Welcome to the History of the Americans podcast, episode 63.

I am your host, Jack Heneman, and I'm recording this very early in the morning on March 8, 2022, in Austin, Texas.

If you are new to the podcast, we are telling the history of the lands now encompassed by

the United States from the beginning without presentism.

At the suggestion of devoted listener Anthony from Seattle, I'll punt all the usual stuff

about subscribing, liking, spreading

the word, and sending me emails to the end of the episode. But do all that stuff anyway.

Thank you for all your support. In the last couple of months, we've been averaging more than

5,000 downloads and listens a week. Frankly humbles me.

First, a note unrelated to this week's episode.

As I've mentioned before, I occasionally say one thing when I mean another.

I mean, really, who doesn't?

Which I think of as an oral typoo or maybe just a brain fart or something.

Usually I catch them on a listen-through before I upload the episode, and if they aren't too

difficult to fix, I'll record over the error. A couple of weeks ago, though, I made a mistake that

Travis from Idaho Springs, Colorado,

helpfully pointed out in an email.

I said that Champlain's first settlement on St. Croix Island and Maine was just over the border from Nova Scotia.

Of course, that's wrong. I meant New Brunswick.

I've been staring at maps of the region for weeks by that point.

But there you go. Thank you, Travis.

Okay, back to the 17th century we go. In 1600, there were only two European settlements in today's United States, both established by Spain.

...