By 1640 the British had solid colonies established along the New England coast and the Chesapeake Bay. In between were the Dutch and the tiny Swedish community. To the west were the original Americans, the Indians.

This encyclopedia article talks bout the Council on African Affairs which dealt with the correlation of the struggle of African Americans and the colonial problems in Africa. It was supported by many civil rights activists of the time.

After studying the 13 original colonies students will create their own colonies in cooperative groups. This will help students understand the difficulties the colonist had to endure in learning to work together. Students will have to...

Excerpts from Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664, published in 1909, and available for free from Google Books. The first excerpt is from a 1644 account of Henry Hudson's descriptions of the new land he saw on his 1609 voyage. The...

This site from The History Place provides a timeline of significant events between (1000-1700) win the discovery and colonization of the New World.

An overview of the life of John Smith, and his relationship with Pocahontas, who supposedly saved his life. Features a portrait, a photograph of the John Smith Memorial, and a fresco from the early 1900's.

The Aztec pictorial manuscript later known as the Codex Telleriano-Remensis was created in sixteenth-century Mexico, about a generation after contact. It is considered one of the most beautiful and informative remaining works by the...

This resource is a lesson plan from the University of Florida Natural History Museum. It is a lesson on the impact that the immigrants of Jamestown, VA had on American culture and the melting pot they created in the early colonial days.

Provides an overview of the history of New York and of how the United States government came to acquire Ellis Island. Fort Gibson was built there prior to the War of 1812 to serve as a strategic post in case of attack.

This site provides a discussion of the colonization and political unrest in the Vietnam region, including mention of the Can Vuong royalist movement.

An interesting account of the decisions that had to be made about whether or not to bring women along on the Mayflower. There was a higher mortality rate among the women it turned out, but that may have been due to the fact that women...

Excerpts from Irish-born British writer Anna Brownell Jameson's Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada, a travelogue of her 1836 voyage to Canada.

Excerpts of letters written by Catharine Parr Traill, which she collected and published, along with her journals, in The Backwoods of Canada (1836). In these excerpts, she writes about her arrival in Newfoundland and a journey to Quebec.

Explains what is known about the types of houses the Pilgrims built in Plymouth Colony.

Overview and biographical facts on the life of Anne Hutchinson, an early colonist of the Massachusetts Bay Colony who was banished from Boston in 1637 for her religious and feminist beliefs and fled to the Rhode Island Colony.

This detailed timeline describes Thomas Jefferson's life, spanning the colonial period, the American Revolution, and the early Republic. You will also find maps and written documents within this collection.

How did early maps show the mapmakers' perception of the known world? Early mapmakers used maps drawn from coastal explorations, land travels, and even information heard word of mouth from American Indians or from colonists or traders....

[Free Registration/Login Required] Advanced placement U.S. History learning module on the emerging colonial and native societies between 1607-1754. Resources for students include video, essays, timeline and primary source documents.

Consider the English identity of American colonists by examining the sorts of imported goods and decorative arts Americans chose to purchase and display.

Brown University boasts ownership of one of the greatest collections of early Americana in the world. In 2007 the university's John Carter Brown Library introduced a thorough exhibit after the publication of "Report of the Brown...

This detailed article on the life of Susanna Moodie has information on what Moodie wrote prior to marriage and emigration to Canada, her early experiences in Canada and writing that stemmed from them, and the hardships she and her family...

This resource presents a detailed biography of Anne Bradstreet, an important early American poet. Includes links to the full text of many of her poems and an audio of the poem "To My Dear and Loving Husband".

Square dancing has been part of American culture since the colonial settlers blended their varied traditions together. Contains historic photos, and an audio track of "Gents Go Center." Requires RealPlayer.

Follow the early history of Native American and European contact in America. As more settlers moved west, a law was passed to relocate the Cherokee from Arkansas. The routes they followed and the cruelties they suffered came to be known...