An acclaimed historian challenges the traditional Anglocentric focus of colonial history by examining the various cultural influences from which "America" emerged and documenting the intricate ecological, ethnic, and economic history of the New World, from the Canadian north to the Pacific rim. Reprint.
Challenges the traditional Anglocentric focus of colonial history by examining the various cultural influences from which the United States emerged and documenting the intricate ecological, ethnic, and economic history of the New World.
With this volume, Alan Taylor challenges the traditional story of colonial history by examining the many cultures that helped make America. Transcending the usual Anglocentric version of our colonial past, he recovers the importance of Native American tribes, African slaves, and the rival empires of France, Spain, the Netherlands, and even Russia in the colonization of North America. Moving beyond the Atlantic seaboard to examine the entire continent, American Colonies reveals a pivotal period in the global interaction of peoples, cultures, plants, animals, and microbes. In a vivid narrative, Taylor draws upon cutting-edge scholarship to create a timely picture of the colonial world characterized by an interplay of freedom and slavery, opportunity and loss.