Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Beginnings of Revolutionary Thinking: What Is the American?
Even colonial America was a melting pot of people from far away. Read about the diversity of the population and why it had an effect on the possibility of rebellion and revolution.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Failed Colonies, American Beginnings: 1492 1690
Three European accounts of the disappointments, challenges, and outright failures to establish early successful colonial outposts in North America.
Other
North Carolina History Project: Roanoke Island
Describes the three expeditions organized by Sir Walter Raleigh to establish an English colony on Roanoke Island. The last group of colonists who settled there in 1587 disappeared and their fate is still not known for certain.
Other
Totally History: Virginia Dare
Explains the history of the lost Roanoke Colony and the various theories about what may have happened to the colonists. Virginia Dare was the first English child born in the New World, yet no one knows what eventually happened to her.
Other
First Colony Foundation: The Roanoke Colonies
The First Colony Foundation is an organization that conducts research into the English colonies that Sir Walter Raleigh sought to establish on Roanoke Island in North Carolina. This page presents a history of what is known about the...
Digital History
Digital History: The Emergence of New Ideas About Personal Liberties
American colonists expected to have "English rights" as supported by the Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights. See how these rights were applied in the trial of John Peter Zenger, whose acquittal reflected the right of freedom of...
Other
College of William & Mary: Williamsburg Heritage Dancers
This page contains instructions for popular English country dances performed during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Other
Encyclopedia Virginia: Christopher Newport
Biographical information about English explorer, Christopher Newport, who commanded the first fleet sent by the Virginia Company to America, and who helped the colonists found Jamestown colony. A timeline outlines his active sailing career.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: First Arrivals, American Beginnings: 1492 1690
Numerous visual images of artifacts from English settlements at Jamestown and at Plymouth, and from Spanish settlement in Hispaniola, and three original accounts of each of those early settlements that describe the possibilities and the...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Hardships, American Beginnings: 1492 1690
Three English, a French, and a Spanish primary account of the staggering losses, misery, and deprivation that characterized early European settlement as well as the resilience needed to overcome those challenges.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Servitude, American Beginnings: 1492 1690
Two examples of indenture contracts and three accounts of indentured servitude, including positive as well as admonitory views, in the Chesapeake English colonies.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Britain in the New World: The House of Burgesses
The Virginia House of Burgesses was the first elected legislature in the New World. Find out why the governmental conditions in England led to this representative government and how it was so different from the governing of colonies in...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Questions & Answers, American Beginnings: 1492 1690
An online exhibition of images of European settlement to accompany two English, a French, and a Dutch set of promotional accounts that offer advice, encouragement, and occasional warning to prospective immigrants to newly settled areas...
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Second Generation of British Colonies
The religious and civil conflict in England in the mid-17th century limited immigration, as well as the attention the mother country paid the fledgling American colonies. In part to provide for the defense measures England was...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The New England Colonies
New England colonies and society were very different from the Jamestown and subsequent Southern colonies. Find out the reasons the colonists had for founding the New England colonies.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Britain in the New World: War and Peace With Powhatan's People
Read about how Powhatan and his tribe initially helped the English settlers in Jamestown, but ultimately went to war. Find out about why the different views about land ownership exacerbated the tension between the two cultures.
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Virginia Dare and the Lost Colony: Fact and Legend
Summarizes the history of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island and the legend of Virginia Dare that emerged later. She was the first English child born in the New World.
Other
North Carolina History Project: Virginia Dare (1587 ?)
Tells the story of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the New World. She was the granddaughter of John White, Governor of the colony established on Roanoke Island in 1587. While White was on a trip to England to replenish the...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Virginia
This site is provided for by the Library of Congress. Do you know when "the Virginia Company founded the first permanent English colony at Jamestown?" Do you know what the capital of the Confederacy was? Explore the history of Virginia...
The History Place
The History Place: Early Colonial Era
This site from The History Place provides a timeline of significant events between (1000-1700) win the discovery and colonization of the New World.
The History Place
The History Place: American Revolution
The History Place provides this timeline broken into six different sections that highlight the important events from the early European exploration of America through to the United States becoming a country. Features include informative...
Scholastic
Scholastic: Pilgrim Elder William Brewster
A brief biography of William Brewster, one of the original Pilgrims to come over on the Mayflower.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: The Land Is Settled
A brief look at the founding of the English colonies. This site is provided for by the University of Groningen.
Curated OER
Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Clip Art Etc: Early Settlers in New England
A scene of early English colonists, or Pilgrims, in snow.