History Comes Alive

In the popular history of Colonial America there are certain colonies and groups we have all become very familiar with. Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, the Puritans, the Pilgrims, the Mayflower. What about the lesser known people and places? What roles did they play? Is there any value in exploring their stories? In this episode we will introduce Saybrook Colony. An early English colony that was birthed out of the Massachusetts Bay colony and played a significant early role in the New England region. The location and the people associated with it make it a fascinating storyline. One often overlooked. Saybrook was a small colony with a short life but a big impact on the entire region. This is the first of several episodes that will feature this forgotten colony.

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In this episode of History Comes Alive we will take a small break from developing the New England Colonies. I had a chance to sit down with Doug Stuart of the Libertarian Christian Institute a few weeks ago. We discussed the approach I have taken to develop the American story. This is a standard Q & A with long format answers. I appreciated the opportunity to have this discussion. I hope you enjoy it! BTW, Tajikistan does exist! Doug's questioning of their existence fell right into the tenor of the conversation at that point. It broke my confidence, for a moment... LOL! Many thanks to the folks at LCI for the opportunity! If you like HCA and have never heard of LCI, give them a listen. They offer a unique perspective and great format of interviews, roundtables, and conversations about many of the issues facing our society today! https://libertarianchristians.com Much thanks to Chris at Podsworth Media for helping to coordinate it all!

Plymouth Colony was a success! Maybe not overnight but they survived. The next success story was The Massachusetts Bay Colony about a decade later. What happened in those years in between? Were there any other attempts to colonize the region? Once settled, how did Massachusetts Bay Colony differ from Plymouth? What were some of the well known settlements that emerged from this venture? How did they manage to attract some many like minded people. How was it organized and who were the prominent leaders? Why was Massachusetts Bay so much more successful than the Plymouth Colony? In this episode we will attempt to answer, in part, these types of questions. The answers will help to set us up for the future. Massachusetts Bay Colony would come to dominate the New England landscape for centuries. They impacted expansion and settlement well beyond their own borders, relationships with the natives, development of commerce, as well as, non-Puritan colonial expansion. In this episode we will begin to lay the groundwork for regional development that would ultimately take the New England Colonies right to the War for Independence.

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Who were the people that landed at Plymouth Rock? What took place just prior to the landing. Was it a smooth process? How did they come to land at Plymouth Rock? What is their story? Were they the first English speaking people to explore and settle in the region known as New England? How did they become known as "the Pilgrims"? Who was Edwin Sandys? Lastly, what does Leiden, Holland, The Netherlands have to do with English Colonialism? These are just some of the questions we will answer in this Episode as we develop a brief overview of the beachhead for English Colonization established near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. At a place remembered as Plymouth Rock.

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The English Colonial conquest of the East Coast of North America did not happen overnight, but over generations. Who were these people? What skills and background did they bring with them? Why were the English so much more prone to develop permanent settlements so far from home? What did they find? The answers may surprise you. They were not us. We are not them. In this episode we will consider the mindset of the first permanent colonials, as well as, what kept them coming, in spite of hardship.

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After the dramatic demise of the Spanish Armada Elizabeth, and all of England, was safe thanks to the heroic efforts of men like Francis Drake. The future was bright and their dominance on the seas was established. It would be a long time before that reality was challenged. Or would it? In the year following the Spanish Armada, 1589, England launched an Armada of her own. It was to be a joint effort between the English and the Dutch. If successful it would have the capacity to inflict even greater damage on the writhing Spanish navy. It would liberate Portugal. It would establish a permanent English base in the Azores to further harass Spanish shipping. Why have we not heard about this noble venture? What happened to the English Armada? What lessons can we learn from it today? In this Episode of History Comes Alive we'll examine the English Armada and look for the wisdom it offers.

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It had been a century of national preparation. It had started as a general vision with Henry VII, It was honed and expanded in scope by Henry VIII, against a recognized threat from France. It was put to the ultimate test by Elizabeth against her recognized threat, Spain. Against the backdrop of the Reformation, the emergence of the Nation State, the beginnings of European Colonization around the world, and the interactions and intermarriages between Europe's leading monarchies, the English throne built not only an elaborate system of land defense against invasion, they reinvented the concept of naval warfare. Nationalizing a permanent navy, and rethinking what a navy should be used for. Not so much the traditional grappling and troop transport, but repelling an invasion through speed, skill, and distance shelling. The event remembered as The Spanish Armada still captures the imagination to this day. We have traced the origins and provocations that lead to the Armada. Now it's time to expand the narrative to include the actual destruction of the Spanish fleet. The question above and beyond the poor planning of the invasion by Spain, is a matter of degrees as to whether the Armada was defeated by England (which it was, soundly), or simply disintegrated as time went by...In this episode we leave the Henrys (all five from our larger narrative), and the Marys (three from the narrative) behind and focus on the rise of men like John Hawkins, Francis Drake, and Walter Raleigh. With all the events, heroes, and villains, Elizabeth still emerges as the catalyst and cauterizing figure of the age.

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Every good story has a clear beginning, an opening to the narrative, a middle where the bulk of the necessary information is revealed, and an end where resolution is found. In our last episode we opened the storyline of the Spanish Armada by backing up 100 years and introduced the atmosphere that helped to prepare England for this classic showdown, as well as, some of the precipitating events and controversies. In this episode we will continue the storyline by developing the "squishy" middle. Developing the narrative from a purely English perspective we will look at England from within. The slow march to naval superiority really picks up steam during the reign of Elizabeth. The interaction of the players is exciting. The outcome is all too obvious from decades away. But, like a car accident you are driving by, the events are hard to turn away from. Although the focus of the story is the three Marys, the star of the show is Elizabeth. The most cunning and ruthless of all.

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1588 witnessed one of the most famous naval battles in Western history. The mighty Spanish Armada was repelled by the upstart English Navy. It was the culmination of a century's worth of English preparation. It is remembered as almost miraculous. But was it? Beginning with Henry VII and continuing with his son, the famous (or infamous) Henry VIII, England had been preparing for this battle long before anyone knew it would come. What was the motivation for the development of the Tudor Navy? What was the politics? Who were the men involved? What were the scandals? Does this epic battle represent the end of Spanish dominance or the rise of English superiority? Did Spain's power wane, or did England's eclipse Spain at her height? The back story is as exciting as the battle itself.

Learn more about Jeff and connect with him through his website: https://historywithjeff.com

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Once upon a time, the "Dutch Netherlands" were a only a smaller part of the larger Spanish European holdings. Then they weren't. What happened to the Dutch after they shed Spanish rule? How did independence suit them? Were they successful without the Spanish? If so, where? What is their legacy? Did they take part in the Colonial Games of Europe? How big a footprint did they leave? Were they in North America? If so, what happened? In this episode, we explore just how big an impact this small nation had... and it was an impressive run.

Learn more about Jeff and connect with him through his website: https://historywithjeff.com

Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com