The End of An Era

What I Read, What You Should Read, and a Preview of What's to Come

Now that I have completely closed the book on the first Era of the Missing Pages Podcast, I figured it’s necessary to provide a quick overview of the books I read, both fully or partially¹, and give a list of the ones that I feel are essential reading for anyone who wants to learn about American History up to 1676. At the end of this post, I will provide a preview of season 2 and the episodes.

Fully Read

• 1491 - Charles C. Mann

  • Exploration of the Native Americans before Columbus arrived, with deep dives into the various cultures throughout the Americas and discussions regarding the first migratory periods and the impact of disease.

• A Land as God Made It - James Horn

  • A history of Jamestown and the surrounding Virginia colonial ventures until the Second Anglo-Powhatan War in 1623.

• American Jezebel - Eve LaPlante

  • The life and trial of Anne Hutchinson.

• American Slavery, American Freedom - Edmund S. Morgan

  • The history of Virginia until 1676 with a specific focus on labor (indentured servants and slaves).

• The Island at the Center of the World - Russell Shorto

  • The history of the New Netherland colony; focuses mostly on New Amsterdam until the English takeover.

• Mayflower - Nathaniel Philbrick

  • The journeys of the Pilgrims to Cape Cod, history of Plymouth and King Philip’s War.

• New England Bound - Wendy Warren

  • The history of the Indian slavery and Atlantic Slave Trade in New England.

• The Origins of American Slavery - Betty Wood

  • Short history of slavery throughout the English colonies until ~1700.

• Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul - John M. Barry

  • Biography of Roger Williams and exploration of the foundations of American law and culture.

Partially Read

• Albion’s Seed - David Hackett Fischer

  • A comprehensive exploration of the four major migration periods in the English colonies. It has a heavy focus on the folkways of these four distinct groups.

• American Colonies - Alan Taylor

  • The history of the colonies throughout the North American continent until ~1800.

• Before the Revolution: America’s Ancient Pasts - Daniel K. Richter

  • An exploration of the ancient cultural origins of the American colonies through 1763.

• The Barbarous Years - Bernard Bailyn

  • The history of the English colonies until 1676; shines a spotlight on the more sinister parts of the early colonial period. Focuses on the extremes of humanity that were forced upon everyone.

• Colonial Maryland: A History - Aubrey C. Land

  • A history of the Maryland colony.

• Colonial South Carolina: A History - Robert M. Weir

  • A history of the South Carolina (before and after Carolina split in two) with some exploration of North Carolina.

• El Norte - Carrie Gibson

  • A history of the Spanish colonies and an exploration of the impact that Hispanic culture has on America through the modern day.

• The First Frontier - Scott Weidensaul

  • A history of the frontiers of the American colonies until ~1770.

• The French in North America - W. J. Eccles

  • A history of the French-speaking colonies throughout the New World until 1763.

• King Philip’s War - Eric B. Schultz and Michael J. Tougias

  • History of King Philip’s War, including primary source analysis and explorations of the important locations through the modern day.

• Tales from a Revolution - James D. Rice

  • The history of Bacon’s Rebellion and the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution.

Worth Your Time

There is merit to reading each of these books to get a relatively strong understanding of the early colonial period². There are a few books that I think about much more often than the others. These are books are those that have a main focus, but are able to draw from deeper context to help shape the era into a more robust whole. Each of these books would be worth a read for anyone looking to dig into specific aspects of the early American colonies, but some transcend the specific. I will hold myself to just four book that I feel are must-reads.

If You Can Only Read One…

Bernard Bailyn’s survey of the American colonies from 1600 to 1675 reaches deep into the human psyche to try to understand the terror that everyone involved in the colonial world both felt and inflicted. He holds no punches with regard to the pain inflicted between Europeans and Indians and amongst themselves. Violence, death, and hardship had no boundaries: ethnic, religious, or racial. He is diligent in explaining, but not justifying, why there was endless conflict. In short, he shows with incredible clarity why the early colonial world was barbarous.

The Others…

To gain a robust understanding of the colonial world that the Europeans created after 1492, one must understand who came before, and what happened to them. Charles C. Mann comprehensively explores the entire American supercontinent and describes the history of the great nations that fell. From the first inklings of civilization to the greatest empires in the world, he leaves no region unexamined. Finally, he dives deep into the most recent archaeology and biology to describe the microbial calamity that led to an unimaginable loss of life and culture. Without this book, the reader would lose the context of everything that came before Columbus.

This nation was built on a contradiction that date back more than a century before it was written into the founding documents. Edmund Morgan explores the foundations of the contradiction between the longing for freedom from English royal control and the rise in slavery. Morgan explores the origins of servitude and slavery, how the justifications changed over time, and the simultaneous rise in calls for liberty. Understanding the ideas that begin to propagate in the 17th century allow us to further grasp the fights that will come at the end of the 18th century and the war that will be fought in the 19th.

The story of liberty in America is not only contradictory, but follows a long and winding path. It would be a disservice to ignore a major figure along the way. John Barry in his exploration of Roger Williams describes the true origins of religious liberty. He speaks to the radical nature of the ideal in a world ravaged by religious conflict. This radical experiment permeates throughout American history and can even be felt in modern politics.

Era 2 Preview

In 1676, the English colonial world is reeling from the pair of conflicts.

King Charles II, and later his son James, hopes that he can regain control of the English colonies that seem to have become too big for their britches. A revolution brings a new king and a new vision.

The French colonies continue their expansion into the interior of the continent, finding both cooperation and conflict with the Natives.

The Spanish continue eastward, spreading missions from California to Texas.

Decade long clashes between the Europeans and the Indians decimates the native population even further.

New faces, previously prevented from joining the colonial ventures, begin bringing their own culture and traditions to the New World. Despite the tumult, a new, distinct American culture begins to emerge.

The three empires entrench themselves in nearly half a century of war. The frontier is left burning, and even the strongest forts fall. Colonists are regularly forced to fly different flags. By the end of all these wars, a new map of North America is drawn.

A religious revival, in parallel to a scientific one, spreads through the country. Growing cities and shifting economies reshapes colonial life amongst geographic lines.

Undergirding the colonial struggles, the corrosive grip of slavery tightens evermore. Societies with slaves turn into slave societies. The ever-increasing need for labor raises the slave population and drives racial tensions.

The rapid increase in trade of goods and people creates a ripe environment for piracy to put its own grip on the colonial world.

By 1763, revolution is not on the minds of many colonists, but the independence that the Americans long for is not likely to come as debts are coming due…

1. I have finished many of these in preparation for Era Two. You shall see which at the conclusion of that season.

2. I still feel that I am not as well-read as I would like, but the show must go on. When looking at those who inspired this podcast, it seems that they read far more widely and deeply than I, so I have room to grow. Despite this, I was able to talk for about 12 hours on various aspects of this period without exhausting all of my notes. The average person would probably need far less to feel they understand this era.