Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Time: 7:30 pm (EDT) - 9:00 pm (EDT)
The Balance of Power in Colonial Native America
Native Americans did not disappear from colonial history in the 18th century. On the contrary, throughout the 1700s, Native Americans exerted decisive influence on the American colonies encroaching all around them. But how, why, and at what cost? How did Native people navigate the rapid changes to the balance of power between themselves and the surging numbers of European settlers now living on the American continent? What did life look like in the contact zones where Europeans and Natives interacted? Who were the intermediaries, the go-betweens, who greased the wheels of diplomacy and cooperation on the borderlands between English America and Indian Country? Why did they do that work, and why did so many of those go-betweens end up dead?
Advance registration required. Registration closes one half hour prior to lecture.
Cost: FREE
The Historic Annapolis 2025 Virtual Lecture Series is offered free of charge thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor. If you enjoy this program, we hope you will consider becoming a member or making a donation today to support Historic Annapolis and our mission to connect all people with our shared history.
About the Presenter
Dr. Richard Bell is Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland and author of the new book Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home. He has won more than a dozen teaching awards, including the University System of Maryland Board of Regents Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, the highest honor for teaching faculty in the Maryland state system. He has held major research fellowships at Yale, Cambridge, and the Library of Congress and is the recipient of the National Endowment of the Humanities Public Scholar award. He serves as a Trustee of the Maryland historical Society, as an elected member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and as a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Can’t watch the lecture live? The lecture will be recorded! Please register even if you cannot watch in real time; all attendees will receive a link to the recording of the lecture to watch at their convenience for two weeks. Live closed captioning is available for all lectures.
This lecture will be offered virtually by Zoom. Upon registration, you will be sent the link for the video conference to join on the evening of the lecture. If you do not receive your confirmation email after you register, please check your Spam folder, or email Cara Garside at cara.garside@annapolis.org. To learn more about Zoom and to download the app to your computer, visit the Zoom website.