Podcasts about Virginia Company

Get an understanding behind why the year 1607 became significant for England. Learn what the original primary intent was behind Virginia Company of London's purpose. Determine if settlers achieved everything laid out per instructions from Virginia Company of London. Go behind the scenes and discover how one man's voyage to the New World wasn't so smooth until late April 1607. Figure out whether or not England's settlement per its early years saw more triumphs versus setbacks. Get an in depth analysis report involving year 1608 from a navigational standpoint along the Chesapeake Bay. Learn what took place during Winter of 1607-1608 involving one man's leadership including something unexpected that occurred around September 1609. Discover how one man came to the Virginia Colony prior to the late 1640's and went about firmly establishing himself. Understand how one man's legacy paved the way for a future family to make its first beginnings in the Virginia Colony where thousands of Americans are descended from one particular man alone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In May 1607, over 100 English settlers arrived at Chesapeake Bay on the East Coast of North America. Traveling 50 miles inland along the James River, they established what would become the first permanent English settlement: Jamestown. But what motivated their journey? Why was Chesapeake Bay their chosen destination? And how much do we know about their voyage.For this first of four episodes, Don is joined by Mark Summers, Educational Director of Youth and Public Programmes for Jamestowne Rediscovery. Don and Mark explore the roles of the Virginia Company, the British crown and individuals like Captains John Smith and Christopher Newport. From mutiny at sea to sealed instructions, this is the first step in a journey that echoes to this day.Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.All music from Epidemic Sounds.

When the English popped up on the shore of the “New World,” they were in rough shape. They didn't have much food, knew next to nothing about their surroundings, and had a boatload of diseases. The English also brought with them an interesting worldview. They figured that Native Americans would be thrilled to: Give them food, work for them, change religions, and one day pay taxes to the King. They thought wrong. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from: Custalow, Linwood, and Angela L. Daniel. The True Story of Pocahontas. Fulcrum Publishing, 2007. “The Lost Colony - Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service),” n.d. https://www.nps.gov/fora/learn/historyculture/the-lost-colony.htm. “The Virginia Company of London - Historic Jamestowne Part of Colonial National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service),” n.d. https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/the-virginia-company-of-london.htm. Townsend, Camilla. Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemna. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004. Woodward, Grace Steele. Pocahontas. Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1969. Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts! Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you'll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90's style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin's previous podcast, Let's Go To Court.

In 1621 the Virginia Company of London put out a call for young, handsome and honestly educated women to become wives for the planters in its new colony in Jamestown. Hopeful husbands were supposed to pay for their English brides in best leaf tobacco. But who were the women who made the Atlantic crossing? And what became of them when they arrived in America? In this episode of our sister History Hit podcast, Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb meets author Jennifer Potter to find out more about the lives of these extraordinary women.***Warning: This podcast includes references to slaughter and hostage taking.This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for $1 per month for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY sign up at https://historyhit.com/subscription/ You can take part in our listener survey here.

Young women were recruited from 1621-25 to become wives for the planters in the Virginia Company of London's new colony in Jamestown. Who were the English women who made the Atlantic crossing? And what happened to them when they arrived?   Check out the YouTube version of this episode at https://youtu.be/mWlQAHzbfDw which has accompanying visuals including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams. Not Just the Tudors podcast available at https://amzn.to/3OelJnj Suzannah Lipscomb books available at https://amzn.to/44M1dQ6   The Jamestown Brides: The Story of England's ‘Maids for Virginia' by Jennifer Potter available at https://amzn.to/4b91IHm    THANKS for the many wonderful comments, messages, ratings and reviews. All of them are regularly posted for your reading pleasure on https://patreon.com/markvinet where you can also get exclusive access to Bonus episodes, Ad-Free content, Extra materials, and an eBook Welcome Gift when joining our growing community on Patreon or Donate on PayPal at https://bit.ly/3cx9OOL and receive an eBook GIFT. SUPPORT this series by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at no extra charge to you). It costs you nothing to shop using this FREE store entry link and by doing so encourages & helps us create more quality content. Thanks! Mark Vinet's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast is available at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus                                                            Mark's TIMELINE video channel at https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 YouTube Podcast Playlist: https://www.bit.ly/34tBizu Podcast: https://parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@historyofnorthamerica Books: https://amzn.to/3j0dAFH                                                                              Linktree: https://linktr.ee/WadeOrganization                                                                  Audio Credit: Not Just the Tudors podcast with Suzannah Lipscomb and guest Jennifer Potter (episode #288, 18jan2024: Trading British Brides for American Tobacco). Audio excerpts reproduced under the Fair Use (Fair Dealings) Legal Doctrine for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, education, scholarship, research and news reporting. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1621 the Virginia Company of London recruited young women to become wives for the planters in its new colony in Jamestown. Though the women had all gone of their own free will, they were to be sold into marriage in exchange for tobacco leaves, generating a profit for investors and helping ensure the colony's long-term viability. Hopeful husbands were supposed to pay for their brides in tobacco. But who were the English women who made the Atlantic crossing? And what happened to them when they arrived?  Check out the YouTube version of this episode at https://youtu.be/YrBeDKygCQM which has accompanying visuals including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams. Not Just the Tudors podcast available at https://amzn.to/3OelJnj Suzannah Lipscomb books available at https://amzn.to/44M1dQ6   The Jamestown Brides: The Story of England's ‘Maids for Virginia' by Jennifer Potter available at https://amzn.to/4b91IHm    Mark Vinet's TIMELINE video channel at https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet  THANKS for the many wonderful comments, messages, ratings and reviews. All of them are regularly posted for your reading pleasure on https://patreon.com/markvinet where you can also get exclusive access to Bonus episodes, Ad-Free content, Extra materials, and an eBook Welcome Gift when joining our growing community on Patreon or Donate on PayPal at https://bit.ly/3cx9OOL and receive an eBook GIFT. SUPPORT this series by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at no extra charge to you). It costs you nothing to shop using this FREE store entry link and by doing so encourages & helps us create more quality content. Thanks! Mark Vinet's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast is available at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus                                                            Mark's TIMELINE video channel at https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 YouTube Podcast Playlist: https://www.bit.ly/34tBizu Podcast: https://parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@historyofnorthamerica Books: https://amzn.to/3j0dAFH                                                                              Linktree: https://linktr.ee/WadeOrganization                                                                  Audio Credit: Not Just the Tudors podcast with Suzannah Lipscomb and guest Jennifer Potter (episode #288, 18jan2024: Trading British Brides for American Tobacco). Audio excerpts reproduced under the Fair Use (Fair Dealings) Legal Doctrine for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, education, scholarship, research and news reporting. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The episode will present the Sea Dogs, privateering, outposts, attacks on the Spanish gold fleet, Francis Drake, west country men, Martin Frobisher, John Davis, Humphrey Gilbert, Walter Raleigh, the lost colony of Roanoke, John White, the first English-American child Virginia Dare, the Virginia Company.Picture: 19th century illustration depicting the discovery of the lost colony of Roanoke. Wikipedia Subscribe: Don't miss any episodes, make sure you subscribe to the podcast!Social media: Facebook (www.facebook.com/oldglorypodcast), Twitter/X (@oldglorypodcast), Instagram (@oldgloryhistorypodcast)Rating: If you like the podcast, please give it a five-star rating in iTunes or Spotify!Contact: oldglorypodcast@gmail.comLiterature on the American Colonial Era:- American colonies: the settling of North America, Alan Taylor- Colonial America, Richard Middleton- The British in the Americas 1480-1815, Anthony McFarlane- The Americans: Colonial experience, Daniel Boorstin- The Barbarous years, Bernard Bailyn- The American Colonies, R.C. Simmons- Colonial America 1607-1763, Harry Ward- The Forty years that created America, Edward Lamont- Wilderness at dawn, Ted Morgan- A History of Colonial America, Max Savelle- The Brave new world, Peter Charles Hoffer- Founding of the American colonies 1583-1660, John Pomfret- The colonies in transition 1660-1713, Wesley Frank Craven Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1621 the Virginia Company of London put out a call for young, handsome and honestly educated women to become wives for the planters in its new colony in Jamestown. Hopeful husbands were supposed to pay for their English brides in best leaf tobacco. But who were the women who made the Atlantic crossing? And what became of them when they arrived? In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb meets author Jennifer Potter to find out more about the lives of these extraordinary women.***Warning: This podcast includes references to slaughter and hostage taking.This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.Discover the past with exclusive history documentaries and ad-free podcasts presented by world-renowned historians from History Hit. Watch them on your smart TV or on the go with your mobile device. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Sign up now for your 14-day free trial here >You can take part in our listener survey here >`

It's Wednesday, December 20th, A.D. 2023. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark Chinese Christians continue to be persecuted Members of Early Rain Covenant Church continue to face persecution from the Chinese government. Five years ago, authorities arrested over 100 members of the church located in China's southwestern Sichuan province. The initial arrests resulted in a nine-year prison sentence for Wang Yi, the church's pastor.  Church members faced new detentions on Sunday, December 10, which was also International Human Rights Day. The latest persecution came after the church planned an online prayer meeting to commemorate the initial crackdown in 2018. Mervyn Thomas with Christian Solidarity Worldwide said, “These mass police operations against house churches show the Chinese authorities' utter contempt for universal and inalienable human rights.” Chinese earthquake kills 127 people Speaking of China, the country experienced its deadliest earthquake in years on Monday. A 6.2-magnitude quake hit China's north-central Gansu Province, killing at least 127 people. The disaster left hundreds more injured and thousands of buildings damaged. China is no stranger to deadly earthquakes. A quake in Qinghai Province took 2,700 lives in 2010. And the deadliest earthquake in recent decades killed nearly 90,000 in 2008 in the province of Sichuan. Colorado rules Trump is ineligible to be on presidential ballot The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that former President Donald Trump is ineligible to appear on the state's primary ballot, reports The Epoch Times. It declared that President Trump's speech on and before January 6, 2021, "was not protected by the First Amendment" because it was speech that was "likely to incite such imminent lawlessness and violence." They concluded that Trump is disqualified from holding office, according to the 14th Amendment to the Constitution in Section 3 because he “engaged in insurrection.” However, the court suspended its ruling until January 4, 2024, "pending any review by the U.S. Supreme Court." If the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to review the issue by January 4, the Colorado Secretary of State will be required to continue to include President Trump on the primary ballot. Otherwise, his name will be removed. Appearing on Fox News Channel, George Washington Law Professor Jonathan Turley drew this conclusion. TURLEY: “There was a series of barriers in applying this provision to bar Trump. … In order to establish that he was engaged in insurrection, they go back to speeches in 2016, and they basically daisy chain these speeches to say, ‘Look, he's been at this for a long time.' I think that the factual and legal basis of this opinion is really so porous that the Supreme Court will make fast work of it.” This makes Colorado the first and only state to disqualify President Trump from appearing on a state primary ballot. President Trump has announced he will appeal the decision. Michigan city compelled to give $825,000 to Catholic farmer over discrimination A Michigan city agreed to an $825,000 settlement with a Catholic farmer in a religious liberty case. Steve Tennes with Country Mill Farms sued East Lansing in 2017 after officials barred him from the city's farmers market for his Biblical beliefs about marriage. Genesis 2:24 says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Earlier this year, a federal district court sided with Tennes, saying he is free to participate in the market. Kate Anderson with Alliance Defending Freedom said, “We're pleased to favorably settle this lawsuit on behalf of Steve so he and his family can continue doing what Country Mill does best, as expressed in its mission statement: ‘glorifying God by facilitating family fun on the farm and feeding families.'” Steve appeared on NewsMax TV. TENNES: “We're so blessed to have folks like Ryan Tucker and Kate Anderson from Alliance Defending Freedom that have been on our side now for the last six years to help us stand up so that all Americans can speak freely about what they believe and live out their faith, or whatever beliefs they may have, without the fear of government punishment.” Congressional gridlock The U.S. Congress appears to be in unprecedented gridlock. Democrats hold a slight majority in the Senate, while Republicans hold a slight majority in the House. Plus, House Republicans have faced their own divisions. All this gridlock has stifled legislative business. Axios reports Congress passed only 24 bills this year. That's the lowest number since at least 1989. Despite the gridlock, Congress managed to continue raising the debt ceiling and keep the government funded. Isaiah 1:23 says, “Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow come before them.” Pro-life resource centers provided $360 million worth of help A new report from pro-life groups found that pregnancy resource centers provided nearly $360 million worth of materials and services last year. The report found that 2,750 pro-life centers held a total of over 16 million sessions for families in need. They also provided 700,000 free pregnancy tests, 500,000 free ultrasounds, 3.5 million packs of diapers, and much more. Chuck Donovan with the Charlotte Lozier Institute noted that the centers have responded to new challenges. He said, “Such issues as human trafficking, homelessness, domestic abuse, sexually transmitted disease morbidity, and abortion pill regret and reversal have prompted new resilience and response.” Proverbs 24:11 says, “Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.” Anniversary of British ships' departure for Jamestown, Virginia And finally, on this day in history, three ships sailed for the New World to establish the Virginia Company's first settlement in Jamestown, Virginia. The Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery departed from London with about 100 passengers on December 20, 1606. Their settlement would become the first permanent English settlement in North America. As director of the Virginia Company, Anglican minister Richard Hakluyt helped start the Jamestown settlement. Back in 1584, he wrote his Discourse on Western Planting to England's Queen Elizabeth I, promoting English colonization in America. The first among his reasons for forming colonies was the “enlargement of the Gospel of Christ.” Close And that's The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, December 20th in the year of our Lord 2023. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

British King James I granted the Virginia Company of London a charter. A year later in 1607, this privately-funded, joint-stock company established the first, permanent English colony in North America at Jamestown, in the colony of Virginia. How much money did it have to raise to support its colonial venture, and from whom did it raise this capital? Check out the YouTube version of this episode at https://youtu.be/4PnOjfGi_B8 which has accompanying visuals including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams.  The Virginia Venture by Misha Ewen available at https://amzn.to/46itO0f Ben Franklin's World podcast available at https://amzn.to/48kqMKW  Jamestown products available at https://amzn.to/3RW5kEm Thanks for the many wonderful comments, messages, ratings and reviews. All of them are regularly posted for your reading pleasure on https://patreon.com/markvinet where you can also get exclusive access to Bonus episodes, Ad-Free content, Extra materials, and an eBook Welcome Gift when joining our growing community on Patreon or Donate on PayPal at https://bit.ly/3cx9OOL and receive an eBook GIFT. Support this series by enjoying a wide-range of useful & FUN Gadgets at https://twitter.com/GadgetzGuy and/or by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM (Amazon gives us credit at no extra charge to you). It costs you nothing to shop using this FREE store entry link and by doing so encourages & helps us create more quality content. Thanks! Mark Vinet's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast is available at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus                                                            Mark's TIMELINE video channel at https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 YouTube Podcast Playlist: https://www.bit.ly/34tBizu Podcast: https://parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@historyofnorthamerica Books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM                                                                              Linktree: https://linktr.ee/WadeOrganization                                                              Source: Ben Franklin's World podcast (Episode 355; Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture). Audio excerpts reproduced under the Fair Use (Fair Dealings) Legal Doctrine for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, education, scholarship, research and news reporting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're heading towards the controversial year of 1619 by analyzing the prior financial challenges and realities faced by the daring and ambitious Virginia Company of London.  Check out the YouTube version of this episode at https://youtu.be/2OqUj9dBysE which has accompanying visuals including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams.  The Virginia Venture by Misha Ewen available at https://amzn.to/46itO0f Ben Franklin's World podcast available at https://amzn.to/48kqMKW  Jamestown products available at https://amzn.to/3RW5kEm Thanks for the many wonderful comments, messages, ratings and reviews. All of them are regularly posted for your reading pleasure on https://patreon.com/markvinet where you can also get exclusive access to Bonus episodes, Ad-Free content, Extra materials, and an eBook Welcome Gift when joining our growing community on Patreon or Donate on PayPal at https://bit.ly/3cx9OOL and receive an eBook GIFT. Support this series by enjoying a wide-range of useful & FUN Gadgets at https://twitter.com/GadgetzGuy and/or by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM (Amazon gives us credit at no extra charge to you). It costs you nothing to shop using this FREE store entry link and by doing so encourages & helps us create more quality content. Thanks! Mark Vinet's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast is available at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus                                                            Mark's TIMELINE video channel at https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 YouTube Podcast Playlist: https://www.bit.ly/34tBizu Podcast: https://parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@historyofnorthamerica Books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM                                                                              Linktree: https://linktr.ee/WadeOrganization                                                      Source: Ben Franklin's World podcast (Episode 355; Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture). Audio excerpts reproduced under the Fair Use (Fair Dealings) Legal Doctrine for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, education, scholarship, research and news reporting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1606, British King James the First granted the Virginia Company of London a charter. A year later, this privately-funded, joint-stock company established the first, permanent English colony in North America at Jamestown, in the colony of Virginia. What did the company have to do to establish this colony? How much capital did it have to raise to support its colonial venture, and from whom did it raise this money? Check out the YouTube version of this episode at https://youtu.be/7GcoCuTPAoo which has accompanying visuals including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams.  The Virginia Venture by Misha Ewen available at https://amzn.to/46itO0f Ben Franklin's World podcast available at https://amzn.to/48kqMKW  Jamestown products available at https://amzn.to/3RW5kEm WELCOME to our newest Patreon members Chris, Noah, Theresa, Bill, and Charlene at https://patreon.com/markvinet where you can get exclusive access to Bonus episodes, Ad-Free content, Extra materials, and an eBook Welcome Gift when joining our growing community. Support this series by enjoying a wide-range of useful & FUN Gadgets at https://twitter.com/GadgetzGuy and/or by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM (Amazon gives us credit at no extra charge to you). It costs you nothing to shop using this FREE store entry link and by doing so encourages & helps us create more quality content. Thanks! Mark Vinet's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast is available at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus                                                            Mark's TIMELINE video channel at https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 YouTube Podcast Playlist: https://www.bit.ly/34tBizu Podcast: https://parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@historyofnorthamerica Books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM                                                                              Linktree: https://linktr.ee/WadeOrganization                                                      Source: Ben Franklin's World podcast (Episode 355; Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture). Audio excerpts reproduced under the Fair Use (Fair Dealings) Legal Doctrine for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, education, scholarship, research and news reporting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On July 13, 2023, historian and author Brent Tarter lead a discussion of his new book, Constitutional History of Virginia, covering more than 300 years of Virginia's legislative policy, from colony to statehood, revealing its political and legal backstory. In the only modern comprehensive constitutional history of any state, Brent Tarter traces Virginia history from the very beginning in 1606, when James I chartered the Virginia Company to establish a commercial outpost on the Atlantic coast of North America, through the first two decades of the twenty-first century, and the constitutions along the way that evolved and changed as the demographic, economic, political, and cultural characteristics of Virginia changed. Brent Tarter is a founding editor of the Library of Virginia's Dictionary of Virginia Biography and a cofounder of the annual Virginia Forum. He is the author of numerous books, including The Grandees of Government: The Origins and Persistence of Undemocratic Politics in Virginia; Daydreams and Nightmares: A Virginia Family Faces Secession and War; Virginians and Their Histories; and Constitutional History of Virginia. The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Virginia Company's defense of their colony and its charter, presented to the King after several critics had attacked the mismanagement of the colony and lodged grievances against its leaders with the English government. 

The Plymouth Company was chartered by King James in 1606 with responsibility for colonizing the northern east coast of America. The merchants agreed to finance the settlers' trip in return for repayment of their expenses plus interest out of the profits made. The Plymouth Company established the Popham Colony, in present-day Maine, the northern answer to the previously discussed Jamestown Colony, founded by the Virginia Company of London. The Popham Colony was named for its chief investor and Lord Chief Justice of England Sir John Popham who presided over the trials of Sir Walter Raleigh and the conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot, including Guy Fawkes. Check out the YouTube version of this episode at https://youtu.be/8ir6XfrrUMw which has accompanying visuals including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams. Ferdinando Gorges books available at https://amzn.to/45G3VIg   Popham Colony books available at https://amzn.to/3C3Qvbu  Maine History books available at https://amzn.to/3N3e2zH New England History books available at https://amzn.to/3OKBPWe                        Abenaki books available at https://amzn.to/43CqDiL        Thanks for the many wonderful comments, messages, ratings and reviews. All of them are regularly posted for your reading pleasure on https://patreon.com/markvinet where you can also get exclusive access to Bonus episodes, Ad-Free content, Extra materials, and an eBook Welcome Gift when joining our growing community on Patreon or Donate on PayPal at https://bit.ly/3cx9OOL and receive an eBook GIFT. Support this channel by enjoying a wide-range of useful & FUN Gadgets at https://twitter.com/GadgetzGuy  Support our series by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM (Amazon gives us credit at no extra charge to you). It costs you nothing to shop using this FREE store entry link and by doing so encourages, supports & helps us to create more quality content for this series. Thanks! Mark Vinet's TIMELINE video channel at https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Twitter: https://twitter.com/TIMELINEchannel Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 YouTube Podcast Playlist: https://www.bit.ly/34tBizu Podcast: https://parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@historyofnorthamerica Books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM Linktree: https://linktr.ee/WadeOrganization       See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The founding of Maryland was contentious, because its territory falls within the original mandate of the Virginia Company.  Longstanding and attentive listeners may recall that the patent from James I in 1606 conferred the right to settle along the Atlantic coast between 34 and 40 degrees, or from roughly Wilmington, North Carolina to Seaside Heights, New Jersey.  The Crown revoked the Virginia Company's charter in 1624, after the catastrophe of Opechancanough's war, and thereafter it was a Crown Colony with a royal governor. On the one hand, that changed the legal rights of the colonists, as they would eventually find out. On the other, it seemed like a mere governance change, because in the revocation of the charter and the establishment of the Crown Colony, James wasn't very clear about the borders changing. That would become a problem when his son, Charles I, granted Cecil Calvert, the Second Lord Baltimore, the right to settle around the middle and northern Chesapeake for the annual rent of "two Indian arrows." Virginians, who were already there, were more than a little grumpy about that. Lawsuits would be filed, shots would be fired, and men would be hung. Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Facebook: The History of the Americans Podcast Selected references for this episode George Bancroft, History Of The United States Of America, Volume 1 Timothy B. Riordan, The Plundering Time: Maryland and the English Civil War, 1645–1646 Manfred Jonas, "The Claiborne-Calvert Controversy: An Episode in the Colonization of North America," Jahrbuch für Amerikastudien, 1966. J. Herbert Claiborne, "William Claiborne of Kent Island," The William and Mary Quarterly, April 1921.

On April 10th, 1606, King James I granted the Virginia Company of London a charter. Just over a year later, on May 14, 1607, this privately-funded, joint-stock company established the first, permanent English colony in North America at Jamestown, in the colony of Virginia.  What work did the Virginia Company have to do to establish this colony? How much money did it have to raise, and from whom did it raise this money, to support its colonial venture? Misha Ewen, a Lecturer in early modern history at the University of Bristol and author of The Virginia Venture: American Colonization and English Society, 1580-1660, joins us to discuss the early history of the Virginia Company and its early investors. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/355 Join Ben Franklin's World! Subscribe and help us bring history right to your ears! Sponsor Links Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Complementary Episodes Episode 079: James Horn, What is a Historic Source? Episode 120: Marcia Zug, A History of Mail Order Brides in Early America Episode 150: Woody Holton, Abigail Adams: Revolutionary Speculator Episode 186: Max Edelson, The New Map of the British Empire Episode 213: Rebecca Fraser, The Pilgrims of Plimoth Episode 250: Virginia, 1619 Episode 274: Alan Gallay, Walter Ralegh: Architect of Empire Listen! Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Amazon Music Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Helpful Links Join the Ben Franklin's World Facebook Group Ben Franklin's World Twitter: @BFWorldPodcast Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter  

The Popham Colony is abandoned and now the Virginia Company of Plymouth is without a settlement to defend their claims. During this shadowy period of time the English still maintain a presence in Northern Virginia, as they call it, soon to be reimagined as New England by an unsuspecting character you may know from Jamestown fame. Unknowingly, the groundwork is laid by Sir Ferdinando Gorges for a a strange group of Separatists who recently returned from the Netherlands. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/osoa/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/osoa/support

The Popham Colony or Sagadahoc Colony, rather than a historical footnote, was the vanguard of a new colonization model for the English, the result of rights stripped from noble conspirators, and redistributed to new corporate entities. After years of sailors kidnapping natives off the coast of modern day Maine to train as interpreters, Sir Ferdinando Gorges and Sir John Popham return them hoping the fair treatment given to their captives, will foster good will with their native communities. The Popham Colony, undertaken by the Virginia Company of Plymouth, initially seems a more promising prospect, to the Jamestown Colony, undertaken by the Virginia Company of London. However, things change... Check out: https://thehistoryoftheamericans.com/interview-eric-yanis-of-the-other-states-of-america-history-podcast/ and https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-popham-sagadahoc-colony-and-other-adventures-on/id1547078697?i=1000545933281 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/osoa/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/osoa/support

Join us for E58 about when the English and French powers that be decided the best way to tame the new world was by importing wives for the male settlers.  We talk about the Jamestown Tobacco Brides and the NOLA King's Daughters aka The Casket Girls.  Then stick around to the end for a Patreon preview.Follow us on social media, for show updates and pics to go along with each episode. Wanna get in touch or order a t-shirt? Email the show at loreofthesouth@gmail.comThink I forgot to mention the PBS/UK series Jamestown.  It was pretty good. Think it was filmed in Romania, but the location looks pretty spot on to the real Chesapeake Bay Area.  Oh and give the YouTube channel Jamestown Rediscovery a follow, they're always coming through with new artifacts and such https://www.youtube.com/@JamestownRediscoveryWant to help support the show? Check out our Patreon where you get at least one bonus episode a month, where producer Mike and I discuss a topic.  Can't swing Patreon?  Please be so kind as to leave a fie star review and a few kind words on Apple Podcast and Spotify.https://patreon.com/theloreofthesouth?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkCitationsBranley, E. (2020, October 6). History of the casket girls in New Orleans. GoNOLA.com. Retrieved January 8, 2023, from https://gonola.com/things-to-do-in-new-orleans/history/the-casket-girls-wives-for-french-new-orleans The difference between Cajun & Creole. Visit Houma-Terrebonne, LA. (n.d.). Retrieved January 8, 2023, from https://explorehouma.com/about/cajun-vs-creole/ Google. (n.d.). Google search. Retrieved January 21, 2023, from https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=ursuline%2Bnuns%2Bin%2Bnew%2Borleans&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 History of Jamestown. Historic Jamestowne. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2023, from https://historicjamestowne.org/history/history-of-jamestown/ Potter, J. (2019). The jamestown brides: The story of england's "maids for Virginia". Oxford University Press. Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, December 18). David Paulides. Wikipedia. Retrieved January 20, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Paulides Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, November 15). Smoky (dog). Wikipedia. Retrieved January 20, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoky_(dog) Womens History month: The casket girls. New Orleans Legendary Walking Tours. (2022, August 19). Retrieved January 8, 2023, from https://www.neworleanslegendarywalkingtours.com/blog/womens-history-month-the-casket-girls/ 

Co-Host of the WTAF! Podcast, Rich Willett, breaks down the secret history of the ownership of the United States that connects to the British Empire through covert means. Is the Virginia Company the actual owner of the United States, and if so, what does that mean for the sovereignty of America? In current times, the Royal Family has their hands full with the interloper from the Virginia Company, Megan Markel, and her half-blood prince, as they verbally firebomb the House of Windsor with claims of deep-seated racism. Will Piers Morgan murder these two with his own hands or is it all another one of his performance pieces? Luckily, Rich Willett is here to break it all down in the way that only he can. Sponsors: Emergency Preparedness Food: www.preparewithmacroaggressions.com Chemical Free Body: https://www.chemicalfreebody.com and use promo code: MACRO C60 Purple Power: https://c60purplepower.com/ Promo Code: MACRO Wise Wolf Gold & Silver: www.Macroaggressions.gold True Hemp Science: https://truehempscience.com/ Haelan: https://haelan951.com/pages/macro Solar Power Lifestyle: https://solarpowerlifestyle.com/ Promo Code: MACRO LegalShield: www.DontGetPushedAround.com Coin Bit App: https://coinbitsapp.com/?ref=0SPP0gjuI68PjGU89wUv Macroaggressions Merch Store: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/macroaggressions?ref_id=22530 LinkTree: linktr.ee/macroaggressions Books: HYPOCRAZY: https://amzn.to/3AFhfg2 Controlled Demolition on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08M21XKJ5 Purchase "The Octopus Of Global Control" Amazon: https://amzn.to/3aEFFcr Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/39vdKeQ Online Connection: Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/Macroaggressions Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/macroaggressions_podcast/ Discord Link:  https://discord.gg/4mGzmcFexg Website: www.theoctopusofglobalcontrol.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/theoctopusofglobalcontrol Twitter: www.twitter.com/macroaggressio3 Twitter Handle: @macroaggressio3 YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCn3GlVLKZtTkhLJkiuG7a-Q Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2LjTwu5 Rich Willett WTAF? Podcast: https://apple.co/3CJGTTW Ickonic: https://www.ickonic.com/

"A Declaration of the present State of Virginia humbly presented to the King's most Excellent Majesty by the Virginia Company"

Five states — Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah — do not have lotteries. The other 45 plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands depend upon lotteries as a source of revenue. People generally do not understand the vital role lotteries played in the early development of this nation as well as their importance today in other states. Lotteries rather than taxation were used as a means of raising revenue from the earliest days of this country. In 1612, struggling for survival and on the verge of failure, the Virginia Company held a lottery to...Article Link

We are back in Virginia. Opechancanough's attack of March 22, 1622, the day the sky fell, has knocked the English back on their heels, but not out of Virginia. In this episode, the English react, both with domestic controversy and military force. The Virginia Company invents corporate "damage control." King James I gives the Company all the obsolete weapons in his armory. Within a year after sky fall, more than 900 English will have died from fighting or starvation. Indian deaths may well have been more. Opechancanough asks for a cease fire, and the English agree. Or do they? Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Facebook: The History of the Americans Podcast Selected references for this episode James Horn, A Brave and Cunning Prince: The Great Chief Opechancanough and the War for America David Price, Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation Helen C. Rountree, Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown

Charles C. Mann is the author of three of my favorite history books: 1491. 1493, and The Wizard and the Prophet. We discuss:why Native American civilizations collapsed and why they failed to make more technological progresswhy he disagrees with Will MacAskill about longtermismwhy there aren't any successful slave revoltshow geoengineering can help us solve climate changewhy Bitcoin is like the Chinese Silver Tradeand much much more!Watch on YouTube. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Read the full transcript here. Some really cool guests coming up, subscribe to find out about future episodes!Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, you may also enjoy my interviews of Will MacAskill (about longtermism), Steve Hsu (about intelligence and embryo selection), and David Deutsch (about AI and the problems with America's constitution).If you end up enjoying this episode, I would be super grateful if you shared it. Post it on Twitter, send it to your friends & group-chats, and throw it up on any relevant subreddits & forums you follow. Can't exaggerate how much it helps a small podcast like mine.Timestamps(0:00:00) -Epidemically Alternate Realities(0:00:25) -Weak Points in Empires(0:03:28) -Slave Revolts(0:08:43) -Slavery Ban(0:12:46) - Contingency & The Pyramids(0:18:13) - Teotihuacan(0:20:02) - New Book Thesis(0:25:20) - Gender Ratios and Silicon Valley(0:31:15) - Technological Stupidity in the New World(0:41:24) - Religious Demoralization(0:44:00) - Critiques of Civilization Collapse Theories(0:49:05) - Virginia Company + Hubris(0:53:30) - China's Silver Trade(1:03:03) - Wizards vs. Prophets(1:07:55) - In Defense of Regulatory Delays(0:12:26) -Geoengineering(0:16:51) -Finding New Wizards(0:18:46) -Agroforestry is Underrated(1:18:46) -Longtermism & Free MarketsTranscriptDwarkesh Patel   Okay! Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Charles Mann, who is the author of three of my favorite books, including 1491: New Revelations of America before Columbus. 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, and The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World. Charles, welcome to the Lunar Society.Charles C. Mann   It's a pleasure to be here.Epidemically Alternate RealitiesDwarkesh Patel   My first question is: How much of the New World was basically baked into the cake? So at some point, people from Eurasia were going to travel to the New World, bringing their diseases. Considering disparities and where they would survive, if the Acemoglu theory that you cited is correct, then some of these places were bound to have good institutions and some of them were bound to have bad institutions. Plus, because of malaria, there were going to be shortages in labor that people would try to fix with African slaves. So how much of all this was just bound to happen? If Columbus hadn't done it, then maybe 50 years down the line, would someone from Italy have done it? What is the contingency here?Charles C. Mann   Well, I think that some of it was baked into the cake. It was pretty clear that at some point, people from Eurasia and the Western Hemisphere were going to come into contact with each other. I mean, how could that not happen, right? There was a huge epidemiological disparity between the two hemispheres––largely because by a quirk of evolutionary history, there were many more domesticable animals in Eurasia and the Eastern hemisphere. This leads almost inevitably to the creation of zoonotic diseases: diseases that start off in animals and jump the species barrier and become human diseases. Most of the great killers in human history are zoonotic diseases. When people from Eurasia and the Western Hemisphere meet, there are going to be those kinds of diseases. But if you wanted to, it's possible to imagine alternative histories. There's a wonderful book by Laurent Binet called Civilizations that, in fact, does just that. It's a great alternative history book. He imagines that some of the Vikings came and extended further into North America, bringing all these diseases, and by the time of Columbus and so forth, the epidemiological balance was different. So when Columbus and those guys came, these societies killed him, grabbed his boats, and went and conquered Europe. It's far-fetched, but it does say that this encounter would've happened and that the diseases would've happened, but it didn't have to happen in exactly the way that it did. It's also perfectly possible to imagine that Europeans didn't engage in wholesale slavery. There was a huge debate when this began about whether or not slavery was a good idea. There were a lot of reservations, particularly among the Catholic monarchy asking the Pope “Is it okay that we do this?” You could imagine the penny dropping in a slightly different way. So, I think some of it was bound to happen, but how exactly it happened was really up to chance, contingency, and human agency,Weak Points in EmpiresDwarkesh Patel   When the Spanish first arrived in the 15th and 16th centuries, were the Incas and the Aztecs at a particularly weak point or particularly decadent? Or was this just how well you should have expected this civilization to be functioning at any given time period?Charles C. Mann   Well, typically, empires are much more jumbly and fragile entities than we imagine. There's always fighting at the top. What Hernán Cortés was able to do, for instance, with the Aztecs––who are better called The Triple Alliance (the term “Aztec” is an invention from the 19th century). The Triple Alliance was comprised of three groups of people in central Mexico, the largest of which were the Mexica, who had the great city of Tenochtitlan. The other two guys really resented them and so what Cortes was able to do was foment a civil war within the Aztec empire: taking some enemies of the Aztec, some members of the Aztec empire, and creating an entirely new order. There's a fascinating set of history that hasn't really emerged into the popular consciousness. I didn't include it in 1491 or 1493 because it was so new that I didn't know anything about it; everything was largely from Spanish and Mexican scholars about the conquest within the conquest. The allies of the Spaniards actually sent armies out and conquered big swaths of northern and southern Mexico and Central America. So there's a far more complex picture than we realized even 15 or 20 years ago when I first published 1491. However, the conquest wasn't as complete as we think. I talk a bit about this in 1493 but what happens is Cortes moves in and he marries his lieutenants to these indigenous people, creating this hybrid nobility that then extended on to the Incas. The Incas were a very powerful but unstable empire and Pizarro had the luck to walk in right after a civil war. When he did that right after a civil war and massive epidemic, he got them at a very vulnerable point. Without that, it all would have been impossible. Pizarro cleverly allied with the losing side (or the apparently losing side in this in the Civil War), and was able to create a new rallying point and then attack the winning side. So yes, they came in at weak points, but empires typically have these weak points because of fratricidal stuff going on in the leadership.Dwarkesh Patel   It does also remind me of the East India Trading Company.Charles C. Mann   And the Mughal empire, yeah. Some of those guys in Bengal invited Clive and his people in. In fact, I was struck by this. I had just been reading this book, maybe you've heard of it: The Anarchy by William Dalrymple.Dwarkesh Patel   I've started reading it, yeah but I haven't made much progress.Charles C. Mann   It's an amazing book! It's so oddly similar to what happened. There was this fratricidal stuff going on in the Mughal empire, and one side thought, “Oh, we'll get these foreigners to come in, and we'll use them.” That turned out to be a big mistake.Dwarkesh Patel   Yes. What's also interestingly similar is the efficiency of the bureaucracy. Niall Ferguson has a good book on the British Empire and one thing he points out is that in India, the ratio between an actual English civil servant and the Indian population was about 1: 3,000,000 at the peak of the ratio. Which obviously is only possible if you have the cooperation of at least the elites, right? So it sounds similar to what you were saying about Cortes marrying his underlings to the nobility. Charles C. Mann   Something that isn't stressed enough in history is how often the elites recognize each other. They join up in arrangements that increase both of their power and exploit the poor schmucks down below. It's exactly what happened with the East India Company, and it's exactly what happened with Spain. It's not so much that there was this amazing efficiency, but rather, it was a mutually beneficial arrangement for Xcalack, which is now a Mexican state. It had its rights, and the people kept their integrity, but they weren't really a part of the Spanish Empire. They also weren't really wasn't part of Mexico until around 1857. It was a good deal for them. The same thing was true for the Bengalis, especially the elites who made out like bandits from the British Empire.Slave Revolts Dwarkesh Patel   Yeah, that's super interesting. Why was there only one successful slave revolt in the new world in Haiti? In many of these cases, the ratios between slaves and the owners are just huge. So why weren't more of them successful?Charles C. Mann   Well, you would first have to define ‘successful'. Haiti wasn't successful if you meant ‘creating a prosperous state that would last for a long time.' Haiti was and is (to no small extent because of the incredible blockade that was put on it by all the other nations) in terrible shape. Whereas in the case of Paul Maurice, you had people who were self-governing for more than 100 years.. Eventually, they were incorporated into the larger project of Brazil. There's a great Brazilian classic that's equivalent to what Moby Dick or Huck Finn is to us called Os Sertões by a guy named Cunha. And it's good! It's been translated into this amazing translation in English called ​​Rebellion in the Backlands. It's set in the 1880s, and it's about the creation of a hybrid state of runaway slaves, and so forth, and how they had essentially kept their independence and lack of supervision informally, from the time of colonialism. Now the new Brazilian state is trying to take control, and they fight them to the last person. So you have these effectively independent areas in de facto, if not de jure, that existed in the Americas for a very long time. There are some in the US, too, in the great dismal swamp, and you hear about those marooned communities in North Carolina, in Mexico, where everybody just agreed “these places aren't actually under our control, but we're not going to say anything.”  If they don't mess with us too much, we won't mess with them too much. Is that successful or not? I don't know.Dwarkesh Patel   Yeah, but it seems like these are temporary successes..Charles C. Mann   I mean, how long did nations last? Like Genghis Khan! How long did the Khan age last? But basically, they had overwhelming odds against them. There's an entire colonial system that was threatened by their existence. Similar to the reasons that rebellions in South Asia were suppressed with incredible brutality–– these were seen as so profoundly threatening to this entire colonial order that people exerted a lot more force against them than you would think would be worthwhile.Dwarkesh Patel   Right. It reminds me of James Scott's Against the Grain. He pointed out that if you look at the history of agriculture, there're many examples where people choose to run away as foragers in the forest, and then the state tries to bring them back into the fold.Charles C. Mann   Right. And so this is exactly part of that dynamic. I mean, who wants to be a slave, right? So as many people as possible ended up leaving. It's easier in some places than others.. it's very easy in Brazil. There are 20 million people in the Brazilian Amazon and the great bulk of them are the descendants of people who left slavery. They're still Brazilians and so forth, but, you know, they ended up not being slaves.Slavery BanDwarkesh Patel   Yeah, that's super fascinating. What is the explanation for why slavery went from being historically ever-present to ending at a particular time when it was at its peak in terms of value and usefulness? What's the explanation for why, when Britain banned the slave trade, within 100 or 200 years, there ended up being basically no legal sanction for slavery anywhere in the world?Charles C. Mann   This is a really good question and the real answer is that historians have been arguing about this forever. I mean, not forever, but you know, for decades, and there's a bunch of different explanations. I think the reason it's so hard to pin down is… kind of amazing. I mean, if you think about it, in 1800, if you were to have a black and white map of the world and put red in countries in which slavery was illegal and socially accepted, there would be no red anywhere on the planet. It's the most ancient human institution that there is. The Code of Hammurabi is still the oldest complete legal code that we have, and about a third of it is about rules for when you can buy slaves, when you can sell slaves, how you can mistreat them, and how you can't–– all that stuff. About a third of it is about buying, selling, and working other human beings. So this has been going on for a very, very long time. And then in a century and a half, it suddenly changes. So there's some explanation, and it's that machinery gets better. But the reason to have people is that you have these intelligent autonomous workers, who are like the world's best robots. From the point of view of the owner, they're fantastically good, except they're incredibly obstreperous and when they're caught, you're constantly afraid they're going to kill you. So if you have a chance to replace them with machinery, or to create a wage where you can run wage people, pay wage workers who are kept in bad conditions but somewhat have more legal rights, then maybe that's a better deal for you. Another one is that industrialization produced different kinds of commodities that became more and more valuable, and slavery was typically associated with the agricultural laborer. So as agriculture diminished as a part of the economy, slavery become less and less important and it became easier to get rid of them. Another one has to do with the beginning of the collapse of the colonial order. Part of it has to do with.. (at least in the West, I don't know enough about the East) the rise of a serious abolition movement with people like Wilberforce and various Darwins and so forth. And they're incredibly influential, so to some extent, I think people started saying, “Wow, this is really bad.”  I suspect that if you looked at South Asia and Africa, you might see similar things having to do with a social moment, but I just don't know enough about that. I know there's an anti-slavery movement and anti-caste movement in which we're all tangled up in South Asia, but I just don't know enough about it to say anything intelligent.Dwarkesh Patel   Yeah, the social aspect of it is really interesting. The things you mentioned about automation, industrialization, and ending slavery… Obviously, with time, that might have actually been why it expanded, but its original inception in Britain happened before the Industrial Revolution took off. So that was purely them just taking a huge loss because this movement took hold. Charles C. Mann   And the same thing is true for Bartolome de Las Casas. I mean, Las Casas, you know, in the 1540s just comes out of nowhere and starts saying, “Hey! This is bad.” He is the predecessor of the modern human rights movement. He's an absolutely extraordinary figure, and he has huge amounts of influence. He causes Spain's king in the 1540s to pass what they call The New Laws which says no more slavery, which is a devastating blow enacted to the colonial economy in Spain because they depended on having slaves to work in the silver mines in the northern half of Mexico and in Bolivia, which was the most important part of not only the Spanish colonial economy but the entire Spanish empire. It was all slave labor. And they actually tried to ban it. Now, you can say they came to their senses and found a workaround in which it wasn't banned. But it's still… this actually happened in the 1540s. Largely because people like Las Casas said, “This is bad! you're going to hell doing this.”Contingency & The Pyramids Dwarkesh Patel   Right. I'm super interested in getting into The Wizard and the Prophet section with you. Discussing how movements like environmentalism, for example, have been hugely effective. Again, even though it probably goes against the naked self-interest of many countries. So I'm very interested in discussing that point about why these movements have been so influential!But let me continue asking you about globalization in the world. I'm really interested in how you think about contingency in history, especially given that you have these two groups of people that have been independently evolving and separated for tens of thousands of years. What things turn out to be contingent? What I find really interesting from the book was how both of them developed pyramids––  who would have thought that structure would be within our extended phenotype or something?Charles C. Mann    It's also geometry! I mean, there's only a certain limited number of ways you can pile up stone blocks in a stable way. And pyramids are certainly one of them. It's harder to have a very long-lasting monument that's a cylinder. Pyramids are also easier to build: if you get a cylinder, you have to have scaffolding around it and it gets harder and harder.With pyramids, you can use each lower step to put the next one, on and on, and so forth. So pyramids seem kind of natural to me. Now the material you make them up of is going to be partly determined by what there is. In Cahokia and in the Mississippi Valley, there isn't a lot of stone. So people are going to make these earthen pyramids and if you want them to stay on for a long time, there's going to be certain things you have to do for the structure which people figured out. For some pyramids, you had all this marble around them so you could make these giant slabs of marble, which seems, from today's perspective, incredibly wasteful. So you're going to have some things that are universal like that, along with the apparently universal, or near-universal idea that people who are really powerful like to identify themselves as supernatural and therefore want to be commemorated. Dwarkesh Patel   Yes, I visited Mexico City recently.Charles C. Mann Beautiful city!TeotihuacanDwarkesh Patel Yeah, the pyramids there… I think I was reading your book at the time or already had read your book. What struck me was that if I remember correctly, they didn't have the wheel and they didn't have domesticated animals. So if you really think about it, that's a really huge amount of human misery and toil it must have taken to put this thing together as basically a vanity project. It's like a huge negative connotation if you think about what it took to construct it.Charles C. Mann   Sure, but there are lots of really interesting things about Teotihuacan. This is just one of those things where you can only say so much in one book. If I was writing the two-thousand-page version of 1491, I would have included this. So Tehuácan pretty much starts out as a standard Imperial project, and they build all these huge castles and temples and so forth. There's no reason to suppose it was anything other than an awful experience (like building the pyramids), but then something happened to Teotihuacan that we don't understand. All these new buildings started springing up during the next couple of 100 years, and they're all very very similar. They're like apartment blocks and there doesn't seem to be a great separation between rich and poor. It's really quite striking how egalitarian the architecture is because that's usually thought to be a reflection of social status. So based on the way it looks, could there have been a political revolution of some sort? Where they created something much more egalitarian, probably with a bunch of good guy kings who weren't interested in elevating themselves so much? There's a whole chapter in the book by David Wingrove and David Graeber, The Dawn of Everything about this, and they make this argument that Tehuácan is an example that we can look at as an ancient society that was much more socially egalitarian than we think. Now, in my view, they go a little overboard–– it was also an aggressive imperial power and it was conquering much of the Maya world at the same time. But it is absolutely true that something that started out one way can start looking very differently quite quickly. You see this lots of times in the Americas in the Southwest–– I don't know if you've ever been to Chaco Canyon or any of those places, but you should absolutely go! Unfortunately, it's hard to get there because of the roads terrible but overall, it's totally worth it. It's an amazing place. Mesa Verde right north of it is incredible, it's just really a fantastic thing to see. There are these enormous structures in Chaco Canyon, that we would call castles if they were anywhere else because they're huge. The biggest one, Pueblo Bonito, is like 800 rooms or some insane number like that. And it's clearly an imperial venture, we know that because it's in this canyon and one side is getting all the good light and good sun–– a whole line of these huge castles. And then on the other side is where the peons lived. We also know that starting around 1100, everybody just left! And then their descendants start the Puebla, who are these sort of intensely socially egalitarian type of people. It looks like a political revolution took place. In fact, in the book I'm now writing, I'm arguing (in a sort of tongue-in-cheek manner but also seriously) that this is the first American Revolution! They got rid of these “kings” and created these very different and much more egalitarian societies in which ordinary people had a much larger voice about what went on.Dwarkesh Patel   Interesting. I think I got a chance to see the Teotihuacan apartments when I was there, but I wonder if we're just looking at the buildings that survived. Maybe the buildings that survived were better constructed because they were for the elites? The way everybody else lived might have just washed away over the years.Charles C. Mann   So what's happened in the last 20 years is basically much more sophisticated surveys of what is there. I mean, what you're saying is absolutely the right question to ask. Are the rich guys the only people with things that survived while the ordinary people didn't? You can never be absolutely sure, but what they did is they had these ground penetrating radar surveys, and it looks like this egalitarian construction extends for a huge distance. So it's possible that there are more really, really poor people. But at least you'd see an aggressively large “middle class” getting there, which is very, very different from the picture you have of the ancient world where there's the sun priest and then all the peasants around them.New Book ThesisDwarkesh Patel   Yeah. By the way, is the thesis of the new book something you're willing to disclose at this point? It's okay if you're not––Charles C. Mann   Sure sure, it's okay! This is a sort of weird thing, it's like a sequel or offshoot of 1491. That book, I'm embarrassed to say, was supposed to end with another chapter. The chapter was going to be about the American West, which is where I grew up, and I'm very fond of it. And apparently, I had a lot to say because when I outlined the chapter; the outline was way longer than the actual completed chapters of the rest of the book. So I sort of tried to chop it up and so forth, and it just was awful. So I just cut it. If you carefully look at 1491, it doesn't really have an ending. At the end, the author sort of goes, “Hey! I'm ending, look at how great this is!” So this has been bothering me for 15 years. During the pandemic, when I was stuck at home like so many other people, I held out what I had since I've been saving string and tossing articles that I came across into a folder, and I thought, “Okay, I'm gonna write this out more seriously now.” 15 or 20 years later. And then it was pretty long so I thought “Maybe this could be an e-book.” then I showed it to my editor. And he said, “That is not an e-book. That's an actual book.” So I take a chapter and hope I haven't just padded it, and it's about the North American West. My kids like the West, and at various times, they've questioned what it would be like to move out there because I'm in Massachusetts, where they grew up. So I started thinking “What is the West going to be like, tomorrow? When I'm not around 30 or 50 years from now?”It seems to be that you won't know who's president or who's governor or anything, but there are some things we can know. It'd be hotter and drier than it is now or has been in the recent past, like that wouldn't really be a surprise. So I think we can say that it's very likely to be like that. All the projections are that something like 40% of the people in the area between the Mississippi and the Pacific will be of Latino descent–– from the south, so to speak. And there's a whole lot of people from Asia along the Pacific coast, so it's going to be a real ethnic mixing ground. There's going to be an epicenter of energy, sort of no matter what happens. Whether it's solar, whether it's wind, whether it's petroleum, or hydroelectric, the West is going to be economically extremely powerful, because energy is a fundamental industry.And the last thing is (and this is the iffiest of the whole thing), but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the ongoing recuperation of sovereignty by the 294 federally recognized Native nations in the West is going to continue. That's been going in this very jagged way, but definitely for the last 50 or 60 years, as long as I've been around, the overall trend is in a very clear direction. So then you think, okay, this West is going to be wildly ethnically diverse, full of competing sovereignties and overlapping sovereignties. Nature is also going to really be in kind of a terminal. Well, that actually sounds like the 1200s! And the conventional history starts with Lewis and Clark and so forth. There's this breakpoint in history when people who looked like me came in and sort of rolled in from the East and kind of took over everything. And the West disappears! That separate entity, the native people disappear, and nature is tamed. That's pretty much what was in the textbooks when I was a kid. Do you know who Frederick Jackson Turner is? Dwarkesh Patel  No.Charles C. Mann So he's like one of these guys where nobody knows who he is. But he was incredibly influential in setting intellectual ideas. He wrote this article in 1893, called The Significance of the Frontier. It was what established this idea that there's this frontier moving from East to West and on this side was savagery and barbarism, and on this other side of civilization was team nature and wilderness and all that. Then it goes to the Pacific, and that's the end of the West. That's still in the textbooks but in a different form: we don't call native people “lurking savages” as he did. But it's in my kids' textbooks. If you have kids, it'll very likely be in their textbook because it's such a bedrock. What I'm saying is that's actually not a useful way to look at it, given what's coming up. A wonderful Texas writer, Bruce Sterling, says, “To know the past, you first have to understand the future.”It's funny, right? But what he means is that all of us have an idea of where the trajectory of history is going. A whole lot of history is about asking, “How did we get here? How do we get there?” To get that, you have to have an idea of what the “there” is. So I'm saying, I'm writing a history of the West with that West that I talked about in mind. Which gives you a very different picture: a lot more about indigenous fire management, the way the Hohokam survived the drought of the 1200s, and a little bit less about Billy the Kid. Gender Ratios and Silicon Valley Dwarkesh Patel   I love that quote hahaha. Speaking of the frontier, maybe it's a mistaken concept, but I remember that in a chapter of 1493, you talk about these rowdy adventurer men who outnumber the women in the silver mines and the kind of trouble that they cause. I wonder if there's some sort of distant analogy to the technology world or Silicon Valley, where you have the same kind of gender ratio and you have the same kind of frontier spirit? Maybe not the same physical violence––– more sociologically. Is there any similarity there?Charles C. Mann   I think it's funny, I hadn't thought about it. But it's certainly funny to think about. So let me do this off the top of my head. I like the idea that at the end of it, I can say, “wait, wait, that's ridiculous.“ Both of them would attract people who either didn't have much to lose, or were oblivious about what they had to lose, and had a resilience towards failure. I mean, it's amazing, the number of people in Silicon Valley who have completely failed at numbers of things! They just get up and keep‌ trying and have a kind of real obliviousness to social norms. It's pretty clear they are very much interested in making a mark and making their fortunes themselves. So there's at least a sort of shallow comparison, there are some certain similarities. I don't think this is entirely flattering to either group. It's absolutely true that those silver miners in Bolivia, and in northern‌ Mexico, created to a large extent, the modern world. But it's also true that they created these cesspools of violence and exploitation that had consequences we're still living with today. So you have to kind of take the bitter with the sweet. And I think that's true of Silicon Valley and its products *chuckles* I use them every day, and I curse them every day.Dwarkesh Patel   Right.Charles C. Mann   I want to give you an example. The internet has made it possible for me to do something like write a Twitter thread, get millions of people to read it, and have a discussion that's really amazing at the same time. Yet today, The Washington Post has an article about how every book in Texas (it's one of the states) a child checks out of the school library goes into a central state databank. They can see and look for patterns of people taking out “bad books” and this sort of stuff. And I think “whoa, that's really bad! That's not so good.” It's really the same technology that brings this dissemination and collection of vast amounts of information with relative ease. So with all these things, you take the bitter with the sweet. Technological Stupidity in the New WorldDwarkesh Patel   I want to ask you again about contingency because there are so many other examples where things you thought would be universal actually don't turn out to be. I think you talked about how the natives had different forms of metallurgy, with gold and copper, but then they didn't do iron or steel. You would think that given their “warring nature”, iron would be such a huge help. There's a clear incentive to build it. Millions of people living there could have built or developed this technology. Same with the steel, same with the wheel. What's the explanation for why these things you think anybody would have come up with didn't happen?Charles C. Mann   I know. It's just amazing to me! I don't know. This is one of those things I think about all the time. A few weeks ago, it rained, and I went out to walk the dog. I'm always amazed that there are literal glistening drops of water on the crabgrass and when you pick it up, sometimes there are little holes eaten by insects in the crabgrass. Every now and then, if you look carefully, you'll see a drop of water in one of those holes and it forms a lens. And you can look through it! You can see that it's not a very powerful lens by any means, but you can see that things are magnified. So you think “How long has there been crabgrass? Or leaves? And water?”  Just forever! We've had glass forever! So how is it that we had to wait for whoever it was to create lenses? I just don't get it. In book 1491, I mentioned the moldboard plow, which is the one with a curving blade that allows you to go through the soil much more easily. It was invented in China thousands of years ago, but not around in Europe until the 1400s. Like, come on, guys! What was it? And so, you know, there's this mysterious sort of mass stupidity. One of the wonderful things about globalization and trade and contact is that maybe not everybody is as blind as you and you can learn from them. I mean, that's the most wonderful thing about trade. So in the case of the wheel, the more amazing thing is that in Mesoamerica, they had the wheel on child's toys. Why didn't they develop it? The best explanation I can get is they didn't have domestic animals. A cart then would have to be pulled by people. That would imply that to make the cart work, you'd have to cut a really good road. Whereas they had these travois, which are these things that you hold and they have these skids that are shaped kind of like an upside-down V. You can drag them across rough ground, you don't need a road for them. That's what people used in the Great Plains and so forth. So you look at this, and you think “maybe this was the ultimate way to save labor. I mean, this was good enough. And you didn't have to build and maintain these roads to make this work”  so maybe it was rational or just maybe they're just blinkered. I don't know. As for assembly with steel, I think there's some values involved in that. I don't know if you've ever seen one of those things they had in Mesoamerica called Macuahuitl. They're wooden clubs with obsidian blades on them and they are sharp as hell. You don't run your finger along the edge because they just slice it open. An obsidian blade is pretty much sharper than any iron or steel blade and it doesn't rust. Nice. But it's much more brittle. So okay, they're there, and the Spaniards were really afraid of them. Because a single blow from these heavy sharp blades could kill a horse. They saw people whack off the head of a horse carrying a big strong guy with a single blow! So they're really dangerous, but they're not long-lasting. Part of the deal was that the values around conflict were different in the sense that conflict in Mesoamerica wasn't a matter of sending out foot soldiers in grunts, it was a chance for soldiers to get individual glory and prestige. This was associated with having these very elaborately beautiful weapons that you killed people with. So maybe not having steel worked better for their values and what they were trying to do at war. That would've lasted for years and I mean, that's just a guess. But you can imagine a scenario where they're not just blinkered but instead expressive on the basis of their different values. This is hugely speculative. There's a wonderful book by Ross Hassig about old Aztec warfare. It's an amazing book which is about the military history of The Aztecs and it's really quite interesting. He talks about this a little bit but he finally just says we don't know why they didn't develop all these technologies, but this worked for them.Dwarkesh Patel   Interesting. Yeah, it's kind of similar to China not developing gunpowder into an actual ballistic material––Charles C. Mann   Or Japan giving up the gun! They actually banned guns during the Edo period. The Portuguese introduced guns and the Japanese used them, and they said “Ahhh nope! Don't want them.” and they banned them. This turned out to be a terrible idea when Perry came in the 1860s. But for a long time, supposedly under the Edo period, Japan had the longest period of any nation ever without a foreign war. Dwarkesh Patel   Hmm. Interesting. Yeah, it's concerning when you think the lack of war might make you vulnerable in certain ways. Charles C. Mann   Yeah, that's a depressing thought.Religious DemoralizationDwarkesh Patel   Right. In Fukuyama's The End of History, he's obviously arguing that liberal democracy will be the final form of government everywhere. But there's this point he makes at the end where he's like, “Yeah, but maybe we need a small war every 50 years or so just to make sure people remember how bad it can get and how to deal with it.” Anyway, when the epidemic started in the New World, surely the Indians must have had some story or superstitious explanation–– some way of explaining what was happening. What was it?Charles C. Mann   You have to remember, the germ theory of disease didn't exist at the time. So neither the Spaniards, or the English, or the native people, had a clear idea of what was going on. In fact, both of them thought of it as essentially a spiritual event, a religious event. You went into areas that were bad, and the air was bad. That was malaria, right? That was an example. To them, it was God that was in control of the whole business. There's a line from my distant ancestor––the Governor Bradford of Plymouth Colony, who's my umpteenth, umpteenth grandfather, that's how waspy I am, he's actually my ancestor––about how God saw fit to clear the natives for us. So they see all of this in really religious terms, and more or less native people did too! So they thought over and over again that “we must have done something bad for this to have happened.” And that's a very powerful demoralizing thing. Your God either punished you or failed you. And this was it. This is one of the reasons that Christianity was able to make inroads. People thought “Their god is coming in and they seem to be less harmed by these diseases than people with our God.” Now, both of them are completely misinterpreting what's going on! But if you have that kind of spiritual explanation, it makes sense for you to say, “Well, maybe I should hit up their God.”Critiques of Civilization Collapse TheoriesDwarkesh Patel   Yeah, super fascinating. There's been a lot of books written in the last few decades about why civilizations collapse. There's Joseph Tainter's book, there's Jared Diamond's book. Do you feel like any of them actually do a good job of explaining how these different Indian societies collapsed over time?Charles C. Mann   No. Well not the ones that I've read. And there are two reasons for that. One is that it's not really a mystery. If you have a society that's epidemiologically naive, and smallpox sweeps in and kills 30% of you, measles kills 10% of you, and this all happens in a short period of time, that's really tough! I mean COVID killed one million people in the United States. That's 1/330th of the population. And it wasn't even particularly the most economically vital part of the population. It wasn't kids, it was elderly people like my aunt–– I hope I'm not sounding callous when I'm describing it like a demographer. Because I don't mean it that way. But it caused enormous economic damage and social conflict and so forth. Now, imagine something that's 30 or 40 times worse than that, and you have no explanation for it at all. It's kind of not a surprise to me that this is a super challenge. What's actually amazing is the number of nations that survived and came up with ways to deal with this incredible loss.That relates to the second issue, which is that it's sort of weird to talk about collapse in the ways that they sometimes do. Like both of them talk about the Mayan collapse. But there are 30 million Mayan people still there. They were never really conquered by the Spaniards. The Spaniards were still waging giant wars in Yucatan in the 1590s. In the early 21st century, I went with my son to Chiapas, which is the southernmost exit province. And that is where the Commandante Cero and the rebellions were going on. We were looking at some Mayan ruins, and they were too beautiful, and I stayed too long, and we were driving back through the night on these terrible roads. And we got stopped by some of these guys with guns. I was like, “Oh God, not only have I got myself into this, I got my son into this.” And the guy comes and looks at us and says, “Who are you?” And I say that we're American tourists. And he just gets this disgusted look, and he says, “Go on.” And you know, the journalist in me takes over and I ask, “What do you mean, just go on?” And he says, “We're hunting for Mexicans.” And as I'm driving I'm like “Wait a minute, I'm in Mexico.” And that those were Mayans. All those guys were Maya people still fighting against the Spaniards. So it's kind of funny to say that their society collapsed when there are Mayan radio stations, there are Maya schools, and they're speaking Mayan in their home. It's true, they don't have giant castles anymore. But, it's odd to think of that as collapse. They seem like highly successful people who have dealt pretty well with a lot of foreign incursions. So there's this whole aspect of “What do you mean collapse?” And you see that in Against the Grain, the James Scott book, where you think, “What do you mean barbarians?” If you're an average Maya person, working as a farmer under the purview of these elites in the big cities probably wasn't all that great. So after the collapse, you're probably better off. So all of that I feel is important in this discussion of collapse. I think it's hard to point to collapses that either have very clear exterior causes or are really collapses of the environment. Particularly the environmental sort that are pictured in books like Diamond has, where he talks about Easter Island. The striking thing about that is we know pretty much what happened to all those trees. Easter Island is this little speck of land, in the middle of the ocean, and Dutch guys come there and it's the only wood around for forever, so they cut down all the trees to use it for boat repair, ship repair, and they enslave most of the people who are living there. And we know pretty much what happened. There's no mystery about it.Virginia Company + HubrisDwarkesh Patel   Why did the British government and the king keep subsidizing and giving sanctions to the Virginia Company, even after it was clear that this is not especially profitable and half the people that go die? Why didn't they just stop?Charles C. Mann   That's a really good question. It's a super good question. I don't really know if we have a satisfactory answer, because it was so stupid for them to keep doing that. It was such a loss for so long. So you have to say, they were thinking, not purely economically. Part of it is that the backers of the Virginia Company, in sort of classic VC style, when things were going bad, they lied about it. They're burning through their cash, they did these rosy presentations, and they said, “It's gonna be great! We just need this extra money.” Kind of the way that Uber did. There's this tremendous burn rate and now the company says you're in tremendous trouble because it turns out that it's really expensive to provide all these calves and do all this stuff. The cheaper prices that made people like me really happy about it are vanishing. So, you know, I think future business studies will look at those rosy presentations and see that they have a kind of analogy to the ones that were done with the Virginia Company. A second thing is that there was this dog-headed belief kind of based on the inability to understand longitude and so forth, that the Americas were far narrower than they actually are. I reproduced this in 1493. There were all kinds of maps in Britain at the time showing these little skinny Philippines-like islands. So there's the thought that you just go up the Chesapeake, go a couple 100 miles, and you're gonna get to the Pacific into China. So there's this constant searching for a passage to China through this thought to be very narrow path. Sir Francis Drake and some other people had shown that there was a West Coast so they thought the whole thing was this narrow, Panama-like landform. So there's this geographical confusion. Finally, there's the fact that the Spaniards had found all this gold and silver, which is an ideal commodity, because it's not perishable: it's small, you can put it on your ship and bring it back, and it's just great in every way. It's money, essentially. Basically, you dig up money in the hills and there's this long-standing belief that there's got to be more of that in the Americas, we just need to find out where. So there's always that hope. Lastly, there's the Imperial bragging rights. You know, we can't be the only guys with a colony. You see that later in the 19th century when Germany became a nation and one of the first things the Dutch said was “Let's look for pieces of Africa that the rest of Europe hasn't claimed,” and they set up their own mini colonial empire. So there's this kind of “Keeping Up with the Joneses” aspect, it just seems to be sort of deep in the European ruling class. So then you got to have an empire that in this weird way, seems very culturally part of it. I guess it's the same for many other places. As soon as you feel like you have a state together, you want to index other things. You see that over and over again, all over the world. So that's part of it. All those things, I think, contributed to this. Outright lying, this delusion, other various delusions, plus hubris.Dwarkesh Patel   It seems that colonial envy has today probably spread to China. I don't know too much about it, but I hear that the Silk Road stuff they're doing is not especially economically wise. Is this kind of like when you have the impulse where if you're a nation trying to rise, you have that “I gotta go here, I gotta go over there––Charles C. Mann   Yeah and “Show what a big guy I am. Yeah,––China's Silver TradeDwarkesh Patel   Exactly. So speaking of China, I want to ask you about the silver trade. Excuse another tortured analogy, but when I was reading that chapter where you're describing how the Spanish silver was ending up with China and how the Ming Dynasty caused too much inflation. They needed more reliable mediums of exchange, so they had to give up real goods from China, just in order to get silver, which is just a medium of exchange––but it's not creating more apples, right? I was thinking about how this sounds a bit like Bitcoin today, (obviously to a much smaller magnitude) but in the sense that you're using up goods. It's a small amount of electricity, all things considered, but you're having to use up real energy in order to construct this medium of exchange. Maybe somebody can claim that this is necessary because of inflation or some other policy mistake and you can compare it to the Ming Dynasty. But what do you think about this analogy? Is there a similar situation where real goods are being exchanged for just a medium of exchange?Charles C. Mann   That's really interesting. I mean, on some level, that's the way money works, right? I go into a store, like a Starbucks and I buy a coffee, then I hand them a piece of paper with some drawings on it, and they hand me an actual coffee in return for a piece of paper. So the mysteriousness of money is kind of amazing. History is of course replete with examples of things that people took very seriously as money. Things that to us seem very silly like the cowry shell or in the island of Yap where they had giant stones! Those were money and nobody ever carried them around. You transferred the ownership of the stone from one person to another person to buy something. I would get some coconuts or gourds or whatever, and now you own that stone on the hill. So there's a tremendous sort of mysteriousness about the human willingness to assign value to arbitrary things such as (in Bitcoin's case) strings of zeros and ones. That part of it makes sense to me. What's extraordinary is when the effort to create a medium of exchange ends up costing you significantly–– which is what you're talking about in China where people had a medium of exchange, but they had to work hugely to get that money. I don't have to work hugely to get a $1 bill, right? It's not like I'm cutting down a tree and smashing the papers to pulp and printing. But you're right, that's what they're kind of doing in China. And that's, to a lesser extent, what you're doing in Bitcoin. So I hadn't thought about this, but Bitcoin in this case is using computer cycles and energy. To me, it's absolutely extraordinary the degree to which people who are Bitcoin miners are willing to upend their lives to get cheap energy. A guy I know is talking about setting up small nuclear plants as part of his idea for climate change and he wants to set them up in really weird remote areas. And I was asking “Well who would be your customers?” and he says Bitcoin people would move to these nowhere places so they could have these pocket nukes to privately supply their Bitcoin habits. And that's really crazy! To completely upend your life to create something that you hope is a medium of exchange that will allow you to buy the things that you're giving up. So there's a kind of funny aspect to this. That was partly what was happening in China. Unfortunately, China's very large, so they were able to send off all this stuff to Mexico so that they could get the silver to pay their taxes, but it definitely weakened the country.Wizards vs. ProphetsDwarkesh Patel   Yeah, and that story you were talking about, El Salvador actually tried it. They were trying to set up a Bitcoin city next to this volcano and use the geothermal energy from the volcano to incentivize people to come there and mine cheap Bitcoin. Staying on the theme of China, do you think the prophets were more correct, or the wizards were more correct for that given time period? Because we have the introduction of potato, corn, maize, sweet potatoes, and this drastically increases the population until it reaches a carrying capacity. Obviously, what follows is the other kinds of ecological problems this causes and you describe these in the book. Is this evidence of the wizard worldview that potatoes appear and populations balloon? Or are the prophets like “No, no, carrying capacity will catch up to us eventually.”Charles C. Mann   Okay, so let me interject here. For those members of your audience who don't know what we're talking about. I wrote this book, The Wizard and the Prophet. And it's about these two camps that have been around for a long time who have differing views regarding how we think about energy resources, the environment, and all those issues. The wizards, that's my name for them––Stuart Brand called them druids and, in fact, originally, the title was going to involve the word druid but my editor said, “Nobody knows what a Druid is” so I changed it into wizards–– and anyway the wizards would say that science and technology properly applied can allow you to produce your way out of these environmental dilemmas. You turn on the science machine, essentially, and then we can escape these kinds of dilemmas. The prophets say “No. Natural systems are governed by laws and there's an inherent carrying capacity or limit or planetary boundary.” there are a bunch of different names for them that say you can't do more than so much.So what happened in China is that European crops came over. One of China's basic geographical conditions is that it's 20% of the Earth's habitable surface area, or it has 20% of the world's population, but only has seven or 8% of the world's above-ground freshwater. There are no big giant lakes like we have in the Great Lakes. And there are only a couple of big rivers, the Yangtze and the Yellow River. The main staple crop in China has to be grown in swimming pools, and that's you know, rice. So there's this paradox, which is “How do you keep people fed with rice in a country that has very little water?” If you want a shorthand history of China, that's it. So prophets believe that there are these planetary boundaries. In history, these are typically called Malthusian Limits after Malthus and the question is: With the available technology at a certain time, how many people can you feed before there's misery?The great thing about history is it provides evidence for both sides. Because in the short run, what happened when American crops came in is that the potato, sweet potato, and maize corn were the first staple crops that were dryland crops that could be grown in the western half of China, which is very, very dry and hot and mountainous with very little water. Population soars immediately afterward, but so does social unrest, misery, and so forth. In the long run, that becomes adaptable when China becomes a wealthy and powerful nation. In the short run, which is not so short (it's a couple of centuries), it really causes tremendous chaos and suffering. So, this provides evidence for both sides. One increases human capacity, and the second unquestionably increases human numbers and that leads to tremendous erosion, land degradation, and human suffering.Dwarkesh Patel   Yeah, that's a thick coin with two sides. By the way, I realized I haven't gotten to all the Wizard and Prophet questions, and there are a lot of them. So I––Charles C. Mann   I certainly have time! I'm enjoying the conversation. One of the weird things about podcasts is that, as far as I can tell, the average podcast interviewer is far more knowledgeable and thoughtful than the average sort of mainstream journalist interviewer and I just find that amazing. I don't understand it. So I think you guys should be hired. You know, they should make you switch roles or something.Dwarkesh Patel   Yeah, maybe. Charles C. Mann   It's a pleasure to be asked these interesting questions about subjects I find fascinating.Dwarkesh Patel   Oh, it's my pleasure to get to talk to you and to get to ask these questions. So let me ask about the Wizard and the Prophet. I just interviewed WIll McCaskill, and we were talking about what ends up mattering most in history. I asked him about Norman Borlaug and said that he's saved a billion lives. But then McCaskill pointed out, “Well, that's an exceptional result” and he doesn't think the technology is that contingent. So if Borlaug hadn't existed, somebody else would have discovered what he discovered about short wheat stalks anyways. So counterfactually, in a world where Ebola doesn't exist, it's not like a billion people die, maybe a couple million more die until the next guy comes around. That was his view. Do you agree? What is your response?Charles C. Mann   To some extent, I agree. It's very likely that in the absence of one scientist, some other scientist would have discovered this, and I mentioned in the book, in fact, that there's a guy named Swaminathan, a remarkable Indian scientist, who's a step behind him and did much of the same work. At the same time, the individual qualities of Borlaug are really quite remarkable. The insane amount of work and dedication that he did.. it's really hard to imagine. The fact is that he was going against many of the breeding plant breeding dogmas of his day, that all matters! His insistence on feeding the poor… he did remarkable things. Yes, I think some of those same things would have been discovered but it would have been a huge deal if it had taken 20 years later. I mean, that would have been a lot of people who would have been hurt in the interim! Because at the same time, things like the end of colonialism, the discovery of antibiotics, and so forth, were leading to a real population rise, and the amount of human misery that would have occurred, it's really frightening to think about. So, in some sense, I think he's (Will McCaskill) right. But I wouldn't be so glib about those couple of million people.Dwarkesh Patel   Yeah. And another thing you might be concerned about is that given the hostile attitude that people had towards the green revolution right after, if the actual implementation of these different strains of biochar sent in India, if that hadn't been delayed, it's not that weird to imagine a scenario where the governments there are just totally won over by the prophets and they decide to not implant this technology at all. If you think about what happened to nuclear power in the 70s, in many different countries, maybe something similar could have happened to the Green Revolution. So it's important to beat the Prophet. Maybe that's not the correct way to say it. But one way you could put it is: It's important to beat the prophets before the policies are passed. You have to get a good bit of technology in there.Charles C. Mann   This is just my personal opinion, but you want to listen to the prophets about what the problems are. They're incredible at diagnosing problems, and very frequently, they're right about those things. The social issues about the Green Revolution… they were dead right, they were completely right. I don't know if you then adopt their solutions. It's a little bit like how I feel about my editors–– my editors will often point out problems and I almost never agree with their solutions. The fact is that Borlaug did develop this wheat that came into India, but it probably wouldn't have been nearly as successful if Swaminathan hadn't changed that wheat to make it more acceptable to the culture of India. That was one of the most important parts for me in this book. When I went to Tamil Nadu, I listened to this and I thought, “Oh! I never heard about this part where they took Mexican wheat, and they made it into Indian wheat.” You know, I don't even know if Borlaug ever knew or really grasped that they really had done that! By the way, a person for you to interview is Marci Baranski–– she's got a forthcoming book about the history of the Green Revolution and she sounds great. I'm really looking forward to reading it. So here's a plug for her.In Defense of Regulatory DelaysDwarkesh Patel   So if we applied that particular story to today, let's say that we had regulatory agencies like the FDA back then that were as powerful back then as they are now. Do you think it's possible that these new advances would have just dithered in some approval process that took years or decades to complete? If you just backtest our current process for implementing technological solutions, are you concerned that something like the green revolution could not have happened or that it would have taken way too long or something?Charles C. Mann   It's possible. Bureaucracies can always go rogue, and the government is faced with this kind of impossible problem. There's a current big political argument about whether former President Trump should have taken these top-secret documents to his house in Florida and done whatever he wanted to? Just for the moment, let's accept the argument that these were like super secret toxic documents and should not have been in a basement. Let's just say that's true. Whatever the President says is declassified is declassified. Let us say that's true.  Obviously, that would be bad. You would not want to have that kind of informal process because you can imagine all kinds of things–– you wouldn't want to have that kind of informal process in place. But nobody has ever imagined that you would do that because it's sort of nutty in that scenario.Now say you write a law and you create a bureaucracy for declassification and immediately add more delay, you make things harder, you add in the problems of the bureaucrats getting too much power, you know–– all the things that you do. So you have this problem with the government, which is that people occasionally do things that you would never imagine. It's completely screwy. So you put in regulatory mechanisms to stop them from doing that and that impedes everybody else. In the case of the FDA, it was founded in the 30 when some person produced this thing called elixir sulfonamides. They killed hundreds of people! It was a flat-out poison! And, you know, hundreds of people died. You think like who would do that? But somebody did that. So they created this entire review mechanism to make sure it never happened again, which introduced delay, and then something was solidified. Which they did start here because the people who invented that didn't even do the most cursory kind of check. So you have this constant problem. I'm sympathetic to the dilemma faced by the government here in which you either let through really bad things done by occasional people, or you screw up everything for everybody else. I was tracing it crudely, but I think you see the trade-off. So the question is, how well can you manage this trade-off? I would argue that sometimes it's well managed. It's kind of remarkable that we got vaccines produced by an entirely new mechanism, in record time, and they passed pretty rigorous safety reviews and were given to millions and millions and millions of people with very, very few negative effects. I mean, that's a real regulatory triumph there, right?So that would be the counter-example: you have this new thing that you can feed people and so forth. They let it through very quickly. On the other hand, you have things like genetically modified salmon and trees, which as far as I can tell, especially for the chestnuts, they've made extraordinary efforts to test. I'm sure that those are going to be in regulatory hell for years to come. *chuckles* You know, I just feel that there's this great problem. These flaws that you identified, I would like to back off and say that this is a problem sort of inherent to government. They're always protecting us against the edge case. The edge case sets the rules, and that ends up, unless you're very careful, making it very difficult for everybody else.Dwarkesh Patel   Yeah. And the vaccines are an interesting example here. Because one of the things you talked about in the book–– one of the possible solutions to climate change is that you can have some kind of geoengineering. Right? I think you mentioned in the book that as long as even one country tries this, then they can effectively (for relatively modest amounts of money), change the atmosphere. But then I look at the failure of every government to approve human challenge trials. This is something that seems like an obvious thing to do and we would have potentially saved hundreds of thousands of lives during COVID by speeding up the vaccine approval. So I wonder, maybe the international collaboration is strong enough that something like geoengineering actually couldn't happen because something like human challenge trials didn't happen.Geoengineering Charles C. Mann   So let me give a plug here for a fun novel by my friend, Neal Stephenson, called Termination Shock. Which is about some rich person just doing it. Just doing geoengineering. The fact is that it's actually not actually against the law to fire off rockets into the stratosphere. In his case, it's a giant gun that shoots shells full of sulfur into the upper atmosphere. So I guess the question is, what timescale do you think is appropriate for all this? I feel quite confident that there will be geoengineering trials within the next 10 years. Is that fast enough? That's a real judgment call. I think people like David Keith and the other advocates for geoengineering would have said it should have happened already and that it's way, way too slow. People who are super anxious about moral hazard and precautionary principles say that that's way, way too fast. So you have these different constituencies. It's hard for me to think off the top of my head of an example where these regulatory agencies have actually totally throttled something in a long-lasting way as opposed to delaying it for 10 years. I don't mean to imply that 10 years is nothing. But it's really killing off something. Is there an example you can think of?Dwarkesh Patel   Well, it's very dependent on where you think it would have been otherwise, like people say maybe it was just bound to be the state. Charles C. Mann   I think that was a very successful case of regulatory capture, in which the proponents of the technology successfully created this crazy…. One of the weird things I really wanted to explain about nuclear stuff is not actually in the book.

词汇提示1.huts 小屋2.beads 珠子3.interior 内陆4.companions 伙伴5.dragged 拖拉6.clubs 棍棒7.plot 阴谋原文Pocahontas and John SmithIn 1606, King James of England approved the establishment of two colonies along the eastern coast of America.The northern colony in Maine lasted only a year.The southern one at Jamestown in Virginia became England's first permanent settlement in AmericaIn 1607, the Virginia Company sent 104 settlers to Virginia.The settlers lived in tents all summer.By September, more than 60 were dead because they lacked good food or water.The leaders of the colony were not energetic and did little to make the settlers find food.One member of the company, Captain John Smith, was determined that the colony would survive.Smith pressured the colonists to build huts, a storehouse, and a church.He made daring trips to Indian villages, demanding that they give the settlers food in return for beads and copper.He threatened settlers who were trying to leave the colony and go back to England.On one of his trips to the interior, Indians attacked John Smith.They killed his two companions but captured him alive.He was taken first to the local chief.This chief was impressed by Smith's compass and spared his life.His captors dragged Smith from village to village.He finally arrived at the town belonging to Powhatan.Powhatan was the great chief for all of the tribes in that region.Powhatan and his advisors talked about what to do with Smith.Suddenly, Smith was dragged forward, and his head was pushed against a stone.The warriors raised their clubs to kill Smith.Then Pocahontas, who was Powhatan's twelve-year-old daughter, begged for his life.Her words had no effect, so Pocahontas ran to Smith.She took his head in her arms and laid her own head against his head.Smith was released and went back to Jamestown.Soon after Smith returned, one hundred new settlers from England arrived.It was a very cold winter, and in January, Jamestown was accidentally set on fire.The settlers suffered from cold and hunger the rest of the winter.Every four or five days, Pocahontas and her attendants came.They brought food for the hungry settlers.Even so, half of them died.In the summer, John Smith explored that part of the coast of America.He made a map that would be very valuable for future sailors and settlers.On his return, Smith was elected leader of the colony at Jamestown.However, some settlers did not like having to follow rules.Some encouraged the Indians to try to kill Smith.Chief Powhatan agreed.He also refused to supply food to the colony, hoping to starve them out.Pocahontas warned Smith about the plot against his life.Smith had to fight off several attempts to kill him.Finally, the colony seemed to be growing, and the Indians became peaceful.But in late 1609, Smith was injured in an explosion and returned to England.Pocahontas remained a friend to the colony.She married John Rolfe, one of the settlers.In 1616, she traveled to England with her husband and son.There she saw John Smith once again.She was so surprised to see him that she was unable to speak for several days.Pocahontas had believed that Smith was dead.The following year she died and was buried in England.Pocahontas' love for Smith, and Smith's determination to fight for the colony, had saved Jamestown and given the English their first colony in America.翻译波卡洪塔斯和约翰·史密斯1606年，英国国王詹姆斯批准在美国东海岸建立两个殖民地。缅因州的北方殖民地只持续了一年。弗吉尼亚州詹姆斯敦的南部定居点成为英国在美国的第一个永久定居点1607年，弗吉尼亚公司向弗吉尼亚州派遣了104名定居者。定居者整个夏天都住在帐篷里。截至9月，已有60多人因缺乏优质食物或水而死亡。殖民地的领导人精力不足，几乎没有让定居者找到食物。该公司的一名成员，约翰·史密斯上尉，决定该殖民地将继续生存下去。史密斯推动殖民者建造小屋、仓库和教堂。他大胆前往印第安人村庄，要求他们给定居者食物，用来交换珠子和铜。他威胁那些试图离开殖民地回到英国的定居者。在他一次内陆旅行中，印第安人袭击了约翰·史密斯。他们杀死了他的两个同伴，活捉了他。他首先被带到当地的酋长那里。这位酋长对史密斯的思想印象深刻，因此饶了他一命。抓捕他的人把史密斯从一个村庄拖到另一个村庄。他终于到达了波瓦坦镇。波瓦坦是该地区所有部落的伟大首领。波瓦坦和他的顾问们讨论了如何处理史密斯。突然，史密斯被向前拖，他的头被推到了一块石头上。战士们举起棍棒要杀死史密斯。波瓦坦12岁的女儿波卡洪塔斯向波瓦坦乞求生命。波卡洪塔斯的话没有效果，所以她跑向史密斯。她把他的头抱在怀里，把自己的头靠在他的头上。史密斯被释放，回到詹姆斯敦。史密斯回国后不久，100名来自英国的新定居者抵达。那是一个非常寒冷的冬天，一月份，詹姆斯敦意外起火。定居者在冬天剩下的时间里忍受着寒冷和饥饿。每隔四五天，波卡洪塔斯和她的随从就会来。他们为饥饿的定居者带来了食物。即便如此，他们中的一半还是死了。夏天，约翰·史密斯探索了美国海岸的那一部分。他绘制了一幅地图，对未来的水手和定居者来说非常有价值。史密斯一回来就被选为詹姆斯敦殖民地的领袖。然而，一些定居者不喜欢遵守规则。一些人鼓励印第安人尝试杀死史密斯。波瓦坦酋长表示同意。他还拒绝向殖民地提供食物，希望把他们饿死。波卡洪塔斯警告史密斯，这是针对他生命的阴谋。史密斯击退了几次杀害他的企图。最后，殖民地扩张了，印第安人变得和平。但在1609年末，史密斯在一次爆炸中受伤并返回英国。波卡洪塔斯仍然是殖民地的朋友。她嫁给了定居者之一约翰·罗尔夫。1616年，她与丈夫和儿子前往英国。在那里，她再次见到了约翰·史密斯。她见到他非常惊讶，好几天都不能说话了。波卡洪塔斯相信史密斯已经死了。第二年，她去世，葬在英国。波卡洪塔斯对史密斯的爱，以及史密斯为殖民地而战的决心，拯救了詹姆斯敦，并且成英国人在美国的第一个殖民地。文稿及音频 关注公众号“高效英语磨耳朵”

This week we're going back to 17th century Virginia with Disney's Pocahontas! Join us to learn about pugs, the promises of the Virginia Company, tattoos, Governor Ratcliffe, and more! Sources: IMDB, Pocahontas: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114148/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 The Making of Pocahontas, Documentary available at https://youtu.be/-78sG39u-3g Pocahontas, Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1063452-pocahontas Roger Ebert Review, Pocahontas: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/pocahontas-1995 John White, "Woman of the Secotan-Indians of North Carolina," 1585, available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_carolina_algonkin-kleidung01.jpg Edward L Bond, "Source of Knowledge, Source of Power: The Supernatural World of English Virginia, 1607-1624," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 108, 2 (2000) AT Sinclair, "Tattooing of the North American Indians," American Anthropologist 11, 2 (1909) Pocahontas, Powhatan Museum of Arts and Indigenous Culture, available at http://www.powhatanmuseum.com/Pocahontas.html Joseph Highmore, Portrait of a Lady with a Pug Dog, painting reproduction available at https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/portrait-of-a-lady-with-a-pug-dog-70968 Portrait of a Lady From the Order of the Pug, available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Attributed_to_Anna_Rosina_Lisiewska_-_Portrait_of_a_Lady_from_the_Order_of_the_Pug.png William Hogarth, the Painter and His Pug, available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Painter_and_His_Pug_by_William_Hogarth.jpg Photo of Mausoleum of William the Silent, available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/14806345853 Pugs, American Kennel Club, available at https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/pug-history-ancient-companion-origins/ Laura D. Gelfand, Our Dogs, Ourselves: Dogs in Early Modern Art, Literature, and Society. Brill, 2016 Forrest K. Lehman, "Settled Place, Contested Past: Reconciling George Percy's "A Trewe Relacyon" with John Smith's "Generall Historie," Early American Literature 42:2 (2007): 235-61. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25057497  Jeffrey L. Sheler, "Rethinking Jamestown," Smithsonian Magazine (January 2005) https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/rethinking-jamestown-105757282/  John Smith, The generall historie of Virginia, New England & the Summer Isles: together with The true travels, adventures and observations, and A sea grammar. Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/resource/lhbcb.0262a/?st=gallery  (82-106) Captain John Smith: A Select Edition of His Writings ed. Karen Ordahl Kupperman (University of North Carolina, 1988) 79-132. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5149/9780807839317_kupperman.9    Martin H. Quitt, "Trade and Acculturation at Jamestown, 1607-1609: The Limits of Understanding," The William and Mary Quarterly 52:2 (1995): 227-258. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2946974  Walter L. Hixson, ""No Savage Shall Inherit the Land": The Indian Enemy Other, Indiscriminate Warfare, and American National Identity, 1607-1783," U.S. Foreign Policy and the Other eds. Michael Patrick Cullinane and David Ryan, 16-41 (Bergahn Books, 2015). https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qct9n.4  Virginia Bernhard, "Poverty and the Social Order in Seventeenth-Century Virginia," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 85:2 (1977): 141-155. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4248117   Misha Ewen, ""Poore Soules": Migration, Labor, and Visions for Commonwealth in Virginia," in Virginia 1619: Slavery and Freedom in the Making of English America eds. Paul Musselwhite, Peter C. Mancall, and James Horn, 133-149 (University of North Carolina Press, 2019). https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5149/9781469651811_musselwhite.11  Hugh T. Lefler, "Promotional Literature of the Southern Colonies," The Journal of Southern History 33:1 (1967): 3-25. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2204338     

We're back after our week off! In this episode we touch on our vacation driving the Natchez Trace, and then proceed briskly to the career of Samuel Argall - Pocahontas's kidnapper - in the service of the Virginia Company and himself. Most importantly, we look at the hilariously devious ruse that Argall deployed in 1613 to "displant" the French colony on Mt. Desert Island, Maine. Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Facebook: The History of the Americans Podcast Selected references for this episode Seymour V. Connor, "Sir Samuel Argall: A Biographical Sketch," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, April 1951. Casablanca (Your papers please) Pierre Biard Natchez Trace

It is late winter, 1616.  When last we left our lovers, John and Rebecca Rolfe were in receipt of a request from the Virginia Company to come to London.  They had a young son, Thomas, barely a year old, so this must not have been an easy decision to make. This episode is about that trip to London in 1616 and 1617. The young family sailed in April 1616 on Samuel Argall's frigate Treasurer, the same ship onto which Pocahontas had been lured and kidnapped three years before.  In addition to the Rolfes, Powhatan's son-in-law, Uttamatomakin, came along at the paramount chief's behest to learn what he could of the English. And the English would learn a lot about them. Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Facebook: The History of the Americans Podcast References for this episode Camilla Townsend, Pocahontas And The Powhatan Dilemma David Price, Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation The Blue Brothers (Tunnel scene)

In this episode we conclude John Smith's run at Jamestown -- he will depart on October 4, 1609 after a severe injury and, more relevantly, having been demoted after having lost corporate political battles inside the Virginia Company. Along the way we meet the first English women at Jamestown, consider the "coronation" of Powhatan, witness exciting exotic dancing, see Smith outwit both Powhatan and Opechancanough on the same trip for food, and be there when Pocahontas rescued Smith for the second time, or maybe only the first. Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Selected references for this episode James Horn, A Land As God Made It: Jamestown and the Birth of America James Horn, A Brave and Cunning Prince: The Great Chief Opechancanough and the War for America David Price, Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation Star Trek, the "balance of power" exchange from "A Private Little War"

Former VB resident, Heather Weidner is a mystery novel author. She currently resides in Central Virginia, Richmond. The backdrop for Heather's story is especially important considering she sets all of her mysteries in our beautiful Commonwealth. Her creative expression is rooted in our various landscapes, which may stem from the fact that her descendants first settled here from the Virginia Company. More about Heather directly from her website- "Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Deadly Southern Charm, and Murder by the Glass, and her novellas appear in The Mutt Mysteries series (To Fetch a Thief, To Fetch a Scoundrel, To Fetch a Villain, and To Fetch a Killer). She is a member of Sisters in Crime – Central Virginia, Sisters in Crime – Chessie, Guppies, International Thriller Writers, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and James River Writers. Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers. She earned her BA in English from Virginia Wesleyan University and her MA in American literature from the University of Richmond. Through the years, she has been a cop's kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager." http://www.heatherweidner.com/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/loveletterstovirginia/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/loveletterstovirginia/support

This is the 57th episode of the podcast, so we take a very brief digression to discuss that milestone. Mostly, this episode looks at the first nine months of 1608, which saw the rise of John Smith to the colony's presidency amid rising tension with the Powhatan Confederacy. To lower that tension, the English and the Powhatans exchange young men in a gesture of goodwill, and so will begin the stories of Thomas Savage and Namontack. Smith leads two separate explorations of the Chesapeake, in search of the Virginia Company's three priorities: Precious metals, a "middle passage" to the Pacific, and "lost colonists" from the Roanoke Colony, in addition to an objective of his own -- to make contact with tribes who are antagonists of the Powhatans, and potential allies of the English. Oh, and Ratcliffe ends up in the brig. Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Selected references for this episode James Horn, A Land As God Made It: Jamestown and the Birth of America David Price, Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation Karen Ordahl Kupperman, “Apathy and Death in Early Jamestown,” The Journal of American History, June 1979.

This episode looks at the prophecy that animated Powhatan's consolidation of power in the region, the violent first encounters between the Virginia Company expedition and the indigenous peoples at the mouth of the Chesapeake, internal squabbles within the English leadership, and the bizarre decision by Jamestown's president Edward-Maria Wingfield to disarm unilaterally, in the fruitless hope of winning the favor of the locals. We also take a first look at the staggering body count that would pile up over the first eighteen years of the Jamestown settlement. Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Selected resources for this episode Carl Bridenbaugh, Jamestown, 1544-1699 James Horn, A Land As God Made It: Jamestown and the Birth of America David Price, Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation Karen Ordahl Kupperman, "Apathy and Death in Early Jamestown," The Journal of American History, June 1979.

In late December, 1606, in London's River Thames, three small ships were anchored awaiting a voyage across the Atlantic. Those three ships were the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery, and they would take 105 men and boys to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay to establish the Virginia Company's southern colony. They would plunge into a complex geopolitical morass that would very nearly destroy the venture. This episode looks at the context for the expedition that would become Jamestown, including especially the rise of the powerful Powhatan confederacy that would be waiting there when the English arrived, and prepared by a long-ago confrontation with the Spanish to confront the newcomers . Selected resources for this episode Carl Bridenbaugh, Jamestown, 1544-1699 Charlotte M. Gradie, “Spanish Jesuits in Virginia: The Mission That Failed” James Horn, A Land As God Made It: Jamestown and the Birth of America James Horn, A Brave and Cunning Prince: The Great Chief Opechancanough and the War for America David Price, Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation John Smith (Wikipedia)

This week we continue and complete our story of the English adventures along the coast of New England in the first decade of the 17th century, including the fate, and the historical debate over the fate, of the Popham Colony, the Virginia Company's sister colony to Jamestown. Along the way we learn about the astonishing origin of the word "Iroquois," the first dog names in North America that come down to us, and the medicinal value, or not, of sassafras! Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2 Selected references for this episode Henry Otis Thayer, The Sagadahoc Colony: Comprising the Relation of a Voyage Into New England Christopher J. Bilodeau, "The Paradox of Sagadahoc: The Popham Colony, 1607–1608," Early American Studies, Winter 2014. Alfred A. Cave, "Why Was the Sagadahoc Colony Abandoned? An Evaluation of the Evidence," The New England Quarterly, December 1995. "The Voyage of Martin Pring 1603," American Journeys Collection

In this episode of WTUZ Radio Podcast we discuss the origins of The virginia Company of London and how it was tied to Colonization.... Sources: https://payseur.net/virginia-company/ https://archive.org/details/virginiacompanyo00neil/page/n10/mode/1up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Puritans_under_King_James_I The Visitation of Kent (Listing the surnames out of England from 1619 - 1621) Don't forget you can get our podcast on the following platforms: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-wtuz-radio-89881729/ https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... https://open.spotify.com/show/7d8iPNt. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC732... https://anchor.fm/wtuzradio https://www.breaker.audio/wtuz-radio To Donate: Cashapp: $rhondaworld9 Venmo: @Rhonda-Johnson-352 Intro Song: Energy from BenSound....... --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wtuzradio/message

Entrepreneur and author Bhu Srinivasan explores the surprising intersections of democracy and capitalism throughout history, from the days of the Mayflower and Virginia Company through Silicon Valley start-ups. Recorded on September 18, 2020

This Thanksgiving episode covers the story of a young Native Powhatan, Pocahontas and the arrival of English colonizers from the Virginia Company. Although the story romanticizes Pocahontas' encounter with John Smith and her legendary saving of his life, the true story of Pocahontas is tragic and dark. This story has historical inaccuracies and racial stereotypes. We also discuss the idea of “good native” and white savior being pushed in the story. With all the problems the story has, one positive message is that it encourages respecting and appreciating nature. 

Chrissie gives you a short history of the Virginia Company of London. Read the essay here: https://historywiththeszilagyis.org/hwts052 Find us on Twitter:The Network: @UFPEarth. The Show: @SzilagyiHistory.Chrissie: @TheGoddessLivia. Jason: @JasonDarkElf.Join us in the Federation Council Chambers on Facebook. Send topic suggestions via Twitter or to hwts@ufp.earth. History with the Szilagyis is supported by our patrons: Susan Capuzzi-De ClerckEd ChinevereLaura DullKris HillPlease visit patreon.com/historywiththeszilagyis United Federation of Podcasts is brought to you by our listeners. Special thanks to these patrons on Patreon whose generous contributions help to produce this podcast and the many others on our network! Vera BibleJosh BrewingtonTim CooperChrissie De Clerck-SzilagyiTom ElliotVictor GamboaAlexander GatesPeter Hong.Thad HaitWilliam J. JacksonLori KickingerJim McMahonAnn MarieGreg MolumbyJoe MignoneCasey PettittJustin OserMahendran RadhakrishnanKevin ScharfTom Van ScotterJim StoffelVanessa VaughnDavid Willett You can join this illustrious list by becoming a patron here: https://www.patreon.com/ufpearth

*Reference to adult content 50:45 (time stamp) First Women of Virginia Virginia State Quarter Part 2   In part 1 of the Virginia State Quarter the three ships of the Virginia Company of London are featured on the reverse side of the quarter and their stories are shared. The voyage of the Susan Constant, Godspeed … The post Episode 13 – First Women of Virginia – Virginia State Quarter Part 2 appeared first on Travel With Annita.

Episode Notes This week in 1607... A fleet of three ships carrying about 100 intrepid men sailed up the James River. The settlers were part of the Virginia Company chartered by King James I. Their mission: establish the first permanent English settlement in North America. And find some gold. And a water route to the Pacific.

An absorbing and original narrative history of American capitalism NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2017 BY THE ECONOMIST From the days of the Mayflower and the Virginia Company, America has been a place for people to dream, invent, build, tinker, and bet the farm in pursuit of a better life. Americana takes us on a four-hundred-year journey of this spirit of innovation and ambition through a series of Next Big Things -- the inventions, techniques, and industries that drove American history forward: from the telegraph, the railroad, guns, radio, and banking to flight, suburbia, and sneakers, culminating with the Internet and mobile technology at the turn of the twenty-first century. The result is a thrilling alternative history of modern America that reframes events, trends, and people we thought we knew through the prism of the value that, for better or for worse, this nation holds dearest: capitalism. In a winning, accessible style, Bhu Srinivasan boldly takes on four centuries of American enterprise, revealing the unexpected connections that link them. We learn how Andrew Carnegie's early job as a telegraph messenger boy paved the way for his leadership of the steel empire that would make him one of the nation's richest men; how the gunmaker Remington reinvented itself in the postwar years to sell typewriters; how the inner workings of the Mafia mirrored the trend of consolidation and regulation in more traditional business; and how a 1950s infrastructure bill triggered a series of events that produced one of America's most enduring brands: KFC. Reliving the heady early days of Silicon Valley, we are reminded that the start-up is an idea as old as America itself. Entertaining, eye-opening, and sweeping in its reach, Americana is an exhilarating new work of narrative history.

Pocahontas. John Smith. The love. The colours. The wind. You've seen the movie. Now bear witness to the journal ramblings of the hero himself. John Smith, British explorer (2021) https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Smith-British-explorer First Prison in Colonial Virginia (2017) http://www.virginiaplaces.org/government/firstprison.html Pocahontas: Her Life and Legend (2015) https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/pocahontas-her-life-and-legend.htm John Smith of Jamestown: Facts & Biography (2013) https://www.livescience.com/40898-captain-john-smith.html John Smith (2020) https://historicjamestowne.org/history/pocahontas/john-smith/ The True Story of Pocahontas (2017) https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-pocahontas-180962649/ Following John Smith - Stingray Point and another shallop (2006) https://cbf.typepad.com/johnsmith/2006/07/following_john__2.htmlSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/Awfulforeverpodcast)

Women are largely hidden from the history of early English emigration. But if you look hard enough you can sometimes catch glimpses of their stories in the archives. For example, in the early 17th century shiploads of young women were despatched to America by the Virginia Company of London.  It was hoped they would marry the English planters in Jamestown and help grow the new colony. But who were these young women prepared to travel thousands of miles across the ocean in search of a husband? And how did they fare? Mukti Jain Campion talks to Jennifer Potter, author of The Jamestown Brides: The Bartered Wives of the New World.   A Culture Wise Production for the Migration Museum Producer: Mukti Jain Campion Readings: Adrian Preater & Joanna Purslow Music: Shakira Malkani Ballad singer: Mary Keith   Image credit: Osbert Parker from his video Timeline, as featured in the Migration Museum's Departures exhibition. Exhibition: This podcast accompanies the exhibition Departures: 400 Years of Emigration from Britain at the Migration Museum in London. For more information, visit: www.migrationmuseum.org/exhibition/departures

Here it is! Pocahontas (1995) is about a free spirited young woman that is caught between her freedom and an arranged marriage, until sails comes on the horizon. John Smith (Mel Gibson) and the Virginia Company come to the New World in search of gold and will kill any Indians in their path! John Smith comes across Pocahontas (Irene Bedard) and this hunt for gold eventually becomes a quest for love against all odds. Can the power of love conquer the hunger for gold? This episode is a complicated review because I loved this movie as a kid! You will hear me go back and forth about the right and wrong of this movie, and where I stand on it. As I unpack this moral conundrum, I shed light on some post production interviews conducted by Russell Means (Chief Powatan) and Irene Bedard that reveal they were proud of the native representation in this film. Also this is the first Disney princess that didn't need rescuing, however...despite these positives, will it hold up as a movie that depicts natives positively? Come listen and find out!

On this episode of Tim and John Show we invite former Hollywood actress MEL KRELL on to talk about who's really running the show and who is really controlling the world.  Some of the topics we discussed are:   The Kazarians, Royal Bloodlines, and the Payseur family Deposit Trust Company, Cede and Co, and who really owns your stocks The Act of 1871,the origins of The Virginia Company, and who really owns America The FED, The big Banks, and the Global Financial Institutions The spiritual beliefs of the UN and the Lucis Trust The Council on Foreign Relations, Cecil Rhodes, and the Rhodes Scholarship and we go in to so much more on this journey through the under-belly of the control system that's been hidden from public view for so many years For more from Tim Picciott please use the links below: Join the conversation in Tim and John's Discord community: https://discord.gg/vkxUkqg Itunes: https://bit.ly/libertyadvisor Lbry.tv https://lbry.tv/$/invite/@thelibertyadvisor:2 Livestreams at https://flote.app/TheLibertyadvisor Bitchute https://www.bitchute.com/accounts/referral/thelibertyadvisor/ Learn more about Tim's services: www.thelibertyadvisor.com Free 15 min Investing Consultation www.bit.ly/booktimp Subscribe to our emergency text list and receive a free ebook “How it's Rigged – The Economy” Text LibertyAdvisor (one word, no spaces) to 71441

King James and Puritans left England for freedom and money.

King James and Puritans left England for freedom and money.

The New World wasn't exactly new. Native Americans, for thousands of years, prospered before European contact. Spain possessed much of South America, while France acquired the central portions of North America. On May 14, 1607, a group of roughly 100 British members of a joint venture called the Virginia Company founded the first permanent English settlement in North America on the banks of the James River. Famine, disease and conflict with local Native American tribes in the first two years brought this Atlantic coastal colony to the brink of failure before the arrival of a new group of settlers and supplies in 1610.

It’s a girl!!! In this brief episode, I lay out out the basic scheme of what next chapter is going to include: King James I’s reign, The Virginia Company (up until its dissolution), and the Jamestown Settlement. At the very end, we will conduct a survey of the Northeast Woodland Indians. Enjoy!

On June 25, 2019, Jennifer Potter delivered the Banner Lecture, “The Jamestown Brides: The Story of the Virginia Company's Trade in Young English Wives.” In 1621, fifty-six English women from good families crossed the Atlantic in response to the Virginia Company of London's call for maids “young and uncorrupt” to make wives for the planters of its new colony in Virginia. One in six of the maids could even claim gentry status. Although promised a free choice of husband, they were in effect being traded into marriage for a bride price of 150 pounds of best leaf tobacco, the profits to flow to individual investors. How did the company justify such a trade, and why did the women submit to such a risky enterprise? Delving into company and court records, ballads, pamphlets, sermons, letters, and original sources on both sides of the Atlantic, Potter turns detective as she tracks the women from their communities in England to their new homes in Virginia, illuminating women's lives in early modern England and in the New World. The Jamestown Brides is Jennifer Potter's tenth book. Appointed as one of the first Royal Literary Fund Fellows at the British Library, she first came to Virginia to research Strange Blooms, The Curious Lives and Adventures of the John Tradescants, her celebrated biography of the early seventeenth-century plantsmen, collectors of curiosities, and gardeners to King Charles I. She has also written novels, works about gardens and landscapes, and two cultural histories of flowers: The Rose, A True History and Seven Flowers and How They Shaped Our World. A long-time reviewer for the Times Literary Supplement, Potter has enjoyed writing fellowships at leading British universities and at Hawthornden Castle in Scotland. She is currently a Royal Literary Fund Consultant Fellow and an Archaeology Ambassador for the Museum of London Archaeology. This lecture was cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Virginia.

In this episode, we discuss the settling of Jamestown and the actions of the Virginia Company.

As Jamestown emerged from the Starving Time and the Powhatan attack in 1622 they entered a new reality. No longer the fledgling colony that we saw during those early years, the Virginia Company still struggled to work towards profitability. This will ultimately cumulate with the collapse of the Virginia Company in 1624. During those same years, the colony would see other changes including their first assembly. This week we track those changes as Jamestown begins standing on its own two feet.   Join us on social media!   Twitter: https://twitter.com/ushistpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USPoliticalpodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uspoliticalpodcast/ Website: http://www.uspoliticalpodcast.com Bibliography: http://www.uspoliticalpodcast.com/bibliography/

Part two of our discussion with Joseph Kelly is about how the whole first three years of Jamestown was basically the struggle of common laborers who discovered what the reality on the ground was and who tried to escape. Many of them did, by melting into the Native American population, others got caught, tortured, and made examples of for their fellows who didn’t make it out.How did the Virginia Company interact with the Native Americans? Who was John Smith? Was he a pirate king? Was Jamestown a slave-labor camp? Do we view the founding of America as truly a pilgrimage story?Further Reading:Marooned: Jamestown, Shipwreck, and a New History of America’s Origin, written by Joseph KellyThe Thanksgiving Story You’ve Probably Never Heard, written by Joseph KellyRelated Content:America was Founded by Runaways & Renegades, with Joseph Kelly, Part One: Liberty Chronicles PodcastSoul Liberty, Toleration, and the Emergence of Religious Freedom in the Colonies, written by Micheal RiegerThe Horrifying Lives of Early Virginians: Liberty Chronicles Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Professor Joseph Kelly joins us today to talk about his book Marooned and how much of our understanding about the beginning of the New World is simply names of people and approximately when they died. Stephen Hopkins, a passenger on the Sea Venture which shipwrecked in Bermuda in 1609, is an exception to that trend.Who is America’s real founding father? What did the Virginia Company do in 1608-1609? Was Jamestown a utopia or a dystopia? Did the Virginia Company have any leadership to guide it? Did they have any real power? What was the difference between colonial Virginia and colonial Bermuda? What is a doctrine of mutual consent?Further Reading:Marooned: Jamestown, Shipwreck, and a New History of America’s Origin, written by Joseph KellyThe Thanksgiving Story You’ve Probably Never Heard, written by Joseph KellyRelated Content:“Virginia is Horrible; Send Cheese”: An Indentured Servant Writes Home, written by Richard FrethorneThe Roots of Modern Libertarian Ideas, written by Brian DohertyThe Horrifying Lives of Early Virginians, Liberty Chronicles Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It seems tough times for Jamestown and Virginia were behind them, not quite. King James annuls the Virginia Company’s charter and then he passes away. The new King, Charles allows them to continue as they were, basically governing themselves in exchange for control of the tobacco trade, sure fair enough.

John Harvey assumes office as governor of Virginia, but finds himself ill-equipped to negotiate the colony's political situation.  In England, members of the Virginia Company ask for it to be reconstituted.    

1611From a cell in the Tower of London, Walter Raleigh organizes a voyage to discover El Dorado, the long lost city of gold in South America.  Leading the expedition is Thomas Roe, a young man of the Virginia Company.

In this episode, we'll talk about British colonization efforts during the reign of King James. George Calvert's investments in the Virginia Company and English East India Company. His purchase of land in Newfoundland in 1620, and his earliest attempts at establishing a plantation there. Then we'll catch back up to the narrative in February 1625, just weeks before King James dies suddenly (and kind of suspiciously). Calvert will have a new king to contend with. And the same old Duke of Buckingham to contend with... There will also be be pirates, poisonings, penguins, and pathetic jokes in this hour long MEGASODE!

In which the fallout from Opechancanough's 1622 Massacre reaches England and brings the Virginia Company to her death.

After the death of Cecil and Prince Henry, three factions emerged in the Virginia Company. Smythe's businessmen, Sandys's Rebel MPs and Warwick's War Party vied for control of England's New World colonies.  When Sandys won, Virginia became deeply linked to the fight between King and Parliament.  

In which the disastrous political situation surrounding the Virginia Company of London and is brought to her demise is recounted.

Today we begin our discussion of the Southern colonies, starting off with Virginia. We will touch on the Virginia Company, Jamestown and how Virginia was actually first in many regards, contrary to the conventional wisdom which tends to place New England at the forefront of the colonies.

On July 25, 1609, aboard the Virginia Company’s slowing sinking ship the Sea Venture, a company of colonial gentlemen-adventurers, indentured servants, and sailors, all struggled for their lives. The crew plugged holes and splits with every available means and everyone —even the genteel and lordly—took turns carrying water for a time. Aboard the Sea Venture, circumstances forced rich and poor alike to join their labors in common cause and solidarity. The aqueous environment—agitated by catastrophe—dissolved class boundaries.Richard’s Frethorne’s Letters to Mother and FatherSir Thomas Dale, “Articles, Law, and orders, Divine, Politic and Martial for the Colony in Virginia” (22 June 1611) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In which Thomas Dale arrives, founds Henricus, fights Powhatan, is challenged by the Spanish, and asks for new settlers. The Virginia Company obliges, but has to use Bermuda to raise funds.

In which Smith fights enemies in Virginia and England, endures, but the Virginia Company reforms itself, and thus legally ends Smith's control in Jamestown. 

This week we return to the narrative (after a quick word about my MA results). After 8 years of English oppression, the Powhatans have enough and launch a war, meanwhile in London the Virginia Company collapses due to sheer incompetence.

This week Jamestown enters the Starving Time and in London the Virginia Company decides the colony needs a revolution.

This week we begin the real narrative. We look at the foundation of the Virginia Company, the failed settlement of St. George's Fort, North Virginia, and the voyage of the ships which would found Jamestown. Also included are a witty observation by Thomas Jefferson about the weather and the worst Back to the Future joke ever.

Do you know about the history of the gold diggers and the first Thanksgiving? Show notes: Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com - get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/EgoNetCast. Over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. - Virginia Company and Thanksgiving - EGO blog - Produce a Professional Podcast: Without Popping Your P's! by Scott Burns. - Podcastnomics: The Book of Podcasting... To Make You Millions by Naresh Vissa. - 026 An Entrepreneur’s Dream to Podcast as a Business - She Podcasts - TrendPal Podcast - Patreon

Do you know about the history of the gold diggers and the first Thanksgiving? Show notes: Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com - get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial atwww.audibletrial.com/EgoNetCast. Over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. Virginia Company and Thanksgiving - EGO blog  Produce a Professional Podcast: Without Popping Your P's! by Scott Burns. Podcastnomics: The Book of Podcasting... To Make You Millions by Naresh Vissa. 026 An Entrepreneur’s Dream to Podcast as a Business - She Podcasts TrendPal Podcast Patreon EGO NetCast blog post 

We will introduce the plantation economy and trace its development in the old world and transport to the new. We will look at how sugar production migrated from the Levant, to an island of the coast of Africa, to Brazil, and finally the Caribbean. We will also discuss why this sugar economy is relevant to the eventual development of capitalism in the United States.

4, 5, 11

In a burst of entrepreneurial creativity, the Virginia Company, founder of the Jamestown colony, tried again and again to make the colony a commercial success.

For nearly two decades the Virginia Company of London tried to exploit its monopoly in the New World. Despite its efforts and innovations, its money and influence, the company could not make the colony pay.

Over its seventeen year life span, the Virginia Company struggled to plant a colony far from the edge of European civilization and to make it yield a profit. To some extent they were making it up as they went along.

The Virginia Company’s huge investment finally paid off. Although it came too late to save the company, the profits from tobacco made Jamestown a significant player in the world economy.

Jamestown was founded primarily as a commercial investment by the shareholders of The Virginia Company. But the colony simply struggled to survive for many years. Tobacco eventually proved to be the “gold” of the region - although the original Jamestown investors never did reap their own hoped-for returns.

From Part 2 of Conceived in Liberty, Volume I: "The Southern Colonies in the Seventeenth Century." Pages 53-64 in the text, asnarrated by Floy Lilley.

This episode is titled Colonies.The 16th C saw the growth of the Spanish and Portuguese overseas empires. The Spanish Empire included Mexico, extending well into what is now the western half of North America. In the 17th C, other Europeans began their own empire-building. The most successful of the new colonial powers was Great Britain. Among its first overseas enterprises were the thirteen colonies in North America. Though we've already talked about the settling of Plymouth and the Puritan settlements of Massachusetts, we'll do a little review.The first British colonial ventures in North America failed. In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh was granted a charter for colonization. He named the area Virginia, after the Virgin Queen Elizabeth. But his first two ventures failed. The first group of settlers returned to England, while the second disappeared.Then, in 1607 the first permanent colonization of Virginia began at Jamestown, named after the new British King James. There was a chaplain among them since the Virginia Company who sponsored the venture hoped to establish the Church of England in the new land and to offer its services both to the settlers and Indians. It also hoped the new colony would halt Spanish expansion, which was feared for its spread of the dreaded “popery,” as Puritans called Catholicism. But the colony's main purpose was economic rather than religious. The Church of England never had a bishop in Virginia or in any of the other colonies. The stockholders of the Virginia Company simply hoped trade with the Indians, along with whatever crops the settlers grew, would bring a profit.The founding of Virginia took place at the high point of Puritan influence in the Church of England. // Several of the stockholders and settlers believed the colony should be ruled by Puritan principles. Its early laws required attendance at worship twice a day, strict observance of Sunday as a day of rest and worship, and the prohibition of profanity and immodesty. But King James detested Puritans, and would not allow his colony to be ruled by them. A war with the native Americans in 1622 became the excuse to bring Virginia under his direct rule. After that, Puritan influence waned. Later Charles I, following James's anti-Puritan policy, carved out a large part of Virginia for a new colony called Maryland and placed it under the Catholic proprietor, Lord Baltimore. Maryland was intended to be a Roman Catholic enclave in the British North American colonies. While many Catholics did move there, Protestants outnumbered them.The Puritan Revolution in England made little impact on Virginia. The colonists were more interested in growing the new cash crop of tobacco and opening new lands for its cultivation than in the religious strife going on back in merry old England. Puritan zeal lost its vigor in the midst of economic prosperity. One of the things that led to this spiritual decline was the acceptance of slavery.Tobacco is a labor-intensive crop. The importation of cheap labor in the form of African slaves allowed the colonists to grow the tons of tobacco now all the rage in Europe. But the Protestant work ethic that lay at the heart of so much of the Puritan mindset was gutted by slavery. Simply put, Puritan colonists lost touch with why the Puritans back in England wanted to reform the government and Church of England.Prior to Abolition, the Church of England neglected evangelizing slaves. They did so because of an ancient principle prohibiting Christians from holding fellow believers in slavery. If a slave got saved, his owner was obliged to free her/him. Then, in 1667, a law was passed saying baptism didn't change a slave's legal status as the property of his owner.While the new and emerging American aristocracy of Virginia remained Anglican, many in the lower classes turned to dissident movements. When strict measures were taken against them, hundreds migrated to Catholic Maryland, where there was greater religious freedom. The Quakers and Methodists took turns making successful forays into Virginia's church scene.Other colonies were founded south of Virginia. The Carolinas, granted by the crown to a group of aristocratic stockholders in 1663, developed slowly. To encourage immigration, the proprietors declared religious freedom, which attracted dissidents from Virginia and England. It didn't take long before the people who settled in the new colonies claimed little to no religious affiliation other than a generic “Christian.”Georgia was founded for two over-arching reasons. The first was to halt Spanish expansion. The second was to serve as an alternative for England's overcrowded debtors' prisons. At the beginning of the 18th C, there were many who wanted to help the sorry lot of those in England who'd fallen into poverty and couldn't get out. One of the leaders of this campaign was a military hero named James Oglethorpe. He thought a colony ought to be founded in North America to serve as an alternative to the imprisonment of debtors. A royal charter was granted in 1732, and the first convicts arrived the next year. To these, others were soon added, along with a large group of religious refugees. Although Anglicanism was the official religion of Georgia, it made little impact on the colony. The failure of the Wesleys as Anglican pastors in the colony was typical of others. The Moravians had a measure of success, although their numbers were never large. The most significant religious movement in the early years of Georgia was the response to Whitefield's preaching. By the time of his death in 1770, he'd left his stamp on much of Georgia's religious life. Later, Methodists, Baptists, and others harvested what he'd sown.As we've seen in previous episodes, it was farther north, at Plymouth and around Boston that Puritanism made its greatest impact. When Roger Williams was banished, he settled Providence, around which the colony of Rhode Island eventually coalesced.The Hutchinsons and their supporters started Connecticut.The Puritans, who baptized their children, were influenced by the Pietistic belief in the necessity of a conversion experience in order to be a genuine Christian. The question then rose; “Why do we baptize children if people don't become Christians till they are converted?” Wouldn't it be wiser to wait till someone was converted, then dunk ‘em – like, BTW, the Baptists do in Rhode Island? Some wanted to follow this new course. But that clashed with the Puritan goal of founding a Christian society, one in covenant with God and guided by biblical principles. A Christian commonwealth is conceivable only if, as in ancient Israel, one becomes a member by birth, so that the civil and the religious communities are the same. So children HAD to be baptized because that's how you become part of the Church, and the Church and society were one and the same, just as in ancient Israel they entered the covenant by circumcision as infants.To make matters even MORE complicated à If infants were baptized so as to make them  “children of the covenant,” what was to be done with infants born of baptized parents who never had a conversion experience?Many came to the conclusion there needed to be a kind of “halfway covenant,” that included those who were baptized but had no personal conversion experience. The children of such people were to be baptized, for they were still members of the covenant community. But only those who had experienced a conversion were granted full membership in the church and were vested with the power to participate in the process of making decisions.This controversy engendered bitter arguments and monumental ill-will which turned the original optimism of the settlers into a dark foreboding. The tension over the Half-Way Covenant spilled over into new debates over how churches ought to be governed and over relations between local congregations who took different sides in the controversies that began to swirl. The majority settled on a form of church government called Congregationalism. They managed to maintain a grip on doctrinal orthodoxy by adhering to the Westminster Confession.As mentioned, the main center of Roman Catholicism in the North American British colonies was Maryland. In 1632, Charles I granted Cecil Calvert, whose noble title was Lord Baltimore, rights of colonization over a region claimed by Virginia. Calvert was Catholic, and the grant was made by Charles in an attempt to garner Catholic support. Catholics in England wanted a colony where they could live without the restrictions they faced at home. Since it was politically unwise to establish a purely Catholic colony, it was decided Maryland would be a realm of religious freedom.The first settlers arrived in 1634, with only a tenth being Catholic aristocrats. The other nine-tenths were their Protestant servants. Tobacco quickly became the colony's economic mainstay, giving rise to large, prosperous plantations. Maryland was governed by Catholic landowners, but the majority of its residents were Protestants. Whenever the shifting political winds in Britain gave opportunity, Protestants sought to wrest power from the Catholic aristocracy. They succeeded when James II was overthrown. Anglicanism then became the official religion of Maryland and Catholic rights were restricted.Because of the religious liberty practiced as policy in Pennsylvania, a good number of Catholics settled there. Catholicism then made significant gains after the Stuarts were restored to the throne in England. But after the fall of James II, the growth of Catholicism in all thirteen colonies was restricted.The colonies of New York & New Jersey, weren't, at first, religious refuges for any particular group. Pennsylvania was founded as a home for Quakers. But not solely so. William Penn envisioned the colony as a place of religious freedom for all. The same was true for Delaware, which Penn purchased from the Duke of York, and was part of Pennsylvania until 1701.The religious history of New Jersey is complex. East New Jersey leaned toward the strict Puritanism of New England, while the West favored the tolerance of the Quakers. Sadly, many Quakers in New Jersey became a slaveholding aristocracy whose relations with the more traditional abolitionist Quakers of Pennsylvania became strained.What became New York was first colonized by the Dutch, whose East India Company established headquarters in Manhattan, and whose Reformed Church came with them. In 1655, they conquered a rival colony the Swedes founded on the Delaware River, then they were in turn conquered by the British in 1664 in a minor contest. What had been New Netherland became New York. The Dutch who stayed, most of them it turned out, became British; which they happily consented to, since their homeland hadn't given them support. The British replaced the Dutch Reformed Church with the Church of England, whose only members were the governor's party until more British arrived and settled.We end this episode noting religious motivations played an important role in the founding of several of the British colonies in America.  Although at first, some were intolerant of religious diversity, time softened that policy, and the colonies tended to emulate the example of Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, where religious freedom existed from their inception. Such tolerance eased the natural tensions that rival colonies had as they vied for economic prosperity. The colonies also witnessed from afar the religious tensions ripping the mother country apart. That may have moved them to cool their intolerance in favor of a more liberal policy of religious freedom. But other factors were at work that combined to erode the religious fervor of the early settlers of the thirteen colonies. Slavery, the social inequality of a plantation-based economy, the exploitation of Indians and their lands, combined to work against the conscience of the English settlers. They found it difficult to follow the pattern of New Testament Christianity while engaging in practices they knew violated the Spirit of Christ. They entered a phase of national life where a desire for wealth eclipsed the conviction of the Spirit. The result was a spiritual malaise that deadened the religious fervor of the colonies.But as we've seen repeatedly in our study of Church History, a period of spiritual declension either resolves in widespread apostasy or spiritual renewal. What would it be for the British colonies in North America? We find out, in our next episode.A donation of any amount to keep CS up and running is appreciated. You can donate by going to the sanctorum.us page and following the link. Thanks.