Medieval and Early Modern States of North America: Map & History

Environmental stress may have caused changes in social structure, leading to conflict and warfare. Near Kayenta, Arizona, Jonathan Haas of the Field Museum in Chicago has been studying a group of Ancestral Puebloan villages that relocated from the canyons to the high mesa tops during the late 13th century. Haas believes that the reason to move so far from water and arable land was a defense against enemies. He asserts that isolated communities relied on raiding for food and supplies, and that internal conflict and warfare became common in the 13th century.

From Wikipedia: Ancestral Puebloans · History: Warfare (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Ancestral Puebloan culture is perhaps best known for the stone and earth dwellings its people built along cliff walls, particularly during the Pueblo II and Pueblo III eras, from about 900 to 1350 CE in total. The best-preserved examples of the stone dwellings are now protected within United States' national parks, such as Navajo National Monument, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Bandelier National Monument, Hovenweep National Monument, and Canyon de Chelly National Monument.

From Wikipedia: Ancestral Puebloans · Cultural characteristics (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Haudenosaunee League was established prior to European contact, with the banding together of five Iroquoian peoples living south of the Great Lakes into "The Great League of Peace". Many archaeologists and anthropologists believe that the League was formed about 1450, though arguments have been made for dates as early as the solar eclipse of August 31, 1142.

From Wikipedia: Haudenosaunee · History: Formation of the League (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Historians in the 20th century have suggested the Haudenosaunee system of government influenced the development of the U.S. government, although the extent and nature of this influence has been disputed. Bruce Johansen proposes that the Haudenosaunee had a representative form of government.

From Wikipedia: Haudenosaunee · Government: Influence on the United States (CC BY-SA 4.0)

During World War I, Canada encouraged First Nations men to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), where their hunting skills made them excellent snipers and scouts, particularly the warlike Haudenosee and the especially fierce Mohawk. About half the 4,000 or so First Nations men who served in the CEF were Haudenosaunee. Men from the Six Nations reserve at Brantford were encouraged to join the 114th Haldimand Battalion (Brock's Rangers) of the CEF, where two entire companies including officers were all Haudenosaunee. The 114th Battalion was formed in December 1915, and broken up in November 1916 to provide reinforcements for other battalions.

From Wikipedia: Haudenosaunee · History: World War I (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 1608, King Henry IV sponsored Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons and Samuel de Champlain as founders of the city of Quebec with 28 men. This was the second permanent French settlement in the colony of Canada. Colonization was slow and difficult. Many settlers died early because of harsh weather and diseases. In 1630, there were only 103 colonists living in the settlement, but by 1640, the population had reached 355.

From Wikipedia: New France · History: Foundation of Quebec City (1608) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Before the arrival of European colonists and explorers, First Nations followed a wide array of mostly animistic religions. As of 1607, official support for the first settlement at Port Royal was conditional based on efforts to convert the local First Nations people to Christianity. The French who later settled along the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, specifically Catholics, including a number of Jesuits dedicated to converting the indigenous population; an effort that eventually proved successful.

From Wikipedia: New France · Religion (CC BY-SA 4.0)

According to the staples thesis, the economic development of New France was marked by the emergence of successive economies based on staple commodities, each of which dictated the political and cultural settings of the time. During the 16th and early 17th centuries New France's economy was heavily centered on its Atlantic fisheries. This would change in the later half of the 17th and 18th centuries as French settlement penetrated further into the continental interior. Here French economic interests would shift and concentrate itself on the development of the North American fur trade. It would soon become the new staple good that would strengthen and drive New France's economy, in particular that of Montreal, for the next century.

From Wikipedia: New France · Fur trade and economy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Fort Duquesne, located at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers at the site of present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, guarded the most important strategic location in the west at the time of the Seven Years' War. It was built to ensure that the Ohio River valley remained under French control. A small colonial force from Virginia began a fort here, but a French force under Claude-Pierre Pécaudy de Contrecœur drove them off in April 1754. New France claimed this as part of their colony, and the French were anxious to keep the British from encroaching on it. The French built Fort Duquesne here to serve as a military stronghold and as a base for developing trade and strengthening military alliances with the indigenous peoples of the area.

From Wikipedia: New France · Military conflicts: French and Indian War (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 1651, the Dutch West India Company abandoned Fort Nassau and established Fort Casimir on the west side of the Delaware River a few miles south of Fort Christina. In May 1654, soldiers from New Sweden led by Governor Johan Risingh captured Fort Casimir and renamed it Fort Trinity (Trefaldigheten in Swedish). In November 1654, the directors of the Dutch West India Company ordered the Director-General of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant, to "drive" the Swedes from the river.

From Wikipedia: New Sweden · History: Conquest of New Sweden (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The settlers came from all over the Swedish realm and many of them were Finnish-speaking. The proportion of Finns in New Sweden grew especially towards the end of the colony.

From Wikipedia: New Sweden · Finnish influence (CC BY-SA 4.0)

After 1724, the Province of Massachusetts Bay built Fort Dummer near Brattleboro, as well as three other forts along the northern portion of the Connecticut River to protect against raids by Native Americans farther south into Western Massachusetts. After 1749, Benning Wentworth, the Royal Governor of New Hampshire, granted land to anyone in a land-granting scheme designed to enrich himself and his family. After 1763, settlement increased because of easing security concerns after the end of the French and Indian Wars. The Province of New York had made grants of land, often in areas overlapping similar grants made by the Province of New Hampshire; this issue had to be resolved by King George III in 1764, who granted the land to New York, but the area was popularly known as the New Hampshire Grants.

From Wikipedia: Vermont Republic · Background (CC BY-SA 4.0)

They saw themselves as a distinct region outside the legitimate jurisdiction of New York. Possessing an identifiable population or "a people" entitled them to the same constitutional rights of self-government as other "Peoples" in the American confederacy.

From Wikipedia: Vermont Republic · Constitution and frame of government (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Hawaii was originally settled by Polynesian voyagers from the Marquesas Islands or Tahiti. The date of their first arrival is uncertain. Early archaeological studies suggested they may have arrived as early as the 3rd century CE, while more recent analyses suggest that they did not arrive until around 900–1200 CE. The islands were governed as independent chiefdoms.

From Wikipedia: Hawaiian Kingdom · History: Origin (CC BY-SA 4.0)

When Hawaii operated under an absolute monarchy, federalism was utilised in regional governance. Foreigners within the lands of Hawaii were thought to themselves as unprosecutable, so a unitary state along with a constitutional monarchy replaced the previous system in 1827 to have uniformity across the entire country.

From Wikipedia: Hawaiian Kingdom · Politics and government (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Economic and demographic factors in the 19th century reshaped the islands. Their consolidation opened international trade. Under Kamehameha (1795–1819), sandalwood was exported to China. That led to the introduction of money and trade throughout the islands.

From Wikipedia: Hawaiian Kingdom · Economic, social, and cultural transformation (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Hawaiian army and navy developed from the warriors of Kona under Kamehameha I. The army and navy used both traditional canoes and uniforms including helmets made of natural materials and loincloths (called the malo) as well as Western technology such as artillery cannons, muskets and ships and Western-style organization such as military uniforms and a military rank system. European advisors were treated well and became Hawaiian citizens. When Kamehameha died in 1819 he left his son Liholiho a large arsenal with tens of thousands of soldiers and many warships. This helped put down the revolt at Kuamoʻo later in 1819 and Humehume's rebellion on Kauaʻi in 1824.

From Wikipedia: Hawaiian Kingdom · Military (CC BY-SA 4.0)