Rejects & Revolutionaries (American History Podcast)

An audio-only version of my presentation at the 2022 Intelligent Speech Conference. For video, click here! In this presentation, I took a step back to explore the process of settling a new colony, a big-picture discussion of the colonies we've discussed through the lens of 20th Century research on settlement requirements and dynamics. It should surprise no one that a huge factor in success vs. failure deals with psychology and settler mental health, but it is an angle that's been oft overlooked in those early histories.

The story of Carolina's second settlement attempt was the type of failure we've frequently discussed, but it was also a failure for a new era. English proprietors got distracted, severe supply shortages emerged, and conflict with indigenous tribes ultimately caused the colony to collapse. But, colonists knew what to do, they forcefully made their feelings known, and they were led by people sympathetic to their plight. This meant that a story which, 20 years before, would have left the colonists either dead or destitute, ended with most able to move on with their lives. Website (transcripts) Patreon BMAC

Carolina was a colony for a new era. The Jacobean settlements of Virginia, Bermuda and Plymouth had been tiny, struggling outposts in a very New World. The colonies formed under Charles I (the rest of New England, Barbados, Maryland and others) had been defined by the political and religious turbulence of his reign. Now, a revolution had come and gone, an empire had been born, and it was time for the next era of English colonial expansion. Because of all of this, settling Carolina would look dramatically different than colonial history that had come before. As we start discussing Carolina, we take a quick look at what some of those differences were. Website (transcripts) Patreon BMAC

Henry Morgan's privateering exploits had turned to full on piracy by the time he attacked Maracaibo and, especially, Panama City. Still, he enjoyed the support of the island's population and leadership, and the money he brought to the colony facilitated its transformation into one of England's wealthiest colonies. Website (transcripts) Patreon Buy Me a Coffee Twitter

After the Willoughby brothers, the king imposed governors in Barbados who he expected to be loyal to him instead of the colony. The first two backfired in dramatically different ways, one siding with the colonists, and the other descending into embarrasing levels of tyranny and corruption. Website (transcripts)

Neither the king nor Barbados was willing to budge over the financial issues surrounding the Second Anglo-Dutch War, and what ensued was the biggest showdown between king and colony in American history. Website (transcripts, sources, etc) Patreon or BMAC Intelligent Speech is coming!

Henry Morgan's piratical exploits during the Second Anglo-Dutch War took him into combat not with England's allies, but rather against the Spanish of Cuba and Panama. Website (transcripts) Intelligent Speech Conference information!

Barbados would never really recover from the Second Anglo-Dutch War. Compared to islands like St. Kitts, it had gotten through the conflict without too much damage, but it had still funded and fought a full theater of war almost alone, and when the war was over, the demands and impositions (not least, the Navigation Acts finally being fully enforced) just kept coming. This pushed the colony to the point of irreconcilable hostility to England, its king, and its governor. Colonists united and demanded self rule and free trade. Website (transcripts) Patreon BMAC INTELLIGENT SPEECH CONFERENCE!

Information about this year's Intelligent Speech Conference! 35 presentations in four virtual rooms bringing together the independent educational podcast community. This year's theme: Crossings Date: June 25, 2022 Place: Your home, via Zoom Tickets: $20 before June 1. 10% off with promo code RnR. Standard price $30. Learn more: https://intelligentspeechconference.com

The First Anglo-Dutch War hit Barbados hard. After a 10 hour battle expended all their ammunition, colonists and king bickered over who should be responsible for buying more. Ultimately, the compromise was to put off the issue by loaning the king the money, and for two years, Barbados defended England's Caribbean holdings, spending 100,000 pounds, recruiting thousands of soldiers, facing severe food shortages, and ultimately losing its governor in a hurricane. It would never recover. Find transcripts and more at my website Support me on Patreon! or BMAC for one-time donations!

If you enjoy this show, would you please rate/review on whatever podcast app you use? Thank you! As Jamaica limped along after the Western Design, escaped slaves maintained their own colony in the island's central mountains, and pirates controlled Port Royal. From 1661-64, Jamaica had a series of governors, one of whom lasted only 10 weeks in the role. Modiford's defeat in Barbados, though, sent him to Jamaica and in Jamaica he began to make his mark. He quashed all democratic governance in the colony, helped organize the privateers and established valuable crops on the island. Intelligent Speech is coming June 25! Get your tickets before May 15 and use the promo code RnR to get your tickets for $18! It will be a day with dozens of presentations and panel events featuring amazing, independent history podcasters.

When the Restoration happened, Barbados requested to be made a crown colony, thinking its rights would be better protected. In return for giving up his proprietary rights, Willoughby was made Barbados's first royal governor. Suddenly, Barbadians were faced with the first real imposition to their self-government in well over a decade, and the conflict frustrated both Willoughby and the colonists. Meanwhile, an illegal slave deal with the Spanish ultimately gives Barbados the right to sell slaves to other countries. Website Patreon Buymeacoffee Intelligent Speech Conference information! I will be speaking alongside a bunch of other amazing indie educational podcasters at this June 25 event! You can find both ticket information and information about all the speakers at this link. Early bird ticket price is $20, plus 10% off if you use the code RnR. If you like some of my earlier topics, you will definitely enjoy my presentation. ;)

Charles II kept a stronger Parliament within England than his father could have imagined, and he expanded the Navigation Acts, kept the policy of transportation, and pushed the slave trade. When news of the new king's planned policies reached Virginia, Berkeley rushed to ask that they be revoked or modified to avoid crushing his colony. Website & transcripts Patreon Buy Me A Coffee

A political fight in Maryland highlights the colony's new state of affairs - Lord Baltimore may own the colony, but he has virtually no power there. Find transcripts and more on the website Support this podcast on Patreon Buy me a Coffee for one-time donations

After the Restoration prompted a bloody revolt by Thomas Venner's Fifth Monarchist group in London, Charles II cast a wary eye on New England. Meanwhile, regicides Whalley and Goffe had escaped punishment in England to make their home in Massachusetts. The fallout would lead to the end of New Haven as a colony. Website & Transcripts: Americanhistorypodcast.net Patreon BuyMeACoffee

A quick recap of everything that's changed in America during the period of the English Civil Wars and Interregnum/Commonwealth, as well as problems colonists are facing going into the reign of King Charles II. By the way, I've got a patreon (for ongoing support) and Buy Me a Coffee (easier for one-time donations) now, so if you're interested in helping support the show, the links are below! https://www.patreon.com/RNRPod https://www.buymeacoffee.com/RNRPod

In the final episode of our English Civil War series, we discuss the Restoration. After Cromwell died, there was chaos that could have erupted in yet another round of war. Instead, though, the return of Charles II to the throne of England occurred without bloodshed, which only intensified the excitement over his return. With the exception of most New England colonies, to, colonists were overjoyed to see the return of the king. With the Restoration, they could hope to reverse the hated Navigation Act, reclaim some of their autonomy, and once again enjoy the benefits of free trade.

While New England's comfort generally increased in the Cromwell years, Rhode Island suffered from a lagging economy, political divisions and even issues with religious dissidents who worked to destabilize the already unstable colony. Plymouth's prosperity also waned as trade came to dominate the New England economy. And in the United Colonies, the issue of infant baptism continued to create problems. In response to the limits of Church-membership exclusivity (including but not limited to infant baptism), younger people were either losing interest in religion or turning to more radical Puritan sects, like the Baptists. Baptists, who advocated for no infant baptism at all, rather than simply limited infant baptism, grew more numerous and popular throughout New England. Their ideology evened the social/political playing field as well as providing a simple solution to religious questions. In response to these trends in New England religious life, United Colony Churches (with some exceptions) adopted the Half-Way Covenant.

Cromwell decides in favor of Baltimore's proprietorship in Maryland, Virginia works to subvert English puritan leadership and reinstall a royalist government, Bermuda has its first slave revolt, and Barbados foreshadows Revolutionary War sentiments by opposing taxation without representation.

The Western Design was supposed to be England's plan to conquer Spanish America, starting with Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Cartagena (Colombia). Instead, after a disastrous expedition, England had ended up with Jamaica. For a while, owning Jamaica was disastrous in and of itself. Tens of thousands of people died, a huge percent of them Irish victims of transportation.