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History for Grownups
copyright 2007,
David White

America in the 17th Century

America in the 17th Century was a mix of European colonial influences.

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Colonial Times
Life in the British colonies

Colonial Wars
Struggles for supremacy in North America

The Lost Colony of Roanoke
What happened to these people? Their fate remains a mystery.

Jamestown: First English Colony in America
Explorers had been landing in America for some time before English settlers arrived in what is now Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. But it was in that spot on the James River that English colonization began and with it, the history of America.

The House of Burgesses
The first legislature anywhere in the English colonies in America was in Virginia. This was the House of Burgesses, and it first met on July 30, 1619, at a church in Jamestown. Its first order of business was to set a minumum price for the sale of tobacco.

The Pilgrims: Voyage to Freedom
Follow the Pilgrims as they sail across the Atlantic Ocean, from England to America, in search of religious freedom. See who they meet when they land in New England. Find out about the first Thanksgiving.

The Wampanoag
One of the proudest and longest-enduring Native American tribes, the Wampanoag are most known for helping the Pilgrims survive.

The Salem Witch Trials
Harrowing episode in religious fanaticism

African-Americans in Colonial Times
Find out what life was like for African-Americans in the early days of the colonies. Read fact sheets on famous people. The primary sources are also especially helpful.

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