Description: Bridging the Early Modern Atlantic World brings together ten essays exploring the outcomes of the intermingling of people, circulation of goods, and exposure to new ideas that are the hallmark of the early modern Atlantic. Spanning the period from the earliest French crossings to Newfoundland to the end of the wars of independence in Spanish South America, the contributors direct particular attention to regions, communities, and groups whose activities in, and responses to, an ever-more closely bound Atlantic world remain under-represented in the literature. All share a central concern to explore the myriad ways in which ordinary people - through their own travels, relationships, and day-to-day choices - engaged with, and contributed to, the changes set in motion as the Atlantic world came into being.
Review Quotes: 'The collection of essays is groundbraking in its detailed consideration of how the Altantic world impacted cultural exchanges back in Europe, particularly Spain and Portugal, and the representation of African experiences serves as a useful reminder that the Atlantic world includes continents other than the Americas.' Sixteenth Century Journal 'This collection of 10 essays, originally presented at the University of Bristol in 2005, explores communities, interactions and linkages overlooked in the burgeoning historiography of the Atlantic World. Of particular interest is the attention it pays to Africa and archaeological evidence.' European History Quarterly