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 Indian 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. "Compelling, readable, and fresh,
American Colonies is perhaps the most brilliant piece of synthesis in recent American historical writing." (Phillip J. Deloria, associate professor of history and American culture, University of Michigan)
Background Information
New France was a huge territory claimed by French explorers, stretching from present day Quebec through the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi Valley. By a decision of the Pope, Spain divided the New World with Portugal, but its influence was primarily felt in Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico.