Colonial America: A History to 1763

by C. Richard Middleton, Anne Lombard

Colonial 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

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, American

622 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

C. Richard Middleton is Professor of History at Queens University Belfast. He earned his BA and Ph.D. at the University of Exeter.

Reviews

[Jeremiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This definitely has a vaguely textbook-ish feel but I thought it was a thoroughly researched and insightful look into the period of American colonization and consolidation. It was interesting to see the colonies gradually become more complex and sophisticated over time, and I felt that the writer(s) gave due attention to the marginalized and exploited peoples. I found the lack of women’s rights appalling and would be curious to know more of the mindset behind assuming women were so inferior and incapable. Ultimately it seems like English colonial society was largely built around adult white men as property owners and decision makers who were assumed to know what was best for everyone. It seemed like religion also played a major part in the societal progression from inspiring the first schools to the Anglican disgruntlement being a foundational source of incompatibility with the old-world monarchical ways of thinking.

In reading this I was mostly interested in gaining more context and background on the American Revolution, and the writer(s) seemed to understand the assignment as they alluded to the early signs throughout the book and provided a fuller discussion of the primary transition points that have been agreed upon by historians.

[Cathal Aherne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a bit of a difficult read. The barrage of names, places and titles which prefix every event take up a significant portion of the book. This seems to be aimed more at university students doing a thesis on the subject rather than the casual reader (Its very possible I'm wrong though...)

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfectly readable and mostly engaging textbook. It's a bit uneven, in my view, in terms of covering non-white people, though it's not bad. If you are someone who especially wants to emphasize the broader Atlantic world and Spanish and French presence in North America, then you will probably want to supplement this book with additional materials, as it is definitely about English/British North America.