This has not been our typical Independence Day weather. It’s been cloudy and rainy most of the day. Temperatures didn’t even reach 70°, and I can’t remember the last time it was this cool on the 4th. Of course, I struggle to remember what I had for breakfast, so…
We’ve decided to sit and watch fireworks [...]
Archive for the ‘Colonial history (1607-1775)’ Category
The Spirit of ‘76…in 1774
Posted in Colonial history (1607-1775), United States, tagged 1774, Declaration of Independence, New York, Orangetown Resolutions, Tappan, Yoast Mabie's Tavern on July 4 | Leave a Comment »
The First White House Wedding
Posted in Colonial history (1607-1775), United States, tagged 1759, Daniel Custis, George Washington, Martha Custis, White House Plantation on January 6 | 2 Comments »
On January 6, 1759, Martha Custis got married…for the second time. Her first marriage, to Daniel Custis, had lasted less than 10 years before his death in 1757. She was left with two children (two other children had died as toddlers) and a great deal of money. Her husband was a wealthy land-owner and their estate, called White [...]
Colonists Spell “Resistance” With a Capital Tea
Posted in Colonial history (1607-1775), United States, tagged 1773, Boston Harbor, Boston Tea Party, British East India Company, Sons of Liberty on December 16 | 2 Comments »
The Boston Tea Party is one of those events in American history that really needs no introduction and no explanation. Frankly, very little needs to be said about it at all…it’s that well-known. The Sons of Liberty dressed themselves up local tribes of Natives, boarded the tea ships in the harbor, and proceeded to dump 90,000 pounds of tea overboard. But [...]
cc: Committees of Correspondence
Posted in Colonial history (1607-1775), United States, tagged 1772, Committees of Correspondance, Joseph Warren, Massachusetts, Samuel Adams on November 2 | Leave a Comment »
In today’s world of nearly instantaneous communication, it’s really easy to forget how arcane things used to be…in the 1990’s. Remember about 1992? Email was in its infancy for the general public. The Internet?…yeah, right. You connected with a 14kbps modem over your phone line to one of about 5 websites and most of us used that [...]
A Meeting of the Minds, Act 1
Posted in Colonial history (1607-1775), United States, tagged 1774, Boston Tea Party, Committees of Correspondance, First Continental Congress, Intolerable Acts on September 5 | Leave a Comment »
A couple of months had gone by since the British had passed The Intolerable Acts, and the colonists had not been idle. The Acts, among other things, closed the port of Boston until the tea lost in the Boston Tea Party had been paid for, took away the ability of the Massachusetts government to make political appointments, and [...]
Spare Some Quarters?
Posted in Colonial history (1607-1775), United States, tagged 1774, Boston Tea Party, Intolerable Acts, Quartering Act on June 2 | 3 Comments »
It’s pretty safe to say that, in the mid 1770’s, relations between the American Colonies and the British government were pretty sour. The British crown tried hard to maintain order and, more importantly, control over its subjects, while those subjects were becoming more and more angry at the measures being forced upon them. It had turned into an “action/reaction” scenario, [...]
A Welcomed Massacre
Posted in Colonial history (1607-1775), tagged colonies, Indian relations, Jamestown on March 22 | 2 Comments »
On this day way back in 1622, a well-coordinated surprise attack by Algonquian Indians outside of the settlement of Jamestown left 347 men, women and children dead – almost a third of the entire population of the Virginina colonies. So let’s see… Jamestown was founded in 1607, so that it means it took just 15 years [...]
La Salle’s La Mutiny
Posted in Colonial history (1607-1775), tagged explorers, La Salle, Mississippi on March 19 | Leave a Comment »
We celebrated a birth here a few days ago. I guess it’s time we look at the anniversary of a death. On March 19, 1682, Rene-Robert La Salle was mutinied by his own men while trying to set up a colony near the Gulf of Mexico. What could cause such violence? Well, let’s see. The 300 [...]
Yes Retreat, No Surrender
Posted in Colonial history (1607-1775), tagged Boston, Dorchester Heights, George Washington on March 17 | Leave a Comment »
After more than 6 months of occupying Boston, the city at the heart of the Revolution, General Howe was more than ready to leave. As early as January, London had given him permission to take his troops to New York City, a much better spot to lanuch an offensive campaign, but by the time word [...]
“The Murder in King Street”
Posted in Colonial history (1607-1775), tagged Boston Massacre, John Adams on March 5 | Leave a Comment »
On March 5, 1770, British troops stationed in Boston to maintain order fired into a mob and killed 5 civilians. This event immediately served as propaganda for the American colonists – even as questions arose as to who was really responsible for the outbreak of violence.
Who rung the fire alarm bells that turned a small angry group [...]
