Back to the Wild: Seven Forgotten Colonies of Early America

Before Jamestown and Plymouth, there were other colonies—ventures that blazed trails, clashed with native peoples, and vanished into obscurity. From the Spanish footholds of San Miguel de Gualdape to the haunting mystery of Roanoke, Back to the Wild uncovers the dramatic stories of seven lost colonies that shaped the destiny of early America. Drawing on original sources, archaeology, and Indigenous accounts, historian Ivo Vichev reveals the human struggles behind these doomed experiments in empire. Their failures illuminate not just the brutality of colonial ambition, but also the resilience of the land and peoples they encountered. For readers of David Hackett Fischer, Nathaniel Philbrick, and Jared Diamond, this book offers a gripping journey into America’s forgotten beginnings.