Notes

October 25, 1493
Dear Journal:
I’m feeling very sick. After sailing the Atlantic for about a month, we’re almost at the shore of the New World. The morale is low on the ship, but I know that my crew mates will feel so much better when they see that we hit solid, unclaimed land. It’s been about a single year since Christopher Columbus sailed to these islands that we are sailing to, and now he is wealthy and glorious. It’s actually quite impressive to hear of what he has done. One day I will be like him. I will eat meals with the King. I’ll be a governor. Maybe even a governor of a settlement in this New World. I can only hope.
But that’s not true. I can do more than hope. I can make it happen. I must do what Columbus did, exactly. I must loot the natives and make them my servants. I hear that they are strong and can do physical labor well. They also have gold, I hear. Even if it is not very much gold, it is still a guaranteed profit. And if they attack us when we arrive, we still are stronger. They might have more men, but we have better weaponry and bio-weaponry. We have guns. We have disease. There are so many things we can use to keep all of them under our control.
With hope,
An eager Spanish explorer.





January 3, 1615
Journal:
I’m hungry. I have not been fed yet today, and it is 9 at night. I don’t think I’m getting food today. I came here for a better life than my last one as a poor English farmer. I did not come here to be mistreated and starved. Regardless, my “employer” has been mistreating me for the past 5 years, ever since I got here, like he does with all of his indentured servants. I only have 2 more years until my time as a servant is up, since I have a 7 year contract, like most other colonists with my pathetic “occupation.” I am excited for when I will be my own free person with my own land once my contract ends.
Back to today. I woke up at 5:30 AM to feed the animals. After that I spent the rest of the morning plowing the land. I was able to rest in the noon hour. I’m thankful for that. Often I don’t get that privilege. I spent much of the afternoon plowing as well, and I believe that I will be plowing the rest of the week, until I finish my master’s entire multi-acre farmland. He was a wealthier farmer back in England who volunteered to come to Jamestown in order to feed everyone here. He isn’t feeding everyone in actuality though. I am, along with a few others like me. He just relaxes all day.
An indentured servant.





July 16, 1611
Dear Journal,
We just hit shore this morning, and it is now evening. I feel woozy, but I know that it is only temporary, and worth it, because I am now in the New World. I'm assisting the British Empire grow by settling in the New England region, where there are multiple English settlements. We're settling here and the Spanish are settling farther south, so I don't know who will take the middle region. Maybe the French, but I hear that they are already north of us. I like this area. It is not very hot, and it is July. I hope the winters aren't freezing. That would be uncomfortable.
My fellow colonists seem like they will be good neighbors. They are all men, and they are all Christians too. The captain of the ship told us that a few women will come in the next few years.
There are some indentured servants here, most of whom just started, so they will be working for 7 more years before they earn land of their own. A few of them are orphans who were brought from London. Some are poor farmers who were in danger of losing here farms back in England.
Overall, I'm excited to be here and I hope to make history here. I want to serve the King by expanding his empire, and to serve God by expanding his empire. I have high expectations for this land, and I believe in us.
Happily and anxiously,
A male colonist.



January 2, 1700
Dear Memoir,
Why must other Christians be so cruel? We Quakers are so peaceful compared to them. I feel so bad for the natives of New England. They get attacked and killed by people who are new to the land. I like how we treat the people of this land better. We coexist with them. The other Christians also are malicious to those who aren’t the exact same kind of Christian as them. In Pennsylvania, we accept everyone, not just Christians, and not just Quakers. I feel upset whenever I remember that we and the New England Puritans both worship the same Lord. Then I remember that he would not think that way.
Why am I thinking about this? It was just New Years, when I like to ponder how I have been living for the past so many years. This year is special, because it is even a new century! I’m spending all of January thinking about what I have done for my community so far, and what I can do before I pass. It has been a deep journey for me so far, and today is only Day 2.
In other news, I hear that we, the Quakers, are moving to Jersey in large numbers. Maybe we will influence those settlements like we have for Pennsylvania. Not old Jersey, though, in Britain, but the newer Jersey, on this side of the ocean. But yes, maybe they will share our ethics. I hope.
With peace,
A Quaker.




History.com, published 2010, The Quakers, accessed 10/28/2015
portal.state.pa.us, The Quaker Province, accessed 10/18/2015
Notes, Mr. Akselrad, published 2015
The Americans; McDougal Littell; Gerald A. Danzer, J. Jorge Klor de Alva, Larry S. Krieger, Louis E. Wilson, Nancy Woloch














The first drawing is a diagram of the Triangular Trade. The Triangular Trade was an unofficial trade system were Europe, West Africa and the Americas traded their goods to each other. Europe brought crops and livestock, like horses, to the Americas. They also brought disease, like smallpox, which killed many natives. The natives of the Americas gave the Europeans crops, like maize, and animals. Europe gave guns to West Africans, and in return took slaves. They brought these slaves to the Americas. New England sent raw materials to England. England, in return, manufactured those goods and sent them back to New England.

The second drawing is guns on the right side and spears on the left side. The guns are one the right side because Europeans had guns and they were east of the Americas, who had spears and were to the west of Europe. There are many spears, because there were many natives when the Europeans came. There are very few guns, because in the beginning there were very, very few explorers and settlers. The guns, even though they are fewer than the spears, are still more powerful. In the same sense, the Europeans took over the Native Americans’ land even though they were outnumbered. They were able to take over because they had stronger, more advanced weaponry.