Synopses & Reviews
In
American Colonies award-winning historian Alan Taylor challenges the traditional Anglocentric focus of colonial history by exploring the multitude of cultural influences out of which "America" ultimately emerged. From the Siberian migrations across the Bering Strait fifteen thousand years ago and the European expeditions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries through the nineteenth-century exploration and occupation of the Hawaiian Islands, Taylor traces the complex ecological, ethnic, and economic history and colonization of the New World from coast to coast, from the Canadian north to the Pacific rim.
Examining the repeatedly overlooked influence of the continents natives upon the colonists and the resulting mutual dependence of the two, Taylor presents a unique and revelatory view of colonial North America. European colonists, African slaves, and native peoples met one another and interacted at a pace and intensity unparalleled in global history. The effects of this staggering confluence of cultural, ecological, military, diplomatic, and economic interests are still being felt in America today. This fascinating and involving history of the origins of the United States will provoke and appeal to all readers of American history.
Series Editor: Eric Foner
Review
"Prizewinning historian Taylor, adding another entry in his prestigious output...offers a work of history colored by our age of diversity. Taylor presents a continent benefiting from a plethora of cultural groups, a far cry from the conventional Anglocentric version of U.S. history." Allen Weakland, Booklist (starred review)
Review
"Taylor delves deeply into topics given scant mention in most histories....Even the serious student of history will find a great deal of previously obscure information....[A] balanced understanding of the diverse peoples and forces that converged on this continent early on and influenced the course of American history." Publishers Weekly
Review
"A noble intention that renders this a laundry-list of facts and theories that fail to form a whole. Worse, there's nothing new here....There are many good histories of Colonial America. This isn't one of them." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"[Taylor] vividly describes the harsh realities of colonial life....Well written and documented, this is recommended for academic and large public libraries." Library Journal
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
About the Author
Alan Taylors books include William Coopers Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early American Republic, which won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for history and the Bancroft Prize in American History. He is a professor of history at the University of California at Davis.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Pt. I Encounters
1 Natives, 13,000 B.C.-A.D. 1492 3
2 Colonizers, 1400-1800 23
3 New Spain, 1500-1600 50
4 The Spanish Frontier, 1530-1700 67
5 Canada and Iroquoia, 1500-1660 91
Pt. II Colonies
6 Virginia, 1570-1650 117
7 Chesapeake Colonies, 1650-1750 138
8 New England, 1600-1700 158
9 Puritans and Indians, 1600-1700 187
10 The West Indies, 1600-1700 204
11 Carolina, 1670-1760 222
12 Middle Colonies, 1600-1700 245
Pt. III Empires
13 Revolutions, 1685-1730 275
14 The Atlantic, 1700-80 301
15 Awakenings, 1700-75 338
16 French America, 1650-1750 363
17 The Great Plains, 1680-1800 396
18 Imperial Wars and Crisis, 1739-75 420
19 The Pacific, 1760-1820 444
Acknowledgements 479
Bibliography 481
Index 515