Episode 014: Claudio Saunt, West of the Revolution: An Uncommon History of 1776

by Liz CovartJanuary 27, 2015

Play episode

Did you know that Russian activities in North America caused the Spanish to colonize California?

When we think of North America in 1776, our minds take us to the Atlantic seaboard where inhabitants in thirteen colonies fought Great Britain for independence.

However, as the American Revolution and its War for Independence raged, events occurred elsewhere in North America that would have important implications for the development of the later United States.

Claudio Saunt, the Richard B. Russell Professor of History at the University of Georgia and author of West of the Revolution: An Uncommon History of 1776, joins us to explore events that took place west of the American Revolution.

About the Show

Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.

It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.

Each episode features a conversation with an historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.

Episode Summary

In this episode, Claudio Saunt, the Richard B. Russell Professor of American History at the University of Georgia, joins us to investigate important events that took place in North America west of the American Revolution.

Using details from his book West of the Revolution: An Uncommon History of 1776, Claudio reveals the problems colonists and Native Americans faced when the French, Spanish, and British divided the North American continent in the Treaty of Paris, 1763; how the fur trade in Hudson Bay and along the Pacific Coast brought Europeans and Native Americans into contact; And how Russian activities in North America affected the colonization of California by the Spanish.

What You’ll Discover

What events took place in North America “west of the American Revolution”
How Claudio became fascinated with North American and Native American history
Russian activities in North America during the eighteenth century
Details about the North American fur trade
How Russian activities along the Pacific Coast affected Spanish colonization of California
The impact Spanish colonization and missions had on Native American peoples in California
Details about Spanish and Native American relations
How European viruses and domesticated animals saved Spanish settlement in California
What happened when a Spanish missionary and survey expedition encountered Native American peoples on the Colorado Plateau
What the Hudson Bay area looked like during the 1770s
How the extreme weather conditions around Hudson Bay caused British fur traders to become reliant on local Cree and Assiniboine Indians
Why Europeans were obsessed with beavers
The problems colonists and Native Americans experienced when the French, Spanish, and British divided the North American continent in the Treaty of Paris, 1763
How the end of the French and Indian War (1754-1763) caused Native American violence on the Great Plains
The interconnectedness between events in Europe and North America

Links to People, Places, and Publications

Time Warp Question

What might have happened if the Russians had not attempted to expand their fur trade into North America? Would the colonial history of North America, west and south of the thirteen British colonies have been different?