Description

Book Synopsis
Colonial America: A History to 1763, 4th Edition provides updated and revised coverage of the background, founding, and development of the thirteen English North American colonies.
  • Fully revised and expanded fourth edition, with updated bibliography
  • Includes new coverage of the simultaneous development of French, Spanish, and Dutch colonies in North America, and extensively re-written and updated chapters on families and women
  • Features enhanced coverage of the English colony of Barbados and trans-Atlantic influences on colonial development
  • Provides a greater focus on the perspectives of Native Americans and their influences in shaping the development of the colonies


Table of Contents

List of Figures ix

List of Maps xi

List of Documents xii

Preface to the Fourth Edition xiii

Acknowledgments xvi

Part I Old and New Worlds Meet 1

1 The Peoples of Eastern North America: Societies in Transition 3

1 America Before Columbus and the Problem of History 4

2 The Americas in Ancient Times 5

3 The Eastern Woodlands, 1000–1300 9

4 Eastern Woodlands Societies in Transition, 1300–1500 20

5 Earliest Contacts with Europeans 22

2 The Age of European Exploration 27

1 Western Europe, 1300–1450 28

2 The Portuguese in Africa 30

3 Spain Encounters the New World 32

4 Sixteenth-Century European Competitors 39

5 England: The Elizabethan Prelude 41

Part II The Seventeenth-Century Settlements 51

3 The English Conquer Virginia, 1607–1660 53

1 Virginia Before the English 54

2 The Virginia Company: Early Settlement 55

3 The Charter of Liberties 64

4 The Massacre of 1622 and Fall of the Company 69

5 Growth and Consolidation, 1625–1660 72

4 The Conquest Continues: New England, 1620–1660 78

1 New England Before the English 79

2 The Pilgrims 80

3 Massachusetts: A City on the Hill 84

4 Establishing and Defending Order 91

5 Challenges from England 101

6 Stable Societies 103

5 Diverse Colonies: New France, New Netherland, Maryland, and the West Indies 106

1 New France 108

2 New Netherland and Delaware: The Dutch and Swedish Beginnings 113

3 Maryland: A Catholic Proprietary 120

4 English Colonies in the West Indies 128

6 The Restoration Era 134

1 The Return of Charles II 135

2 Mercantilism: The Navigation Laws 138

3 New York Becomes an English Colony 140

4 The Carolinas: Early Settlement 148

7 The Later Years of Charles II 156

1 Virginia: Bacon’s Rebellion and Its Aftermath 157

2 Massachusetts: The Struggle to Remain Self-Governing 167

3 New Jersey and Pennsylvania: The Beginnings 173

8 James II and the Glorious Revolution 181

1 The Dominion of New England 182

2 Massachusetts Reclaims Control 186

3 New York: Leisler’s Rebellion 189

4 Maryland 194

5 Aftermath 196

9 The Eras of William and Mary, and Queen Anne 200

1 William and Mary’s Colonial Policy 201

2 The Salem Witchcraft Trials 203

3 War on the Northern Frontier, 1689–1713 213

4 War and Political Change in the Carolinas 217

5 Proprietary Problems in Pennsylvania and New Jersey 222

Part III The Eighteenth-Century Provinces in a Changing Continent 227

10 The Economy and Labor System in British North America 229

1 The British Atlantic Economy 230

2 The Southern Plantation System 232

3 Northern Farming and Commerce 240

4 The Mercantilist System 246

5 Money and Taxation 251

6 The Standard of Living: Poverty and Prosperity 255

11 Settler Families and Society 260

1 New World Families 261

2 Children 267

3 Patriarchal Authority 272

4 Social Structure: Rank and Class 278

12 White Women and Gender 284

1 Gender and the Settler Experience in the Seventeenth Century 285

2 Regional Variations 289

3 Gender in a Commercializing Culture: The Eighteenth-Century Refined Lady 296

4 Gender in a Commercializing Culture: Middling and Working White Women 300

13 British North American Religion, Education, and Culture, 1689–1760 308

1 Religion 309

2 Education 318

3 The Anglicization of Taste 324

4 Libraries, Literature, and the Press 326

5 Science and the Arts 329

6 Popular Culture 332

14 Slavery and the African American Experience, 1689–1760 335

1 Slavery: An Evolving Institution 336

2 Slaves’ Experiences 341

3 The African American Family 352

4 African American Culture 355

5 Free African Americans 359

6 Resistance to Slavery 362

15 Expanding Spanish and French Empires in North America 367

1 Florida 369

2 New Mexico 375

3 The Growth of New France 380

4 The French Upper Country, or Pays d’en Haut 384

5 Louisiana 389

6 Texas 394

7 Significance for the British Colonies 396

16 Native American Societies and Cultures, 1689–1760 397

1 Native American Societies in the Eighteenth Century 399

2 The Nations of the Northern Frontier 402

3 The Nations of the Southern Frontier 416

4 Adaptation or Decline? 424

17 Immigration and Expansion in British North America, 1714–1750 427

1 The Germans and Scots-Irish 428

2 The Founding of Georgia 438

3 The Urban Frontier 441

18 British North American Institutions of Government 447

1 The Royal Framework 449

2 Local Government: Town Meeting and County Court 450

3 The Provincial Assembly: Crown versus People 453

4 Parties and Factions in the Age of Walpole 466

5 Toward a Republican Ideology 470

19 Britain, France, and Spain: The Imperial Contest, 1739–1763 473

1 The War of Jenkins’ Ear 474

2 The Struggle for the Ohio 477

3 The Conquest of Canada 489

4 The War’s Consequences 499

Selected Bibliography 507

Index 573

Colonial America

    Product form

    £32.25

    Includes FREE delivery

    RRP £33.95 – you save £1.70 (5%)

    Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Mon 10 Aug 2026.

    A Paperback / softback by Richard Middleton, Anne Lombard

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of Colonial America by Richard Middleton

      Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 08/04/2011
      ISBN13: 9781405190046, 978-1405190046
      ISBN10: 1405190043

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Colonial America: A History to 1763, 4th Edition provides updated and revised coverage of the background, founding, and development of the thirteen English North American colonies.
      • Fully revised and expanded fourth edition, with updated bibliography
      • Includes new coverage of the simultaneous development of French, Spanish, and Dutch colonies in North America, and extensively re-written and updated chapters on families and women
      • Features enhanced coverage of the English colony of Barbados and trans-Atlantic influences on colonial development
      • Provides a greater focus on the perspectives of Native Americans and their influences in shaping the development of the colonies


      Table of Contents

      List of Figures ix

      List of Maps xi

      List of Documents xii

      Preface to the Fourth Edition xiii

      Acknowledgments xvi

      Part I Old and New Worlds Meet 1

      1 The Peoples of Eastern North America: Societies in Transition 3

      1 America Before Columbus and the Problem of History 4

      2 The Americas in Ancient Times 5

      3 The Eastern Woodlands, 1000–1300 9

      4 Eastern Woodlands Societies in Transition, 1300–1500 20

      5 Earliest Contacts with Europeans 22

      2 The Age of European Exploration 27

      1 Western Europe, 1300–1450 28

      2 The Portuguese in Africa 30

      3 Spain Encounters the New World 32

      4 Sixteenth-Century European Competitors 39

      5 England: The Elizabethan Prelude 41

      Part II The Seventeenth-Century Settlements 51

      3 The English Conquer Virginia, 1607–1660 53

      1 Virginia Before the English 54

      2 The Virginia Company: Early Settlement 55

      3 The Charter of Liberties 64

      4 The Massacre of 1622 and Fall of the Company 69

      5 Growth and Consolidation, 1625–1660 72

      4 The Conquest Continues: New England, 1620–1660 78

      1 New England Before the English 79

      2 The Pilgrims 80

      3 Massachusetts: A City on the Hill 84

      4 Establishing and Defending Order 91

      5 Challenges from England 101

      6 Stable Societies 103

      5 Diverse Colonies: New France, New Netherland, Maryland, and the West Indies 106

      1 New France 108

      2 New Netherland and Delaware: The Dutch and Swedish Beginnings 113

      3 Maryland: A Catholic Proprietary 120

      4 English Colonies in the West Indies 128

      6 The Restoration Era 134

      1 The Return of Charles II 135

      2 Mercantilism: The Navigation Laws 138

      3 New York Becomes an English Colony 140

      4 The Carolinas: Early Settlement 148

      7 The Later Years of Charles II 156

      1 Virginia: Bacon’s Rebellion and Its Aftermath 157

      2 Massachusetts: The Struggle to Remain Self-Governing 167

      3 New Jersey and Pennsylvania: The Beginnings 173

      8 James II and the Glorious Revolution 181

      1 The Dominion of New England 182

      2 Massachusetts Reclaims Control 186

      3 New York: Leisler’s Rebellion 189

      4 Maryland 194

      5 Aftermath 196

      9 The Eras of William and Mary, and Queen Anne 200

      1 William and Mary’s Colonial Policy 201

      2 The Salem Witchcraft Trials 203

      3 War on the Northern Frontier, 1689–1713 213

      4 War and Political Change in the Carolinas 217

      5 Proprietary Problems in Pennsylvania and New Jersey 222

      Part III The Eighteenth-Century Provinces in a Changing Continent 227

      10 The Economy and Labor System in British North America 229

      1 The British Atlantic Economy 230

      2 The Southern Plantation System 232

      3 Northern Farming and Commerce 240

      4 The Mercantilist System 246

      5 Money and Taxation 251

      6 The Standard of Living: Poverty and Prosperity 255

      11 Settler Families and Society 260

      1 New World Families 261

      2 Children 267

      3 Patriarchal Authority 272

      4 Social Structure: Rank and Class 278

      12 White Women and Gender 284

      1 Gender and the Settler Experience in the Seventeenth Century 285

      2 Regional Variations 289

      3 Gender in a Commercializing Culture: The Eighteenth-Century Refined Lady 296

      4 Gender in a Commercializing Culture: Middling and Working White Women 300

      13 British North American Religion, Education, and Culture, 1689–1760 308

      1 Religion 309

      2 Education 318

      3 The Anglicization of Taste 324

      4 Libraries, Literature, and the Press 326

      5 Science and the Arts 329

      6 Popular Culture 332

      14 Slavery and the African American Experience, 1689–1760 335

      1 Slavery: An Evolving Institution 336

      2 Slaves’ Experiences 341

      3 The African American Family 352

      4 African American Culture 355

      5 Free African Americans 359

      6 Resistance to Slavery 362

      15 Expanding Spanish and French Empires in North America 367

      1 Florida 369

      2 New Mexico 375

      3 The Growth of New France 380

      4 The French Upper Country, or Pays d’en Haut 384

      5 Louisiana 389

      6 Texas 394

      7 Significance for the British Colonies 396

      16 Native American Societies and Cultures, 1689–1760 397

      1 Native American Societies in the Eighteenth Century 399

      2 The Nations of the Northern Frontier 402

      3 The Nations of the Southern Frontier 416

      4 Adaptation or Decline? 424

      17 Immigration and Expansion in British North America, 1714–1750 427

      1 The Germans and Scots-Irish 428

      2 The Founding of Georgia 438

      3 The Urban Frontier 441

      18 British North American Institutions of Government 447

      1 The Royal Framework 449

      2 Local Government: Town Meeting and County Court 450

      3 The Provincial Assembly: Crown versus People 453

      4 Parties and Factions in the Age of Walpole 466

      5 Toward a Republican Ideology 470

      19 Britain, France, and Spain: The Imperial Contest, 1739–1763 473

      1 The War of Jenkins’ Ear 474

      2 The Struggle for the Ohio 477

      3 The Conquest of Canada 489

      4 The War’s Consequences 499

      Selected Bibliography 507

      Index 573

      Recently viewed products

      © 2026 Book Curl

        • American Express
        • Apple Pay
        • Diners Club
        • Discover
        • Google Pay
        • Maestro
        • Mastercard
        • PayPal
        • Shop Pay
        • Union Pay
        • Visa

        Login

        Forgot your password?

        Don't have an account yet?
        Create account