In this episode, John gives a breakdown of the origins and character of each of the original thirteen colonies that will compose the United States. John will cover who it was that created the colonies, the motivations of those who did so and how they evolved over the first few decades of their respective existences. The colonies will be grouped into regions and John will explain what makes each region different and how the colonies within that region had common-or different--characteristics.

In addition, John gives each colony its very own colonial motto! Are you from one of these thirteen states now? Let's see if you agree or disagree with the motto that John thinks might give those less familiar with Pennsylvania or Virginia or Massachusetts, a picture of what those states were like as colonies. Beware: some of these are definitely not for kids!

In this episode, John explains how the English colonized Ireland in the 1500s and 1600s and how the English transferred there experiences in Ireland to North America. John will cover the English decisions and processes for how they tried to assert their authority over Ireland, how the Irish resisted and what all this meant for the relationship between England and Ireland.

John will also explain the demographic crisis that unfolded among Native American communities east of the Mississippi and north of the Gulf of Mexico. He will explore why the period 1580 to 1650 was so catastrophic for Native Americans in this region, how they reacted to this catastrophe and what it meant for their interactions with Europeans who were increasingly populating Native American territories.

In this episode, John goes through the various groups of people who colonized North America and explains how and why they did it. Specifically, John will discuss the Spanish presence in what is now the Southwestern United States, the French colonization of Canada and the Mississippi River Valley and the first two English colonies in what would be the United States at Jamestown and Plymouth. The episode will go into detail about the motivations for each group of colonizers, how they interacted with Native Americans and what ultimately became of their efforts at colonization in the 1500s and 1600s.