in 1590, he found the colony abandoned and only the word “CROATOAN” carved on a post. To read more about this enduring mystery, click here:

• 1607 - The English settle at Jamestown

104 Englishmen and boys arrived in North America on the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery to start a new settlement. 

 They named Jamestown, Virginia, after King James I. The Virginia Company had sent along instructions for where to settle and who would serve as the council members for the new outpost. Unfortunately, the death tolls were high, largely due to drinking from the salty/slimy portion of the river and bug-born diseases. Luckily for the settlers, Chief Powhatan sent gifts of food to help the starving and ill settlers, saving the settlement from complete disaster.

• 1620 - The Mayflower arrives

A group of 120 English settlers arrive to establish another colony, which they name Plymouth, the name of their port of departure in England. To read more about the establishment of Plymouth, click here:

• 1622 - Powhatan Natives attack English settlements

Though the colonists and Powhatan Confederacy had established peace in 1614, colonists continued to spread out from their initial settlements, encroaching on Powhatan territory, stealing food, abusing people, and allowing livestock to destroy crops and sacred sites. The swift and successful attack on the colonists was meant to demonstrate the military might of the Powhatan Confederacy and encourage the English to leave the area. The surprise attack resulted in the deaths of 347 colonists and launched the Second Powhatan War, which lasted until 1626. 

• 1630 - John Winthrop sails for New England

Appointed governor by the Massachusetts Bay Company, John Winthrop sets sail with 700 settlers. They select Boston as the site of the first Massachusetts settlement. Winthrop begins a journal of his time in Massachusetts and it is eventually published as The History of New England. 

• 1639 - Mail delivery has a cost

Richard Fairbanks, who was responsible for delivering mail in Massachusetts, is allowed to charge a penny a letter for delivery. 

• 1675 - King Philip’s War

The conflict between the Wampanoag and the English has been called the most devastating conflict in America because 1n in 10 soldiers on both sides was killed, 1,200 colonial homes were burned, and many food stores were destroyed. The colonials suffered the effects for years, as did the natives who continued to have their lands encroached upon and their way of life disrupted. To read more about the conflict, click here:

• 1680 - Pueblo Uprising

The Pueblo Indians in the Southwest rise up and rebel against the Spanish presence. They kill 21 missionaries and approximately 400 colonists, effectively driving the Spanish from the area. They steal a number of Spanish horses, which would help the animal proliferate the Southwest, helping tribes like the Comanche repel European aggression for decades. 

To read more about this period, here are some great books to get you started:

For kids:

For adults:

https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2016/07/how-did-america-get-its-name/

https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191736810.timeline.0001

https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/a-short-history-of-jamestown.htm

https://www.worldhistory.org/Indian_Massacre_of_1622/