In 1626, Peter Minuit, a Belgian working for the Dutch Empire, arrived in New Netherland, Holland’s territories along the Hudson River. After taking over as the colony’s governor, he made contact with one of the Lenape nations living on the island we call Manhattan. Later that year, Pieter Schagen, a fellow colonist in New Netherland, […]
In terms of the proportion of the population killed, King Philip’s War was the deadliest conflict ever fought on American soil. The main actors were a Native American confederacy led by the Wampanoag and their leader Metacomet, known the to English as King Philip, and several New England colonies, including the Plymouth Bay and Massachusetts […]
One man drove the real history of Thanksgiving more than any other, though he was not English. Massasoit, the leader of the Wampanoag nation, deserves far more credit in the history of this event than he is typically given. Though English sources refer to him as a king, in truth, he was the most powerful […]
A German stood with a rifle in his hands, the heat of the Brazilian coast soaking his bearded face in drops of sweat. He’d followed this same routine for two months now, patrolling the fort that sat next to a river, watching the water flow into the forest just beyond. This daily rhythm had proved […]
In today’s post, I want to talk about a ceremony performed by the Native American peoples of what is now southern Ontario. The most well known participants in this ceremony were the Wendat, labeled as the Huron by contemporary Europeans and subsequent historians until rather recently. This ceremony is known as the Feast of the […]
Growing up in America, you learn about the story Pocahontas, and how she eventually traveled to London with her English husband John Rolfe. And you’re almost led to believe that her life, and ultimate death, in England was a singular event, that she represented an aberration in historical patterns, and that she was the only […]
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