Skip to main content

Thirteen Colonies, The

Format
EBook
Pages
306
ID
B00O2YVDHO

f the origin of the colonial period was accidental, the ending was not. The representatives of the thirteen colonies who approved the
Declaration of Independence in 1776 charted a collision course, aware of the obstacles in their path and the risks they were taking.
The events that led to their decision took place over a period of nearly 300 years. Looking back, the wonder is that it culminated so
quickly. For a century after its discovery, the New World was little more than a lode to be mined by adventurers seeking profits. It wasn't
until the end of the sixteenth century that serious efforts were made to establish permanent colonies. Even then, the perils of the journey
and threats of starvation inhibited settlement.
But settlers gradually came, spurred, in part, by the fear of religious persecution, but above all, drawn by the hope of owning land. They
were a mixed lot: English Separatists from Leiden, French Huguenots, Dutch burghers, Mennonite peasants from the Rhine Valley, and a
few gentleman Anglicans. But they shared a quality of toughness.
Here is their story from award-winning historian Louis B. Wright, the longtime director of the Folger Shakespeare Library.

We hope you enjoy our work.

Please support this magazine of trusted historical writing, now in its 75th year, and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to American Heritage.

Donate