Cape colony: Did you mean...?

In this lecture on the history of the Virginia Colony, Tom Richey discusses the failed attempt by Walter Raleigh (c. 1552-1618 CE) to plant a permanent settlement on Roanoke Island during a war with Spain and the early hardships endured by...

A gouache on paper painting titled The First Colony, Jamestown 1607 by Nicha Sursock. This is the first of a series of 43 works representing the history of the USA. Foreground, from left to right: Lord Baltimore, Baron De la Warr, Opechancanough...

The Estado da India (1505-1961) was the name the Portuguese gave to that part of their empire which stretched from India to East Asia. However, in its widest sense, the name includes all Portuguese colonies east of the Cape of Good Hope and...

King Philip's War (1675-1678) was the pivotal engagement between the second generation of English immigrants who had arrived in New England and the Native American tribes of the region. The English won the war, and the natives lost not only...

Ferdinand Magellan, or Fernão de Magalhães (c. 1480-1521), was a Portuguese mariner whose expedition was the first to circumnavigate the globe in 1519-22 in the service of Spain. Magellan was killed on the voyage in what is today the Philippines...

The caravel (caravela in Spanish and Portuguese), was a type of medium-sized ship which, with its low draught and lateen or triangular sails, made it ideal for exploration from the 15th century onwards. Fast, manoeuvrable, and only needing...

Portrait of Joseph Wanton Sr. (1705-1780) colonial governor of Rhode Island during the American Revolution. By an unknown artist, currently in Providence Rhode Island.

The discovery of gold at Witwatersrand in Transvaal in 1886, coupled with that of diamonds at Kimberley in 1867, transformed the entire region of Southern Africa. The 'Rand' proved to be the largest gold deposit in the world, and it led to...

The Pilgrim-Wampanoag Peace Treaty is the document drafted and signed on 22 March 1621 CE between governor John Carver (l. 1584-1621 CE) of the Plymouth Colony and the sachem (chief) Ousamequin (better known by his title Massasoit, l. c...

Life in Colonial America was difficult and often short but the colonists made the best of their situation in the hopes of a better life for themselves and their families. The early English colonists, used to purchasing what they needed, found...