1776 in Western America: Forts, Furs and Frontier Online NEW

In 1776, while the 13 colonies were rising up against Britain, the rest of North America was a patchwork of empires competing through an interconnected web of conquest, exploration, settlement and trade. From Spanish missions in California to Native American trade centers on the Missouri River, Captain Cook’s voyage up the Pacific Coast in search of the Northwest Passage, Russian forays to Alaska for sea otter pelts, the Hudson Bay Company’s quest for fur-trade dominance, and the expanding Plains empire of the Comanche, we will explore how diverse peoples shaped a continent in flux. Maps, images and discussion will illuminate the year 1776 as both a revolutionary and continental turning point in the story of North America.