We’re living in a period of climate change. Our Earth has been getting warmer since the mid-19th century.
So how will humans adapt to and endure this period of global warming? Will they adapt to it and endure?
It turns out the people of early America also lived through a period of climate change and their experiences may hold some answers for us.
Sam White, an Associate Professor at The Ohio State University and author of A Cold Welcome: The Little Ice Age and Europe’s Encounter, joins us to explore the Little Ice Age and how it impacted initial European exploration and colonization of North America.
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 a historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.
Ben Franklin’s World is a production of the Omohundro Institute.
Episode Summary
Sam White, an Associate Professor at The Ohio State University and author of A Cold Welcome: The Little Ice Age and Europe’s Encounter, joins us to explore the Little Ice Age and how it impacted initial European exploration and colonization of North America.
During our investigation of the Little Ice Age, Sam reveals what the Little Ice Age was and when it took place; Evidence historians, climatologists, and glaciologists use to study the Little Ice Age and its impact; And details about how the people of early America experienced the Little Ice Age.
What You’ll Discover
- Big History
- The Little Ice Age
- Temperatures of the Little Ice Age
- Weather during the Little Ice Age
- Causes of the climate change between 1300 and 1850
- Historical evidence of the Little Ice Age as a period
- How Europeans understood climate and weather
- Spanish attempts to settle Florida in the 16th century
- Florida’s weather during the 1500s
- Hurricanes during the Little Ice Age
- North American food supply during the Little Ice Age
- Native American-European relations
- Spanish exploration and settlement of New Mexico
- Weather and violence
- Winter in colonial Canada
- Scurvy and Continental America
- Why Europeans had a hard time adapting to North America
Links to People, Places, and Publications
- Sam White
- A Cold Welcome: The Little Ice Age and Europe’s Encounter
- Karen Kupperman, Indians and English: Facing Off in Early America
- Karen Kupperman, The Jamestown Project
- Karen Kupperman, Roanoke: The Abandoned Colony
- Boston History Camp
- Boston Meet Up: July 8, 10am Meet at the corner of Park Street and Tremont Street on Boston Common
- Cleveland Meet Up: Saturday July 21
- Send Liz your questions about early American history for Episode 200
Sponsor Links
Complementary Episodes
- Episode 015: Joyce Chaplin, Round About the Earth
- Episode 049: Malcolm Gaskill, How the English Became America
- Episode 079: James Horn, What Are Historical Sources (Colonial Jamestown)
- Episode 116: Erica Charters, Disease & the Seven Years’ War
- Episode 127: Caroline Winterer, American Enlightenments
Time Warp Question
In your opinion, what might have happened if the Spanish, English, and French colonists who confronted North America during the Little Ice Age had better understood the climate change of the period and how to adapt to it? How would the history of North America be different?
Questions, Comments, Suggestions
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