[sotd] Jamestown, Quebec, Santa Fe: Three North American Beginnings [June 19, 2008]

        Site of the Day for Thursday, June 19, 2008

        Jamestown, Quebec, Santa Fe: Three North American Beginnings

Today's site, an international collaborative project under the aegis
of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian, offers
a noteworthy presentation on the cultural heritage of North America
from the perspective of the nations which first explored and settled
the continent. Gentle Subscribers will discover an illuminating
exhibit on the earliest days of continental exploration and
colonization.

"This exhibition explores the international origins of the societies
of Canada and the United States and commemorates the 400th
anniversary of three lasting settlements in Jamestown (1607), Quebec
(1608), and Santa Fe (1609). The exhibition takes a multicultural
approach to the virtually simultaneous introduction of English,
French, and Spanish culture to this vast area and tells the stories
of Native and European societies through 1700." - from the website

The site provides an overview of English, French and Spanish
settlements in the New World, along with significant artefacts from
each of these early colonies. From a wheel-lock pistol unearthed from
a Jamestown garbage pit, to hand forged iron shears in New Mexico,
the exhibit highlights historical objects from each nation settling
North America. Among the topics considered are the early settlements;
relationships with indigenous people; trade, diplomacy and warfare;
new economies, labor systems and societies; and expanding empires.
Concluding with a brief summary of North American settlements at the
beginning of the eighteenth century, the exhibit contains links to
additional resources for each colonizing country.

Voyage to the site for an informative consideration of the origins of
North American society at:

http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/small_exhibition.cfm?key=126
7&exkey=244

 A.M. Holm

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