The Other States of America: History Podcast

 At the turn of the 16th Century, there existed no indication that France would come to dominate North America. The Portuguese, due to an error in mapping Newfoundland, seemed destined to master the North Atlantic, the Spanish dominated all points south until Brazil. The English staked their claim early and yet New France came to label much of North America. Where did this begin, and between the Norse and nameless hordes of fishermen, did it all start with Columbus, or was he a symptom of the time? Where is the lost colony of Fagundes, what happened to John Cabot or the Corte-Real brothers? 

New France only ever functioned because of the Native population. France designed New France to accommodate the Natives in order to obtain furs and keep out other colonial powers. In this episode we learn about the natives of the Saint Lawrence as they can be best represented before European contact. Focusing on the St.Lawrence Iroquois, The Innu, the Mi'kmaq and the lonely Beothuk located on Newfoundland beyond who will serve as a cautionary tale to the rest of the Natives of the Americas. Google Matshikapeau at your own risk!

In this very short introduction to Season Two the case is made for New France to be our next Other State of America. 

In this episode we hear form those you who left reviews and messages to be read on the podcast. Then we move into an informal discussion of the sources that went into making this season, many of the Iroquois sources will be discussed in the endnotes of future seasons. Many thanks to everyone who listened to season one!

The Beaver Wars continue to rage on, punctuated by pandemics and waves of assimilated captives. The tribes around the Iroquois acquire guns and cannons, and the French now aim to annihilate the Five Nations. Internal conflicts arise over trade and religion, and a time will come when two nations of the Confederacy will face one another in battle.

What is left of New Netherland today? A more important question to ask is how did New Netherland help create today. In this episode we look at the immediate aftermath of the English take over, the birth of the middle colonies and then go down a couple existential rabbit holes. Santa Claus, cookies, Yankee Doodle; New Netherland is the secret ingredient in the American Melting Pot. 

In the past rival claims to New Netherland were laughable, the Dutch had control over the Hudson (North), the Delaware (South) and and the Connecticut (Fresh) river. Then New Sweden stole the Delaware, and the English took the Connecticut. Peter Stuyvesant destroyed New Sweden with the largest professional army ever assembled in that part of the world up until that point. Stuyvesant also negotiated a treaty establishing a border with the New England colonies, only giving up on paper what he already had no plans to recover. New Netherland was now stable and the population exploding under Stuyvesant, in less than 20 years growing to be ten times in size.

Still the English Colonies outnumbered the Dutch colony 10:1, and the tides were turning...

Swaanendael (or Zwaanendael) The Beautiful "Valley of the Swans" in modern day Lewes Delaware is the setting of many past horrors and one attempt at Utopia.

The last rant in our Culture Series. In this episode we cover the official policies regarding religion in the colony, level of religiosity, feeble attempt to convert natives, Anarchist Punk Quakers, the Jewish People, Mennonites, Calvinists, Lutherans, and ransomed Catholic Priests. 

This episode is a rambling potpourri of details, filling in the cultural landscape of New Netherland that might otherwise go unnoticed in other story driven installments of this podcast. Only for the diehard listener, we cover: languages, gender roles, everyday life, native relations, childhood and education, slavery and the African American experience.