Description: The essays in this collection provide a coherent perspective on the comparative history of European colonialism in the Americas through their treatment of four central themes: the gendered implications of life on colonial frontiers; non-European women's relationships to Christian institutions; the implications of race-mixing; and social networks established by women of various ethnicities in the colonial context. Geographic regions covered include the Caribbean, Brazil, English America, and New France.
Review Quotes: 'With outstanding documentation of the importance of local conditions in defining historical outcomes and paying equal attention to North, South, and Central America, Nora Jaffary's compilation is a welcome contribution to the rapidly expanding field of Trans-Atlantic studies.' Christine Hunefeldt, University of California-San Diego, USA. 'This inclusive volume offers a multitude of amendments to contemporary scholarship rather than reproducing standard understandings of the early modern Atlantic world. The essays contradict any assumptions of cultural, social, or political unity in the Americas. Instead they illuminate disparate perspectives. ... The articles themselves offer brilliant insights into the highly gendered world of colonial women and the ways in which navigation of existing paradigms either challenged or hindered women of many races, backgrounds, and religious dispositions. Each article presents new insights and points of discussion, and the selection of these pieces should be commended.' Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 'This volume greatly adds to studies of the trans-Atlantic world and knowledge of gender as a constitutive element of American colonialism in all its permutations. ... This book advances our understanding of religion and its relationship to the shifting nature of gender and race. In addition, its specificity by time and place demonstrates the creation and persistence of social identities and practices in the early modern Americas.' Seventeenth-Century News