Just Finished Reading: Colonial America – A Very Short Introduction by Alan Taylor (FP: 2013) [123pp] 

Countries, it seems, are born in much the same way as most things – during a time of prolonged suffering, pain and a fair amount of blood. America is no exception to this rule. Far from being an empty and virgin land when Columbus ‘discovered’ the West Indies, the Americas – both North and South – had long been populated by diverse cultures who had crossed the Bering Straits land bridge during the last Ice Age and have been estimated to be in the multiple millions when the Spanish arrived. With talk of ‘golden cities’ to the south other Spaniards soon followed looking to make their fortunes and, with the aid of primitive firearms as well as the far more devastating diseases especially smallpox, spread death and destruction wherever they went. Not to outdone – at least not for long – other European nations, notably the French, British and Dutch set about developing colonies and trading posts further north trading in furs and other easily transportable goods. Here, as in the south, disease and conflict eased the path to European domination. Eventually, after many decades, two nations were left standing – Spain in the South and Britain in the North. 

Colonisation of the ‘New World’ was far from easy and far from a done thing. Early settlements failed for numerous reasons. Empires fought each other on American soil – all sides using the local populations as auxiliaries and mercenaries in their wars - for eventual domination and the right to exploit the rich resources found there. Predictably, the natives did not fare well not matter whose side they chose in the conflicts. When they were necessary, they were used. When they were no longer required, they were either abandoned, ‘relocated’ or eliminated in a number of ways. The natives, as they found to their cost, were simply ‘in the way’ of the ever-Westward expansion. Apart from the exploitation and expulsion of native peoples the other foundation of both South and North America from the very earliest days was slavery. Columbus himself arranged for the enslavement if the island natives in the West Indies whose eventual demise led to the importation of African slaves to fill the shortfall in natural replacement. Some of the Northern territories depended on their very existence on the slave economy to produce the valuable cash crops, such as tobacco and rice (required to feed slaves in the West Indies). Overall, except for a very few, the birth pains of both America’s were neither short nor mild. 

This filled in quite a few gaps in my knowledge of early American history. I knew something of the early colonial efforts in the North as well as the Spanish depredations in the South but it was interesting to see how early trading with Native Americans led, eventually, to war between Britain and France and how this conflict shaped the futures of both what became the United States and Canada. Likewise, it was interesting to see the gradual moves of the original British colonies towards independence (more of which later). It was also interesting to get some general context for some of my family history. I was surprised when I started digging into my families past that I had a number of ancestors who had migrated to America in previous centuries. One relative died in Richmond, Georgia in 1784, while another died in Isle of Wight County, Virginia in 1720. Even further back my ancestors were dying in Charles City, Virginia in 1653 and Boston in 1652 presumably as refugees from the English Civil Wars. An interesting and informative read on many levels. Recommended and, as always, more to come.