13+Colonies

= 13 British Colonies =



= MIDDLE COLONIES- Scroll down the page to find out more about Ben Franklin and Philadelphia = [|You be the Historian- Springer House- Delaware] Find out more about life in the middle colonies, particularly the Springer family. You can view artifacts and other primary sources on the site also.

[|Pennsbury Manor, Morrisville, PA- William Penn's House] Find out more about William Penn and life as a Quaker in colonial Pennsylvania. You will find articles about the Penn family and legacy on this site.

[|Scholastic- Our America: Colonial Period] Make virtual arts and crafts, design the inside of a colonial home, or write a journal entry while exploring more about life in colonial times. If you like the //Dear America// series, you will want to explore this website.

[|Middle Colonies] If you are looking for a great overview history of the middle colonies (and also the 13 colonies), click on this website.

[|Indian King Tavern Museum- Haddonfield, NJ] Built in 1750, the Indian King Tavern has been the center of life in Haddonfield, New Jersey. Check out this website to find more about tavern life.

[|City Tavern, Philadelphia] Visit the City Tavern in Philadelphia, PA which was built during 1772 and 1773. If you want to have an authentic colonial meal, the City Tavern is the restaurant to visit.

= NEW ENGLAND COLONIES = [|The Pequot War (1637)] In May 1637, English Puritans from Massachusetts Bay Colony and Connecticut Colony, along with Mohegan and Narragansett allies, surrounded a fortified Pequot village in Missituck (Mystic). While the Pequots slept, they approached with the intention of attacking the village. Although they fought back bravely, the village was burned within an hour and 400 to 700 men, women, and children were killed. Click on the link above to find out more about the circumstances surrounding the Pequot War and the documentary that has been made about this event.

[|PBS: Colonial House Interactive] Think colonial life was all about pious Pilgrims, powdered wigs and freedom for all? Think again! Two dozen modern-day time travelers find out the hard way what early American colonial life was really like when they take up residence in Colonial House.

[|Memorial Hall- Interactive Activities] Move the magic lens over old manuscripts, watch how tools from the past worked, and view and explore a map of African American historic sites in Deerfield, Massachusetts to find out more about life in New England during colonial times.

[|Meet the Daggetts] The Daggetts lived on a farm in the town of Coventry, Connecticut. Most of the residents living in Coventry were originally from Massachusetts. Go back in time and "investigate" the daily lives of ordinary people like the Daggetts. During your travels, look for clues from Samuel Daggett's actual account book, newspapers and illustrations from the 1700s to "uncover" the answers to all 7 questions about the Daggetts' world. When you have answered all 7 questions correctly, you earn the chance to prove your skill as a history detective by discovering "What's Wrong with This Picture?"

[|Historic Shirley-Eustis House (MA)] The Shirley-Eustis House was built in Roxbury, MA during the period of 1747-1751 by William Shirley, appointed Royal Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony and Commander-in-Chief of all British forces in North America by George II. The house is one of only four remaining Royal Colonial Governors' mansions in the country and the only one actually built by a Royal Colonial Governor. Click on the link above to find out more about this house and its history as well as take a virtual tour.

SOUTHERN COLONIES
[|Colonial Williamsburg] The Colonial Williamsburg website contains an amazing amount of information about how life was in the 17th and 18th centuries in colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, and the 13 colonies.

[|Colonial Williamsburg- Dress Up] Would you like to find out more about how people dressed in Colonial Williamsburg during the 1600s and 1700s? During this time period, your clothing determined what social class that you were. Click on the link above to find out more about social classes and clothing.

[|Daily Life on a Colonial Plantation] Explore this eyewitness history about colonial plantation life in Virginia.

[|Drayton Hall- Charleston, South Carolina] Explore this website to find out more about plantation life in Charleston, South Carolina. The Drayton family began construction on this house in 1738. In 1974, the house was sold to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Along with many generations of Drayton family, many generations of the Bowen family worked on the plantation as slaves. Finally, it is the only plantation on the Ashley River to be intact even after such events as the American Revolution and the 1886 earthquake in which Charleston was the epicenter.

GENERAL WEBSITES
[|Colonial and Revolution Songs] What kind of music did the colonists listen to during the 1600s and 1700s? Click on the link above, make sure that your speakers are turned on, and turn up the volume to find out!

[|Colonial Currency] See examples of colonial currency as you explore this site.

[|Founding the Colonies 1600s-1730s] This animated map will give you more information about the founding of the 13 colonies.

[|Colonial Trade Routes 1750- Animated Geography and History] If you would like to find out more about the geography of colonial trade routes and the Middle Passage, click on this link to find an animated map.

[|Colonial Times PowerPoint Presentations] If you would like to find out more about colonial times, click on this link to view several different related PowerPoint presentations.

Colonization by other European Countries in North America
[|Brief History of New Sweden in America] In 1637, Swedish, Dutch and German stockholders formed the New Sweden Company to trade for furs and tobacco in North America. Under the command of Peter Minuit, the company's first expedition sailed from Sweden late in 1637 in two ships. Minuit had been the governor of the Dutch colony, New Netherland, centered on Manhattan Island, from 1626 to 1631. Find out more about the early history of New York and New Jersey by clicking on the link above.

[|Dutch Colonization] In 1609, two years after English settlers established the colony of Jamestown in Virginia, the Dutch East India Company hired English sailor Henry Hudson to find a northeast passage to India. After unsuccessfully searching for a route above Norway, Hudson turned his ship west and sailed across the Atlantic. Hudson hoped to discover a "northwest passage," that would allow a ship to cross the entire North American continent and gain access to the Pacific Ocean, and from there, India. After arriving off the coast of Cape Cod, Hudson eventually sailed into the mouth of a large river, today called the Hudson River. Making his way as far as present-day Albany before the river became too shallow for his ship to continue north, Hudson returned to Europe and claimed the entire Hudson River Valley for his Dutch employers. Find out more about New York's early history by clicking on the link above.

[|Virtual Museum of New France] Discover what drew the French to North America and follow missionaries, cartographers, soldiers, coureurs des bois and Aboriginal allies as they explore and expand New France. Join Canada's first European inhabitants in their daily activities and learn about their culture and civilization.

[|The Canadian Encyclopedia- New France] This resource will provide you with good factual information about New France. Also, it contains many maps and visuals that will give you a better idea of where New France was located in North America.

[|State of the Hudson: Hudson's Journey as reported in Robert Juet's Journal] Ship officer Robert Juet's notes of his journey with Henry Hudson gives us an inside view as to what it was to be aboard the //Half Moon// in 1609.

[|Dutch Colonies in America] Often times, we only focus on the 13 English colonies. However, the Dutch settled on the east coast, particularly in what we now know as New York. Click on the link above to read more about Dutch colonies in America.

[|Before New York- National Geographic] Did you ever wonder what Times Square looked like in the 17th century? Check out what New York looked like before it is what we know now as the city that never sleeps.

[|Colonial Hispanic America] How much do you know about Spanish settlements and colonies in North and South America? Did you know that the Spanish Louisianians played a key role in helping the Patriots gain independence from England as a result of the American Revolution? Click on the link above to find out more information related to colonial Hispanic America.

[|Conquest of Mexico Paintings- Library of Congress] Explore the paintings that tell the story of the 1521 conquest of the Aztecs by Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes. This series of eight paintings was created in the 18th century. Make sure that you click on the Silverlight versio n. Then, you can focus in on different aspects of each painting.

Salem Witch Trials
[|National Geographic: Salem Witch Trials] Experience the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials by exploring this interactive website.

[|Salem Witch Trials: Learning Adventures]

[|Secrets of the Dead: The Witches Curse]

[|Salem Web: What About Witches]

[|Salem Witch Trials PowerPoint Presentations] If you would like to find out more about the Salem Witch Trials, click on this link to view several different related PowerPoint presentations.

African-American History
[|Gullah Music] Gullah is the name of the descendents of enslaved Africans who lived on the Sea Islands of South Carolina, Georgia, and northern Florida. It is also the language spoken by the islanders. Explore this website to find out more about Gullah music; turn on your speakers and listen to examples of it played by modern musicians. [|Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Databases] This database has information on more than 35,000 slave voyages that forcibly embarked over 12 million Africans for transport to the Americas between the 16th and 19th centuries. It offers researchers, students, and the general public a chance to rediscover one of the largest forced migration of peoples in world history. [|Lest We Forget: The Triumph Over Slavery] This website and a traveling version of the exhibition //Lest We Forget: The Triumph Over Slavery// have been created by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the New York Public Library, in conjunction with the UNESCO Slave Route Project to mark the United Nations General Assembly's resolution proclaiming 2004 as the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Abolition. While exploring this comprehensive, interactive site, click on the link for the Schomburg Center to find out more about any topic related to the history of slavery. [|Triangular Trade] Visit this interactive website about the Middle Passage and the slave trade. Also, click on **LINKS** to find many websites d edicated to the history of African slavery around the world. [|Introduction to Colonial African-American Life] Find out more about colonial African-American life, particularly in Colonial Williamsburg, by clicking on the link above. [|Africans in America Part I: PBS companion site] The Africans in America website is a companion to //Africans in America//, a six-hour public television series. The website contains many features about the history of racial slavery in the United States -- from the start of the Atlantic slave trade in the 16th century to the end of the American Civil War in 1865 -- and explores the idea that America is a democracy that declared all men equal but enslaved and oppressed one people to provide independence and prosperity to another. Click on the link above to find out more about this series.

[|The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A Visual Record] This collection of more than 1,230 images depicts the enslavement of Africans, the Atlantic Slave Trade, and slave life in the New World. Images are arranged in 18 categories, including pre-Colonial Africa, capture of slaves, maps, slave ships, plantation scenes, physical punishment, music, free people of color, family life, religion, marketing, and emancipation. Many of the images are from 17th- and 18th-century books and travel accounts, but some are taken from sketches within slave narratives, //Harper's Weekly//, and //Monthly Magazine//.

[|The Geography of Slavery in Virginia] The Geography of Slavery in Virginia is a digital collection of advertisements for runaway and captured slaves and servants in 18th- and 19th-century Virginia newspapers. Building on the rich descriptions of individual slaves and servants in the ads, the project offers a personal, geographical and documentary context for the study of slavery in Virginia, from colonial times to the Civil War.

Ben Franklin and Philadelphia [[image:Benjamin_Franklin.jpg align="right"]]
[|PBS: Ben Franklin Interactive] How much do you know about Ben Franklin, his inventions, and his contributions to the city of Philadelphia, his adopted home, and his role in shaping the United States? Click on the link above to explore this interactive website about the life and times of Ben Franklin. [|Time Magazine: Ben Franklin] Visit this Time Magazine website in order to find out about the many facets of Ben Franklin. [|The Electric Ben Franklin] If you would like to read a quick biography of Ben Franklin, click on the link above. Then, scroll to the bottom of the page to find more links related to the experiments and inventions of Ben Franklin.

[|Benjamin Franklin House in London, England] In the heart of London, just steps from famed Trafalgar Square, is Benjamin Franklin House, the world's only remaining Franklin home. For nearly sixteen years between 1757 and 1775, Dr Benjamin Franklin - scientist, diplomat, philosopher, inventor, Founding Father of the United States and more - lived behind its doors. Benjamin Franklin House, built circa 1730, is now open to the public. Click on the link above to find out more about Ben Franklin's life as a Londoner. [|Ben Franklin and his inventions] Explore more about Ben Franklin and his inventions by clicking on the link above.

[|Virtual Tour: Historic Philadelphia] If you would like to find out more about historic places and monuments in Philadelphia, click on the link above. [|Colonial Philadelphia Photo Gallery] Imagine Ben Franklin's Philadelphia by viewing these beautiful photos of the "City of Brotherly Love". [|Walking Tour of Philadelphia] Watch this YouTube video which gives a general overview of Colonial and Revolutionary War Philadelphia.

[|Explore PA History] Watch videos, read information, view pictures, and examine primary sources related to Pennsylvania, its history, and its people. This website is a great resource in finding out more about the founding of this important colony. [|Ben Franklin's Life] Fin d out more about the life of Ben Franklin by clicking on the link for this Wikipedia article, courtesy of Ronak Shah. [|Benjamin Franklin...In his own words] The Library of Congress has compiled many primary sources related to Ben Franklin including documents, letters, books, broadsides, and cartoons. This exhibit was meant to celebrate the tercentenary of Franklin's birth and his contributions to the beginnings of our country.