Category Archives: INDENTURE & SLAVERY

Smugglers, Bootleggers, and other Scoundrels

Introduction The subject of smuggling is interesting, instructive, and not confined to any one country, region, or culture.  People are — who they are, and none of the folkways of a particular people change simply because they uproot themselves and … Continue reading

Posted in ANTIQUITY, COLONIAL PERIOD, HISTORY, INDENTURE & SLAVERY, OUTLAWS | 2 Comments

The White Man’s Burden

British Imperialism At one time, the British Empire was a global system of dependencies (colonies and protectorates) and other territories that, for around three-hundred years, fell under the British Crown’s sovereignty and the British government’s administration.  How the British accomplished … Continue reading

Posted in ANTIQUITY, CANADA, CIVIL WAR, COLONIAL PERIOD, HISTORY, INDENTURE & SLAVERY, REVOLUTION | 5 Comments

Slaves in the American Revolution

Introduction Despite what the founding fathers said or wrote, the “new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” began as a slave society.  This unhappy fact has left an indelible imprint on … Continue reading

Posted in CANADA, COLONIAL PERIOD, FRONTIER, HISTORY, INDENTURE & SLAVERY, NATIVES, REVOLUTION | 4 Comments

The Backcountry

But first, some geography We will be talking about Virginia — sometimes referred to as the Old Dominion because Virginia was the first English colony and the dominion of English kings and queens.  We will also be speaking about the … Continue reading

Posted in COLONIAL PERIOD, FRONTIER, HISTORY, INDENTURE & SLAVERY, NATIVES, POLITICIANS | 2 Comments

America’s Old Northwest

The history almost no one knows Initially, the territories claimed by Great Britain in North America included all of present-day New England, extending southward along the Atlantic seacoast to the northern boundary of Spanish Florida and then westward to the … Continue reading

Posted in CANADA, CIVIL WAR, COLONIAL PERIOD, FRONTIER, HISTORY, INDENTURE & SLAVERY, MILITARY, NATIVES | Leave a comment

Indentured Servitude

Introduction Warfare is brutish – the longer war rages, the more objectionable it becomes.  One example of this was the Thirty Years’ War.  It was fought primarily in the area of central Europe in the 17th century and remains one … Continue reading

Posted in COLONIAL PERIOD, FRONTIER, HISTORY, INDENTURE & SLAVERY, THE LADIES | 7 Comments

The Ride of Paul Revere

Introduction We were taught as children about the midnight ride of Paul Revere.  It was a great story for young children — fourth or fifth grade, perhaps.  That dashing silversmith — who, booted and spurred and with a heavy stride, … Continue reading

Posted in CIVIL WAR, COLONIAL PERIOD, FRONTIER, HISTORY, INDENTURE & SLAVERY, REVOLUTION | 5 Comments

Olive Oatman Fairchild

Background Joseph Smith Jr. (1805 – 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saints movement.  Smith was born in Vermont, but by 1817, he had moved with his family to Western New York, which was … Continue reading

Posted in FRONTIER, HISTORY, INDENTURE & SLAVERY, LONE STAR, NATIVES, RELIGION, THE LADIES | 7 Comments

Bondage & Deliverance

Introduction The term “brain drain” describes the large-scale migration of educated or highly skilled people from one country, economic sector, or field to another, usually for better opportunities or living conditions.  It may have begun during the Age of Exploration … Continue reading

Posted in CIVIL WAR, FRONTIER, HISTORY, INDENTURE & SLAVERY, LONE STAR, NATIVES | 7 Comments