This is Who We Were: Colonial America (1492-1775) includes the profiles of men, women, and children living and working in the Colonial Era in the country that would become the United States of America. Like the other works in this series, this volume observes the lives of working Americans, in this case, pilgrims, colonists, settlers, slaves and Native Americans - those who helped shape the history of the country - decade by decade.

Table of Contents

• Essay on Colonial America
• Introduction
• Section One: Profiles
• These 25 profiles of individuals and families living and working in Colonial America examine home life, work environment, and neighborhoods. Based upon historic materials, including letters, newspapers, and diaries, the profiles give a sense of what it was like to live the New World during the Colonial Era, 1492-1775.
• 1494: Portuguese Explorer Sails to the New World
• 1513: Iroquois Leader of Upstate New York Onondaga Tribe
• 1521: Native Warrior From Florida's West Coast
• 1524: Spanish Conquistador of Noble Heritage
• 1586: Young Girl Travels to the New World and Back Again
• 1608: Polish Glass Factory Manager in the Jamestown Colony
• 1615: Indentured Servant on a Tobacco Plantation
• 1620: English Reformist Travels to the Netherlands then the New World
• 1633: Laborer Works on Turtle Bay Mill in New Amsterdam
• 1635: Mohawk Tribesman Efforts Help Prevent Smallpox
• 1643: Thread Spinner in Massachusetts Supplements Income
• 1656: First Woman Slave to Sue for Her Freedom
• 1671: French Jesuit Missionary in Wisconsin
• 1675: Native American Converts to Christianity
• 1686: Governor of the Dominion of New England
• 1711: Deputy Governor of North Carolina
• 1722: Candle Maker and Mother in New Hampshire
• 1730: Tobacco Inspector in Maryland
• 1733: Merchant in West Indies Trade for Molasses
• 1740: Successful Blacksmith in Virginia
• 1741: Slave Executed for Role in Uprising
• 1752: Plantation Owner's Wife Challenges Slaves’ Treatment
• 1754: Delegate at the Albany Congress
• 1758: Soldier in the French and Indian War
• 1763: New Jersey Farmer Defies Royal Proclamation
• Section Two: Historical Snapshot
• This section is a chronology of key economic, social, and political events in Europe and the New World, including significant inventions and innovations, as America marched up to the American Revolution.
• Historical Snapshot—1600 to 1774
• Section Three: Original 13 Colonies
• With detailed chapters of each original colony, including maps, timelines, and text in an accessible bulleted format, this section illustrates how life differed for both Colonists and Native Americans in each colony.
• Connecticut
• Timeline
• Colonists
• Natives
• Delaware
• Timeline
• Colonists
• Natives
• Georgia
• Timeline
• Colonists
• Natives
• Maryland
• Timeline
• Colonists
• Natives
• Massachusetts
• Timeline
• Colonists
• Natives
• New Hampshire
• Timeline
• Colonists
• Natives
• New Jersey
• Timeline
• Colonists
• Natives
• New York
• Timeline
• Colonists
• Natives
• North Carolina
• Timeline
• Colonists
• Natives
• Pennsylvania
• Timeline
• Colonists
• Natives
• Rhode Island
• Timeline
• Colonists
• Natives
• South Carolina
• Timeline
• Colonists
• Natives
• Virginia
• Timeline
• Colonists
• Natives
• Section Four: Economy of the Times
• Through five major categories, this section examines incomes, costs of services and fees, the slave trade, prices of commodities and other items. Also included is a chart that compares British currency to today's dollar.
• Currency in Colonial America, essay
• Selected Incomes
• Services and Fees
• Slave Trades
• Commodities
• Selected Prices
• Section Five: All Around Us—What We Saw, Wrote, Read & Listened To
• This section offers reprints of newspaper and magazine articles, speeches, and other items designed to help readers better comprehend what was on the minds of colonists and Native Americans in the Colonial Era leading up to the American Revolution.
• All Around Us—1492 to 1775
• Journal of the First Voyage of Columbus, 1492
• The Voyage of John de Verazzano, along the Coast of North America, from Carolina to Newfoundland, A.D. 1524
• First Voyage to Virginia, 1584
• “Letter of John Rolfe, 1614,” American Journeys Collection
• “Letter of John Pory, 1619,” American Journeys Collection
• The Boston News-Letter, April 17 - April 24, 1704
• The Story of The New-England Courant, 1721
• First Edition of The New-England Courant, August 7, 1721
• The New-England Courant, Issue 51
• The Diary of Colonel Landon Carter, 1775-1776
• Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick, Thursday Sept. 25th, 1690
• The First Newspapers in America
• Further Reading