It's spring in the far west of the English colonies. An English settler steps out of a small cabin to survey his land as the sun rises over the valley below. Remembering the difficulties of the past winter, he closes his eyes and quietly gives thanks to providence.
Five years ago, this man and his brother sailed from Essex, England, and became importers in one of the growing coastal settlements in the new Connecticut colony. With a land grant, they moved west into what had once been Dutch New Amsterdam and was now New York under English rule. Since they were both bachelors, they brought a Pequot woman with them to work as their servant.
After clearing tall stands of oak, maple, and hemlock, the brothers established a homestead with a crude log cabin surrounded by small gardens and fields of wheat and corn. They then began to survey their new land. The first winter had been harsh, and both men had become seriously ill. Fortunately, their Pequot companion was able to maintain the homestead and nurse them both back to health.
With the new season upon them, the brothers had hired several men to tend their fields. As the settler stands and whispers his prayer of thanks, two hired hands run up the hill from a lower field, calling as they come. In the distance, a dozen figures emerge from a stand of trees along the field—immediately recognizable by their dress and bearing as members of the Haudenosaunee village at the opposite end of the valley. As he steps from the door with the Pequot woman at his side, the settler nods to the two of them and makes to greet their neighbors for a long overdue meeting.
In the early 11th century, the Vikings were the first Europeans to explore what would later be known as North America. However, it wasn't until the late 15th century that exploration and colonization truly began.
The European nations that have come to explore and colonize the continent include England, France, the Netherlands, and Spain. The linear and hierarchical societies of these nations clash with the circle societies of the Indian nations, which the Europeans perceive as primitive and savage
The new world offers great opportunities to the Dutch, English, French, Spanish, and other European explorers, colonists, and settlers who have crossed the Atlantic in search of fame, fortune, and freedom. From Canada in the north to Mexico in the south, these opportunities come in the form of furs and precious metals, vast plots of land for both nations and individuals, countless souls to be converted, and escape from poverty and oppression. However, the Indian nations have suffered greatly from disease, famine, and increased warfare since coming into contact with the different European nations.
This basic edition of Forts & Frontiers contains details about two European nations—the English and French. Additional nationalities will be included in upcoming adventure modules and supplements.
However, GMs and players should not feel restricted by these rules or future expansions. There is a vast amount of historical information about other European nations in the New World that is easily accessible. Utilize the provided format as a guide to breathe life into these nations in your games.
“If we deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world; we shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God and all believers in God; we shall shame the faces of many of God’s worthy servants and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us, till we are forced out of the new land where we are going."— John Winthrop, A Modell of Christian Charity
English settlement of North America started in 1585 with the establishment of the short-lived Roanoke Colony by Sir Walter Raleigh. Jamestown on the Chesapeake Bay in the Virginia Colony became the first permanent settlement on the continent in 1607.
In 1620, a group of Protestant Puritans, escaping the oppression of the Catholic Church of England, created a second permanent colony on the coast of Cape Cod. At the same time, the first African slaves were brought to Virginia as chattel labor for the growing agricultural trade in indigo, rice sugar, cotton, and tobacco. By royal charter in 1670, the Hudson's Bay Company was established in northern Canada and started to challenge trade between French and Indians living in the region.
English colonies continue to expand along the Atlantic Coast and westward to the Appalachian Mountains. Trade and treaties with the Haudenosaunee provide an important but uneasy alliance against the French as the two European nations dispute claims over large parts of the continent.
The Colonies
The English colonies extend along the Atlantic coast from Maine in the north to the Carolinas in the south. As the population in the coastal regions continues to increase, finding land—and the opportunities it brings—has become more challenging. As a result, the English, along with the recently arrived Scotch, Irish, and Germans, are settling further west into lands claimed by either the Indian nations, the French, or sometimes both. Some of the settlements in The Colonies include Boston, Charles Town, Jamestown, New Haven, and Plymouth.
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