1492 Archives

Colonialism in the Americas: A Critical Look

Book — Non-fiction. By Susan Gage. 1991. 51 pages.
Graphic/comic book tackles history of colonialism in the Americas.

Slave Nation: How Slavery United the Colonies & Sparked the American Revolution

Book — Non-fiction. By Alfred Blumrosen and Ruth Blumrosen. 2006. 304 pages.
A detailed account of the role slavery played in the Revolutionary War and the writing of the U.S. Constitution.

A People’s History of the United States: Highlights from the Twentieth Century (Audio)

Audio. By Howard Zinn. Read by Matt Damon. 2003. 8 hours, 44 minutes.
Audio book version of excerpted highlights from A People's History of the United States.

Bartolomé de Las Casas: “Devastation of the Indies: A Brief Account”

Film clip. Voices of a People's History.
Dramatic reading of Bartolome de las Casas' "Devastation of the Indies: A Brief Account" (1542) by John Sayles, Viggo Mortensen, and Staceyann Chin.

July 21, 1656: Elizabeth Key Wins Her Freedom

In early Colonial Virginia, Elizabeth Key became the first woman of African descent in the North American colonies to sue for her freedom and win.

Oct. 18, 1587: Arrival of Filipinos in North America

Filipino American History Month is celebrated in the United States during the month of October.

Odawa Chief Pontiac Meets with Gladwin | Zinn Education Project

July 31, 1763: Chief Pontiac Wins Battle of Bloody Run at Fort Detroit

Fighting alongside Odawa Chief Pontiac, the unified Native warriors defeated 250 British soldiers during their siege at Fort Detroit during Pontiac’s War.

Indigenous People's History Young Readers (book cover) | Zinn Education Project

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People

Book — Non-fiction. By Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz; adapted by Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza. 2019. 244 pages.
The original academic text is fully adapted by renowned curriculum experts Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza, for middle-grade and young adult readers.

June 6, 1730: Revolt on the Little George

Approximately ninety-six Africans held captive on the British slave ship Little George revolted against the ship’s captain and crew, eventually taking control of the entire ship.

The Stono Rebellion Marker (photo) | Zinn Education Project

Sept. 9, 1739: The Stono Rebellion

Uprising by enslaved people in South Carolina.

Do All Indians Live in Tipis?

Book — Non-fiction. By National Museum of the American Indian. 2007. 256 pages.
Introduction to Native American history and contemporary culture.

Columbus resources | Zinn Education Project

It’s Columbus Day . . . Time to Break the Silence

By Bill Bigelow

This past January, almost exactly 20 years after its publication, Tucson schools banned the book I co-edited with Bob Peterson, Rethinking Columbus. It was one of a number of books adopted by Tucson’s celebrated Mexican American Studies program — a program long targeted by conservative Arizona politicians.

The school district sought to crush the Mexican American Studies program; our book itself was not the target, it just got caught in the crushing. Nonetheless, Tucson’s — and Arizona’s — attack on Mexican American Studies and Rethinking Columbus shares a common root: the attempt to silence stories that unsettle today’s unequal power arrangements.

The People vs. Columbus, et al.

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow with contributions from members of the Taíno Community. Rethinking Schools. 13 pages.
A trial role play asks students to determine who is responsible for the death of millions of Taínos on the island of Hispaniola in the late 15th century.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

1492-1992: The Legacy of Columbus

Audio CD. By Howard Zinn. 2011. 60 minutes.
Recorded in Madison, Wisconsin on October 9, 1991, Howard Zinn challenges the myths of the Columbus legend.

Teaching What Really Happened: How to Avoid the Tyranny of Textbooks and Get Students Excited About Doing History

Teaching Guide. By James W. Loewen. 2010. 264 pages.
A wealth of ideas on how to rethink the teaching of U.S. history.

Lies My Teacher Told Me About Christopher Columbus

Poster and booklet. By James W. Loewen. 2006; updated 2014.
Graphic corrective to the traditional textbook narratives about Columbus.

Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War

Book — Non-fiction. By Howard W. French. 2021. 521 pages.
This sweeping history reveals a long-concealed history of trivialization and, more often, elision in depictions of African history throughout the last five hundred years.

A Plaque in Jamaica commemorating Tacky's Rebellion

April 7, 1760: Tacky’s Rebellion Began

Inspired by the First Maroon War, a group of enslaved Ghanaian rebels in Jamaica sought to overthrow the British colonialists and create an independent Black nation on the island.

An account of enslaved people's revolts, 1600s–1800s.

Dec. 25, 1521: Enslaved People Revolt in Santo Domingo

Enslaved people on a Santo Domingo sugar plantation owned by the son of Christopher Columbus attempted to free themselves and take over the land in the earliest recorded slave uprising in the Americas.

Teaching Critically About Lewis and Clark: Challenging Dominant Narratives in K–12 Curriculum

Book — Non-fiction. By Alison Schmitke, Leilani Sabzalian, Jeff Edmundson. 2020. 216 pages.
This much-needed guide unpacks the colonial narrative that dominates most mainstream histories of the Corps of Discovery expedition.

May 10, 1740: The South Carolina Negro Act is Passed

Passed in response to the Stono Rebellion, this law made it illegal to teach enslaved people to read or write, aiming to prevent further insurrections.

The Many-Headed Hydra: Sailors, Slaves, Commoners, and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic

Book — Non-fiction. By Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Rediker. 2013. 448 pages.
A sweeping history of the role of the dispossessed in the making of the modern world.

We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know

Picture book. By Traci Sorell, and illustrated by Frane Lessac. 2021. 40 pages.
Twelve Native American kids present historical and contemporary laws, policies, struggles, and victories in Native life.

Revolution by Fire: New York’s Afro-Irish Uprising of 1741, a Graphic Novel

Book — Historical fiction. By Marcus Rediker and David Lester, with Paul Buhle. 2024. 176 pages.
This book imagines outlaw fugitive John Gwin and an eclectic crew of renegades as they attempt to disrupt and overthrow the colonial social order.

March 8, 1741: New York Conspiracy

A purported conspiracy of the enslaved in New York City led to multiple fires and arsons followed by mass jailings, trials, and eventual executions of many involved.

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