Captain America: Amerigo Vespucci and the Eponymous Continent
After sailing the east coast of South America for years, Amerigo Vespucci and his name became attached to the continent he explored.
Buzzwords of Empire
Empires, from ancient to modern, have sought to justify their conquests, using buzzwords form ‘Christianity’ to ‘civilization’ to ‘democracy.’
One King, One Law, One Faith: Missionaries as an Arm of the French Empire
The history of New France and the French empire was dominated by French missionaries, who acted as an arm of the French empire – though perhaps unknowingly.
The Devil’s in the Details: A Comparison of Two Jesuits’ Reactions to Native American Spiritual Beliefs
Jesuits who never met and lived thousands of miles apart described Native American spiritual beliefs in the same way. Jesui-what?!
The Darien Scheme: Scotland’s Attempt at a Colony in Panama
In an attempt to save their bankrupt kingdom, the Scottish launched the Darien Scheme – a plan to colonize the east coast of Panama. Unfortunately for the Scots, the colony went the same way as Trump Steaks.
Mi Casta es Su Casta: The Casta System of Racial Hierarchy in New Spain
The casta system of race evolved in New Spain, invented to keep the colonizing Spanish at the top of an evovling social hierarchy.
Make Like a Tree and Leif: When Viking Explorer Leif Erikson Reached North America in the First Millennium AD
Leif Erikson and his intrepid band of Vikings made it across the Atlantic 500 years before Christopher Columbus. Skol!
America’s First Real Indian: How a Bengalese Man Ended Up in 17th-Century New France
Somehow a Bengalese man from South Central Asia ended up working with French Jesuits in colonial North America. Check out how it could have happened.
When the Vikings Came Back: New Sweden and its Short Life on the Delaware
In March 1638, a contingency of Swedish colonists sailed into the mouth of the Delaware River, looking to establish a permanent settlement in the name of the tre kronor and Queen Christina.