The British Atlantic World, 1500-1800 presents the first comprehensive account of the histories of Britain, British America and the British Caribbean seen in Atlantic perspective. A distinguished international team of historians examines the importance of an Atlantic approach to the central themes in the history of those regions, and the significance of these themes to Atlantic history more generally.
Senior scholars authoritatively place the experience of the British Atlantic world in the context of the European Atlantic world as a whole, while leading younger scholars consider the development of Atlantic history; the connections created by migration, commerce and religion; the representation of authority, race, class and gender identities; and the relationship between the formation of empires and states, the politics of revolution, and of counter-revolution and slavery.
Together, these essays provide the first recourse for students and teachers, and are essential reading for all with an interest in British, American, imperial and Atlantic history.
'By any standards, this is a most impressive achievement. Building on the scholarship of the last half century, the authors demonstrate the utility of an expansive Atlantic focus for an understanding of the dispersed early modern British Atlantic world. As a guide to where the growing interest in Atlantic studies has already taken us in several key areas, this volume could scarcely have been better designed or executed.' - Jack P. Greene, Johns Hopkins University
'This volume moves magisterially from prescription to execution and provides a practical demonstration of how intellectually exciting Atlantic History can be. Each of the eleven contributors covers a swathe of time, space and literature and proceeds to conclusions on developments within the British Atlantic which are truly dramatic. The eleven essays are expertly blended by Armitage and Braddick into a coherent statement on the British experience in the Atlantic. Moreover, Bernard Bailyn, in his preface, and Sir John Elliott, in his afterword, point to a possible de-construction of this British world to make way for an even larger unit of study. The British Atlantic World, 1500-1800 is as challenging as it is original, and it boldly breaks from the narrow specialization which mars so much current writing on British history. This book will inspire as well as instruct.' - Nicholas Canny, National University of Ireland, Galway
'An excellent and insightful introduction to a burgeoning field of historical inquiry.' - Keith Mason, University of Liverpool
'This important collection of essays...[is] highly recommended.' - R.P. Gildrie, Choice
'...The British Atlantic World has a richness that is belied by its compact size.' - Holly Snyder, History: Reviews of New Books
'...will prove to be an important book for anyone working in Atlantic history, British history, or American colonial history.' - Kurt Gingrich, H-Atlantic, H-Net Book Review
'The scholarship is bang up-to-date, each piece is well written and excellently edited, and the range of topics covered is comprehensive and sensible. Anyone devising a course on the British Atlantic will want to use this as a primary text.' - Trevor Burnard, International History Review
'... this set of essays provides a useful primer dealing with a range of significant lines of enquiry into the construction of a British Atlantic world in the early modern period; in the absence of up-to-date textbooks on what is currently a very active scholarly field, the book will no doubt be cited regularly.' - Kenneth Morgan, Business History
'The editors and authors are...are ambitious but cautious, hopeful but guarded. Their efforts should inspire the rest of us.' - Alison Olson, H-Albion
'All the chapters are of the highest standard and many are outstandingly good, offering new and fascinating insights.' - Geoffrey Scammell, English Historical Review
'A starting point for students to enter this growing field.' - Rick Sher, Eighteenth-Century Scotland
List of Maps
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
Notes on Contributors
Preface; B.Bailyn
Introduction; D.Armitage & M.J.Braddick
PART ONE: FRAMEWORKS
Three Concepts of Atlantic History; D. Armitage
PART TWO: CONNECTIONS
Migration; A.Games
Economy; N.Zahedieh
Religion; C.G.Pestana
PART THREE: IDENTITIES
Civility and Authority; M.J.Braddick
Gender; S.M.S.Pearsall
Class; K.Wrightson
Race; J.E.Chaplin
PART FOUR: POLITICS
State and Empire; E.Mancke
Revolution and Counter-Revolution; E.H.Gould
The Politics of Slavery; C.L.Brown
Afterword: Atlantic History: A Circumnavigation; J.H.Elliott
Abbreviations
Notes
Further Reading
Index
DAVID ARMITAGE is Professor of History at Harvard University. He is the author of The Ideological Origins of the British Empire (2000), and has edited a number of volumes including Theories of Empire, 1450-1800 (1998).
MICHAEL J. BRADDICK is Professor of History at the University of Sheffield. His publications include State Formation in Early Modern England, c. 1550-1700 (2000), and the co-edited volume Negotiating Power in Early Modern Society: Order, Hierarchy and Subordination in Britain and Ireland (2001).
Description
The British Atlantic World, 1500-1800 presents the first comprehensive account of the histories of Britain, British America and the British Caribbean seen in Atlantic perspective. A distinguished international team of historians examines the importance of an Atlantic approach to the central themes in the history of those regions, and the significance of these themes to Atlantic history more generally.
Senior scholars authoritatively place the experience of the British Atlantic world in the context of the European Atlantic world as a whole, while leading younger scholars consider the development of Atlantic history; the connections created by migration, commerce and religion; the representation of authority, race, class and gender identities; and the relationship between the formation of empires and states, the politics of revolution, and of counter-revolution and slavery.
Together, these essays provide the first recourse for students and teachers, and are essential reading for all with an interest in British, American, imperial and Atlantic history.
Reviews
'By any standards, this is a most impressive achievement. Building on the scholarship of the last half century, the authors demonstrate the utility of an expansive Atlantic focus for an understanding of the dispersed early modern British Atlantic world. As a guide to where the growing interest in Atlantic studies has already taken us in several key areas, this volume could scarcely have been better designed or executed.' - Jack P. Greene, Johns Hopkins University
'This volume moves magisterially from prescription to execution and provides a practical demonstration of how intellectually exciting Atlantic History can be. Each of the eleven contributors covers a swathe of time, space and literature and proceeds to conclusions on developments within the British Atlantic which are truly dramatic. The eleven essays are expertly blended by Armitage and Braddick into a coherent statement on the British experience in the Atlantic. Moreover, Bernard Bailyn, in his preface, and Sir John Elliott, in his afterword, point to a possible de-construction of this British world to make way for an even larger unit of study. The British Atlantic World, 1500-1800 is as challenging as it is original, and it boldly breaks from the narrow specialization which mars so much current writing on British history. This book will inspire as well as instruct.' - Nicholas Canny, National University of Ireland, Galway
'An excellent and insightful introduction to a burgeoning field of historical inquiry.' - Keith Mason, University of Liverpool
'This important collection of essays...[is] highly recommended.' - R.P. Gildrie, Choice
'...The British Atlantic World has a richness that is belied by its compact size.' - Holly Snyder, History: Reviews of New Books
'...will prove to be an important book for anyone working in Atlantic history, British history, or American colonial history.' - Kurt Gingrich, H-Atlantic, H-Net Book Review
'The scholarship is bang up-to-date, each piece is well written and excellently edited, and the range of topics covered is comprehensive and sensible. Anyone devising a course on the British Atlantic will want to use this as a primary text.' - Trevor Burnard, International History Review
'... this set of essays provides a useful primer dealing with a range of significant lines of enquiry into the construction of a British Atlantic world in the early modern period; in the absence of up-to-date textbooks on what is currently a very active scholarly field, the book will no doubt be cited regularly.' - Kenneth Morgan, Business History
'The editors and authors are...are ambitious but cautious, hopeful but guarded. Their efforts should inspire the rest of us.' - Alison Olson, H-Albion
'All the chapters are of the highest standard and many are outstandingly good, offering new and fascinating insights.' - Geoffrey Scammell, English Historical Review
'A starting point for students to enter this growing field.' - Rick Sher, Eighteenth-Century Scotland
Contents
List of Maps
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
Notes on Contributors
Preface; B.Bailyn
Introduction; D.Armitage & M.J.Braddick
PART ONE: FRAMEWORKS
Three Concepts of Atlantic History; D. Armitage
PART TWO: CONNECTIONS
Migration; A.Games
Economy; N.Zahedieh
Religion; C.G.Pestana
PART THREE: IDENTITIES
Civility and Authority; M.J.Braddick
Gender; S.M.S.Pearsall
Class; K.Wrightson
Race; J.E.Chaplin
PART FOUR: POLITICS
State and Empire; E.Mancke
Revolution and Counter-Revolution; E.H.Gould
The Politics of Slavery; C.L.Brown
Afterword: Atlantic History: A Circumnavigation; J.H.Elliott
Abbreviations
Notes
Further Reading
Index
Authors
DAVID ARMITAGE is Professor of History at Harvard University. He is the author of The Ideological Origins of the British Empire (2000), and has edited a number of volumes including Theories of Empire, 1450-1800 (1998).
MICHAEL J. BRADDICK is Professor of History at the University of Sheffield. His publications include State Formation in Early Modern England, c. 1550-1700 (2000), and the co-edited volume Negotiating Power in Early Modern Society: Order, Hierarchy and Subordination in Britain and Ireland (2001).
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