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Many people reduce the origins of the United States to a handful of familiar stories, but the period leading up to the Revolutionary War was far richer and more intricate than just tales of John Smith, Thanksgiving, and the Pilgrims. Prepare for some surprises.
10. The Pilgrims Were Not The Majority On The Mayflower
The Mayflower Compact, one of the key documents in American history, was as much a strategic move for survival as it was a noble declaration of equality. The Pilgrims, who were more accurately known as Separatists, made up a minority on the Mayflower and would remain a minority in their colony. This was a key reason why they fought to secure their right to govern from the outset.
The Separatists were only a portion of the passengers aboard the Mayflower. In fact, 25 of the 102 passengers, known as ‘strangers,’ were non-Separatists. Only about 40 were journeying to the colonies to escape religious persecution, while the rest were migrants, tradespeople, and ordinary individuals seeking a better life. Many of them saw the promise of cheap land in America as a way out of the poverty and scarcity of farmland they faced in England.
The Mayflower Compact was partly influenced by the Separatists' minority position aboard the ship. The Separatists feared that once they reached land, the ‘strangers’ might break away and create their own colony, leaving the Separatists vulnerable. Even more concerning was the possibility that the ‘strangers’ might reject Separatist leadership and opt for majority rule. To prevent this, nearly every man on the Mayflower was convinced to sign the Compact, committing to obey the decisions of the ‘Civil Body Politick,’ a governing body dominated by the Separatist Church leaders.
9. The Full Story of Squanto
Squanto is remembered as the friendly Native American who somehow spoke English and helped the Pilgrims learn the skills they needed to survive in Plymouth Colony. The truth, however, is that Squanto only learned English because he had been enslaved by English traders, possibly on two occasions.
Some reports indicate that Squanto was captured as a young boy in 1605 and spent nine years working in England before finally returning to America. However, he was not there for long—by 1614, Squanto and other natives were tricked onto an English ship, imprisoned, and shipped to Spain, where they were sold. Squanto eventually escaped to England and, after much effort, secured passage to Newfoundland.
When Squanto finally made his way back to his village in Massachusetts years later, he discovered that an epidemic had wiped out his entire tribe. With no family or community to return to, it is understandable that Squanto sought refuge with the English settlers. In exchange for Squanto’s assistance in helping the Pilgrims learn survival skills like hunting and planting, the Pilgrims spent the next twenty years expanding the native slave trade in Massachusetts.
8. Religious Tolerance? What’s That?
While many Europeans came to America seeking religious freedom, they carried their own prejudices with them. Their idea of religious ‘freedom’ was often more about imposing their beliefs on others. In colonial Virginia, laws required all white citizens to attend the Anglican Church, with those who refused facing the grim possibility of execution.
The French colony at Fort Caroline lasted barely a year before a Spanish force attacked in 1565, condemning the Protestant settlers for ‘spreading the detestable Lutheran doctrine.’ The assault led to the death of all 200 male colonists. In New England, after years of conflict, Massachusetts Bay requested Plymouth’s aid in their battle against the Pequot tribe. Plymouth had no choice but to comply when the Massachusetts governor warned that if his colony defeated the Pequot on its own, the Puritan militia would march on Plymouth next.
The Puritans tolerated no opposition, exiling figures like Roger Williams, who suggested the separation of church and state. Others were cast out for questioning various religious norms. In the mid-1600s, dissenters like Quakers were executed in Boston. Virginia followed suit, passing anti-Quaker laws in 1659, with punishments that could have led to hangings if lawbreakers had been caught. Nearly every colony—and later every state—imposed laws limiting religious practices.
7. The Truth Behind the Salem Witch Trials
It is commonly believed that in the growing town of Salem, fiery ministers ignited religious zeal that led to a violent outburst, resulting in the witch trials and the execution of numerous innocent women and other marginalized individuals. However, much of the standard Salem story is inaccurate. The trials began at the demand of ordinary townsfolk, fueled by the sensational tales told by local youth. Notably, the trials were not confined to Salem alone, spreading into neighboring towns such as Andover and Ipswich.
Interestingly, the individuals accused of witchcraft were far from impoverished or powerless. Before the trials, most of the so-called ‘witches’ and ‘warlocks’ were well-respected citizens and of moderate wealth. This was likely because accusers stood to gain financially from the accused’s property if they were convicted. Both men and women were convicted and executed, though none were burned at the stake. All victims were either hanged or died in prison, with one exception—a man who was crushed to death.
In contrast to the common belief that the trials were akin to an American version of the inquisition, church leaders and ministers actively promoted reason and logic to end the violence. Local ministers were the most vocal supporters of the idea that the trials should be based on solid evidence, rather than vague ‘witness’ testimony like ‘I saw her glance at my laundry, and the next day, it was stained.’
6. A Russian Colony Once Existed in California
When we think of colonization in the Americas, Spain, France, and England are the first countries that come to mind. However, Russia also had imperial ambitions in North America. Russian exploration along the Alaskan coast began in the early 1700s, driven largely by fur traders. By the late 18th century, several Russian settlements had appeared along the Alaskan coastline as hunters ventured further south in search of otter pelts.
The abundant marine life in California’s coastal waters, along with its more temperate climate, eventually drew Russian traders to the region. In 1812, the Russian colony of Fort Ross was founded in what is now Sonoma County, California. Fort Ross became the southernmost point of Russian expansion, with claims stretching all the way from Alaska down the Pacific Northwest coast.
For several decades, Fort Ross functioned as a central base for approximately 100 Russian traders and colonists. A small settlement developed around the fort, and the Russians established trade agreements with both the local Native Americans and Mexican colonists to the south. However, the Russians often exploited the native populations, forcing them into labor practices that closely resembled slavery as they were coerced into working in agriculture.
Despite its modest size, Fort Ross became the starting point for numerous scientific, ethnological, and exploration expeditions, including the first ascent of Mount St. Helens. However, as the fur trade began to wane, the colony struggled to maintain profitability. In 1841, Fort Ross was sold to Swiss pioneer John Sutter, who would later gain fame during the gold rush. The Russian settlers sailed back to Alaska, where they continued their presence until the sale of the land to the United States in 1867.
5. Log Cabins Were Rarely Found in the Colonies
Although the image of log cabins is often intertwined with the story of early American settlements, these charming and sturdy structures were surprisingly rare in colonial North America. It would take centuries before log cabins became a common sight in the landscape of the new world.
The reason for this is that Dutch, British, and French settlers, along with Native Americans, were unfamiliar with the technique of notched-log construction, which would later become iconic in children’s toys. Instead of log cabins, 17th-century colonists constructed their homes using a technique called “wattle and daub.” This involved placing sticks upright in the ground, weaving them together with horizontal branches to create a lattice pattern (the “wattle”), and then covering the structure with clay (the “daub”) to form walls. Over time, this technique was replaced by timber-frame construction.
Log cabins are believed to have first made their way to America with the influx of Scandinavian immigrants in the mid-1600s, where such homes had long been a staple of the landscape. However, the log cabin did not gain widespread popularity in the colonies until the late 1700s, when a large influx of Scottish-Irish immigrants, drawn to the practicality and durability of the Swedish building style, adopted the log cabin and spread its use across the colonies.
4. The US Constitution Was Not Based on the System of the Iroquois Confederacy
In recent years, many have adopted the notion that the architects of the US Constitution were influenced by the democratic practices of their Iroquois neighbors. This idea has found supporters in places such as New York’s public schools and state senate. However, while cultural exchange between the colonists and the Iroquois tribes was extensive, it’s highly improbable that political concepts were among the shared ideas.
Two of the most compelling reasons for this are the glaring absence of any mention of the Iroquois during the meticulously documented debates surrounding the Constitution in the 1780s, and the stark contrast between the government of the Iroquois Confederacy and the government the United States was establishing. The Iroquois Confederacy was ruled by a non-representative council whose members were typically chosen through matrilineal inheritance. Decisions were made by unanimous agreement of the roughly 50 council members. Many aspects of the Iroquois political system were at odds with the ideals of the Founding Fathers, such as the greater influence of women and the more egalitarian social structure.
From the Founders’ perspective, their understanding of Iroquois politics was minimal at best—and what little they did understand, they found too democratic. For men like John Adams and his fellow Framers, democracy was synonymous with mob rule. The model they envisioned was that of a representative republic, led by an elite group. To suggest that Native American governance influenced the Framers is to ascribe to them a level of modern sociocultural awareness they clearly lacked.
3. Warfare Was Perpetual
The history of America’s colonial beginnings cannot be fully understood without acknowledging the near-constant state of warfare, a topic we often bypass. Yet, in the four decades after Jamestown’s establishment in 1607, Virginia settlers engaged in three wars with the Powhatan, spanning over 15 years. The struggle over land, trade, and food frequently erupted into massacres. A prime example is the 1622 conflict, in which the Powhatan killed 300 Virginians—about one-quarter of the entire colony. After the British retaliated and defeated the Powhatan, they quickly found themselves at war with Dutch settlements to the north.
In their pursuit of war, the devout Pilgrims soaked their flags in the blood of their native enemies and mounted the heads of their foes on pikes above their forts. They also engaged in the torture of captured natives and sold many into slavery. But, as history shows, the natives were equally capable of grisly acts, including dismemberment, flaying, and burning captives alive.
While much attention is given to the Pilgrims and Puritans, the often-overlooked group of mercenaries known as the ‘hammerours’ played a significant role in colonial warfare. These hardened fighters were imported to the New World to battle the natives. The need for such men isn’t surprising when we consider that the English fought wars with the Powhatans, Pequots, Iroquois, Dutch, French, Hurons, and others throughout various points in history.
The violence of colonial America reached its peak in the deadliest and most costly war per capita the country has ever experienced: King Philip’s War. Named after the native chief, this war had a casualty rate double that of the American Civil War. On the native side, over 10 percent of the 20,000-person population was killed in battle. Half of New England’s towns were heavily damaged or destroyed, and it took over a century for the region’s economy to recover. For New England, the war’s outcome was a Pyrrhic victory that ultimately forced private ventures to turn to the Crown for assistance, entering the empire as royal colonies.
2. America Wasn’t an Untouched Wilderness Before Colonization
The belief that America was an untouched wilderness is largely a construct of 19th-century American writers who longed for an idealized past that never truly existed. These writers, influenced by the dramatic decrease in Native American populations, mistakenly attributed natural habitat regrowth to the absence of native people. Prior to European colonization, the impact of humans on the North American landscape was significant. Despite the image of the ‘crying Indian’ from conservation campaigns, Native Americans employed a variety of methods to manage the natural environment.
When European colonists first arrived, they encountered a landscape that had been carefully shaped to meet the hunting and agricultural needs of a large population. Before the devastating impact of disease, Native Americans had transformed the forests of New England and the Midwest into a blend of open fields, meadows, and regrowing areas, thanks to their regular, controlled burns. The early colonists noted that the remaining forests were not densely overgrown but instead featured clear paths and open spaces between trees.
The beautiful forests of America and the expansive prairies of the Midwest were also the result of planned fires set by Native Americans. After their displacement from these areas, the forests quickly began to encroach upon the settlers’ fields, contributing to the lush, dense vegetation we recognize today.
1. The Colonies Weren’t Founded On African Slavery
Although the British colonies that later became the United States did eventually depend on the African slave trade, they weren’t the primary players in it at the start. During the first century of American colonial history, almost all African slaves were sent to the Caribbean or South America. It wasn’t until the mid-1700s that the African slave trade became dominant in the British colonies, and even then, 90 percent of enslaved Africans were sent to other regions.
Before the large-scale importation of African slaves, the colonies didn’t rely on paid labor. In the 17th century, more than half of all new immigrants were indentured servants. In theory, after 4 to 7 years of labor, they would gain their freedom, but many indenture documents were lost, making it nearly impossible for some to prove that their term of service had ended. However, this rarely mattered because in places like Maryland and Virginia, half of all indentured servants died within five years of arrival in the New World.
Servitude in the colonies often resembled slavery, except for the chance of freedom at the end of the indenture. For some, that hope of freedom didn’t even exist. In their ongoing effort to subdue Ireland, the English captured thousands of prisoners of war, sending tens of thousands more Irish people into forced servitude. These individuals were transported across the colonies, bound for life to English planters. Essentially, the English colonies were built on servitude and sustained by African slaves.
