The forgotten history of America : little-known conflicts of lasting importance from the earliest colonists to the eve of the American Revolution

"Introduces us to extraordinary men and women and landmark events that shaped the American character and the future of the nation." —Thomas J. Craughwell, author of Failures of the Presidents and Stealing Lincoln's Body Today Americans remember 1776 as the beginning of an era. A nation was born, commencing a story that continues to this day. But the War of Independence also marked the end of another era—one in which many nations, Native American and European, had struggled for control of a vast and formidable wilderness. This book returns to that long-ago age in which the clash between America's first peoples and the newcomers from Europe was still new. Author Cormac O'Brien's masterful storytelling reveals how actors as diverse as Spanish conquistadores, Puritan ministers, Amerindian sachems, mercenary soldiers, and ordinary farmers traded and clashed across a landscape of constant, often violent, change—and how these dramatic moments helped to shape the world around us. From the founding of the first permanent European settlement in North America (1565) to the bloody chaos of the British frontier in Pontiac's War (1763), this vividly written narrative spans the two centuries of American history before the Revolutionary War. These lesser-known conflicts of the past are brought brilliantly to life, showing us a world of heroism, brutality, and tenacity—and also showing us how deep the roots of our own time truly run. Illustrated with more than 100 archival images. "Set against a grand landscape that inspires both awe and terror, The Forgotten History of America depicts a continent emerging as both a bloody battleground between Native Americans and Europeans and a place where alien cultures began to mesh." —Joseph Cummins, author of The World's Bloodiest History

Relive the Clashes that Shaped Colonial America

  

Today Americans remember 1776 as the beginning of an era. A nation was born, commencing a story that continues to this day and that we ourselves are a part of. But the War of Independence also marked the end of another era—one in which many nations, Native American and European, had struggled for control of a vast and formidable wilderness. That saga, though separated from us now by a gulf of time that makes it seem strange and even alien, was the history out of which our own emerged.

            This book returns to that long-ago age, traveling through land that now forms part of the United States but that once knew a reality in which the clash between America’s first peoples and the newcomers from Europe was still new. Focusing on events that are all but forgotten today, author Cormac O’Brien’s masterful storytelling reveals how actors as diverse as Spanish conquistadores, Puritan ministers, Amerindian sachems, mercenary soldiers, and ordinary farmers traded and clashed across a landscape of constant, often violent, change—and how these dramatic moments, though largely lost to memory, helped to shape the very world around us.

            From the founding of the first permanent European settlement in North America (1565) to the bloody chaos of the British frontier in Pontiac’s War (1763), this vividly written narrative spans the two centuries of American history before the Revolutionary War. These lesser-known conflicts of the past are brought brilliantly to life, showing us a world of heroism, brutality, and tenacity—and also showing us how deep the roots of our own time truly run. Illustrated with more than 100 archival images.

Intrepid survivors become the first men of the old world to span the new Spain plants the earliest permanent European settlement in North America Puritan New England's first major war and a dreadful harbinger of things to come The first female defendant of the new world tests the tolerances of Puritan righteousness The five nations invade the West and solidify an Iroquoian empire The English steal a colony and gain a metropolis Indian Sachem ignites a conflict that changes New England forever A New England carpenter changes the calculus of war with the Indians Race war, class conflict, and naked ambition create a combustive combination on the Virginia frontier Bostonians reject the royal prerogative and oust the governor of New England A New England minister's ordeal highlights the clash of America's cultures A costly colonial war nearly wipes South Carolina from the map, 1715 Scalp-hunting in the wilds of New Hampshire spawns an enduring American legend America strikes a blow for Britannia and draws further away from the empire in the process A novice named Washington helps spark a world war, 1754 Victory against all odds marks the swan song of New France, 1758 America's founding ranger makes history with a dubious enterprise British victory in the French and Indian War sparks a conflict of unprecedented proportions. Four castaways become the first men of the old world to span the new, 1528-1536 Spain plants the first permanent European settlement in North America, 1565 Puritan New England's first major war and a harbinger of things to come, 1637 The first female defendant of the new world tests the tolerances of Puritan righteousness, 1637 The five nations invade the West and solidify an Iroquoian empire, 1654 The English steal a colony and gain a metropolis, 1664 One Indian Sachem ignites a conflict that changes New England forever, 1675 A New England carpenter changes the calculus of war with the Indians, 1675 Race war and naked ambition ignite the Virginia frontier, 1676 Bostonians forcefully reject the royal prerogative in New England, 1689 A colonial minister's ordeal highlights the clash of America's cultures, 1704 A costly colonial war nearly wipes South Carolina from the map, 1715-1716 Scalp hunting in New Hampshire spawns an enduring American legend, 1725 America strikes a blow for Britannia and draws further away from the empire, 1745 A novice named Washington helps spark a world war, 1754 Victory against all odds marks the swan song of New France, 1758 America's founding ranger makes history with a dubious enterprise, 1759 British victory in the French and Indian War incites a vast and ugly conflict, 1763. The rich and fertile subject of American history usually starts with the Declaration of Independence. However, select events in the 150 years between the landing of the Mayflower and 1776 changed the course of history and had profound and lasting effects on the path our country took. These stories put our country's early history in perspective and help the reader understand in new fresh ways the emergence of the American nation. For example, few people realize that the first permanent settlement on American soil was not Jamestown or Plymouth, but the Spanish town of St. Augustine in Florida. Or that an atrocity committed by George Washington in the Pennsylvania woods in 1754 set off a world war between England and France. Or that the successful siege of a Canadian fort by an untrained group of New Englanders was a key step leading to the American Revolution. This book depicts a continent emerging as both a bloody battleground between Native Americans and Europeans and a place where alien cultures began to mesh. This is the history they left out of the textbooks--thanks to Cormac O'Brien, the forgotten history of America will be forgotten no more. From the founding of the first permanent European settlement in North America (1565) to the bloody chaos of the British frontier in Pontiac's War (1763), this vividly written narrative spans the two centuries of American history before the Revolutionary War. These lesser known conflicts of the past are brought brilliantly to life, showing us a world of heroism, brutality, and tenacity--and also showing us how deep the roots of our own time truly run.