The subtitle of this book is, “From Before Columbus to the Revolution”, which is about 300 years of history. These are 300 years of history we don’t usually think about. Polk starts with information about the Native Peoples, as well as their interactions with the newer arrivals to the continent. Sadly, most of the information we have for the Native Peoples is from the people who came later. Polk also describes some of the forces that impacted the start of the slave trade, even before it was to impact the New World. Again, something we rarely focus on.
When we do think about “American” history, we sometimes neglect to factor in the impact events in England had on the colonies before the Revolution. Even though communication took weeks, which made the connection somewhat tenuous in the best of times, between 1640 and 1660 England was much more focused on internal issues than on her colonies halfway around the world. When England did start to focus on the New World again, they discovered that things in the colonies had not stayed exactly the same. Almost like having a toddler, and then being surprised when they become a rebellious teenager.
The colonies themselves differed greatly, and there was little agreement between them on most topics. One thing they did have in common was that all were becoming more diverse, and their populations were growing, both from immigration and from natural increase. Travel, and therefore communication, was difficult between colonies; not as difficult as with England, but still a challenge. While there were some commonalities between the colonies, there was about as much disagreement.
If this was your family, how would you research them? While much of this book is set before European colonization, it is still very good background. The author does a good job of trying to show what the world might have been like in the different eras discussed. While you may not have had ancestors in the colonies this early, knowing what they might have found when they arrived there, and what might have prompted them to go where they did, is an interesting thought process.