George Mason University
Chnm: Differences Among Colonial Regions
Students will explore the differences among the three colonial regions of New England, Mid-Atlantic/Middle, and the Southern colonies. In small groups for each region, students will observe and note details of pictures, maps, and...
Henry J. Sage
Sage American History: Introduction to American Colonial History
Introductory article on American Colonial History in which the author takes a look at the first European settlers who made the voyage to America and addresses the essential question of who they were as people and hence, why they made...
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: Numismatics: Coins and Currency in Colonial America
Valuable lessons in the history of Europeans' early exploration and settlement of America can be gained by following the money used in trade. Coins and Currency exhibition lets you examine evidence of Spanish, British, Dutch, French, and...
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg History
This page goes directly to the homepage of Colonial Williamsburg, which historically reenacts the life of early English settlement in Virginia.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: America's History in the Making: Colonial Designs [Pdf]
Scroll down through this unit for teacher facilitators to Appendix E and F to find maps of colonial settlement in eastern North America in 1600 and 1660. From Oregon Public Broadcasting.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Early Settlements
The early 1600s saw the beginning of a great tide of emigration from Europe to North America. Spanning more than three centuries, this movement grew from a trickle of a few hundred English colonists to a flood of millions of newcomers....
Other
New Netherland Institute: Early Descriptions of New Netherland
Excerpts from Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664, published in 1909, and available for free from Google Books. The first excerpt is from a 1644 account of Henry Hudson's descriptions of the new land he saw on his 1609 voyage. The...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1491 1607: Spanish Conquistadores and Colonial Empire
The Spanish gained an early foothold in the colonies, quickly becoming the most powerful European power in the New World.
University of Illinois
University of Illinois: Early American Trade With China: Europe's Economic Tradition [Pdf]
Most well-educated American colonists (including early American leaders like Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin) were familiar with the writings andideas of European scholars, so it makes sense that Americans came to...
The History Place
The History Place: American Revolution
The History Place provides this timeline broken into six different sections that highlight the important events from the early European exploration of America through to the United States becoming a country. Features include informative...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Failed Colonies, American Beginnings: 1492 1690
Three European accounts of the disappointments, challenges, and outright failures to establish early successful colonial outposts in North America.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Hardships, American Beginnings: 1492 1690
Three English, a French, and a Spanish primary account of the staggering losses, misery, and deprivation that characterized early European settlement as well as the resilience needed to overcome those challenges.
Other
Early 16th European History
This site breaks down the history of Europe by year between 1525-1558. It discusses the political maneuverings of the period, the social conditions, and the conflicts that arose with religious and political disputes.
Henry J. Sage
Sage American History: Native American Cultures: Pre History of America
Brief article about Native American culture and history prior to European settlement and with arrival of Europeans.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Second Generation of British Colonies
The religious and civil conflict in England in the mid-17th century limited immigration, as well as the attention the mother country paid the fledgling American colonies. In part to provide for the defense measures England was...
Other
Trail of Tears Assoc: The Story Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
Follow the early history of Native American and European contact in America. As more settlers moved west, a law was passed to relocate the Cherokee from Arkansas. The routes they followed and the cruelties they suffered came to be known...
British Library
British Library: Teaching Resources: The Tempest: Slideshow Who Is Savage & Who Is Civilised?
These activities encourage students to explore the 'brave new world' of The Tempest in light of thought-provoking texts on early modern colonization. A link to a slideshow featuring images of Native Americans and Europeans which...
The History Place
The History Place: Early Colonial Era
This site from The History Place provides a timeline of significant events between (1000-1700) win the discovery and colonization of the New World.
Curated OER
Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: Colonial Georgia, 1732 1763
A map of Colonial Georgia, showing the proclamation line of the original United States established at the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1763, the boundary when Georgia was established from the Carolinas as a buffer between the...
Curated OER
Etc: Dev of Colonies and Early Western Explorations, 1700 1775
A map of eastern North America showing the early development of the European colonies and westward exploration to the Mississippi River. The map shows the routes of several early explorers with dates of exploration, including La Salle,...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: English I, American Beginnings: 1492 1690
Portraits of early New Englanders as well as four buildings from seventeenth-century New England that accompany accounts in those British colonies of struggles, Indian hostilities, and economic success.
PBS
Pbs: About All You Can Eat: A Feast at Plimouth Plantation
A lesson plan in the culinary delicacies of the Plymouth Plantation in 1627. In this integrated lesson plan, students examine the history of foods eaten during this colonial era and prepare an actual meal based on what they have learned....
Other
Jeff Miller: A West Virginia Chronology
This personal site provides a timeline of the European-American settlement of West Virginia and later events up to the present.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: First Arrivals, American Beginnings: 1492 1690
Numerous visual images of artifacts from English settlements at Jamestown and at Plymouth, and from Spanish settlement in Hispaniola, and three original accounts of each of those early settlements that describe the possibilities and the...