Description

This class closely examines the colonies of Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, New Netherland/New York, Rhode Island and the Carolinas from the early seventeenth century through the mid-eighteenth century. The class focuses particularly on the wide range of legal, political and social systems present in British North America which made it possible for certain colonies to survive and thrive, while other colonies foundered and failed. Students will master a wide range of primary and secondary sources during the semester and will finish by conducting their own research on one of these seven colonies.