ABSTRACT

Focusing on the interconnections of the Atlantic world from 1450-1900, The Atlantic Connection examines the major themes of Atlantic history. During this period, ships, goods, diseases, human beings and ideas flowed across the ocean, tying together the Atlantic basin in a complex web of relationships. Divided into five main thematic sections while maintaining a broadly chronological structure, this book considers key cultural themes such as gender, social developments, the economy, and ideologies as well as:

- the role of the Atlantic in ensuring European dominance

- the creation of a set of societies with new cultural norms and philosophical ideals that continued to evolve and to transform not only the Atlantic, but the rest of the world

- the contestation over rights and justice that emerged from the Atlantic world which continues to exist as a significant issue today.

The Atlantic Connection is shaped by its exploration of a key question: how did Europe come to dominate the Atlantic if not through its technological prowess? Adeptly weaving a multitude of events into a larger analytical narrative, this book provides a fascinating insight into this complex region and will be essential reading for students of Atlantic history.

chapter |3 pages

Introduction

chapter |2 pages

The dominance of the West

part I|32 pages

Explorations and first contacts

chapter 1|2 pages

The Atlantic world before 1492

chapter 2|11 pages

Europe

A new age of trade and travel

chapter 3|6 pages

Medieval Africa

chapter 4|11 pages

The Americas

part II|59 pages

Colonization and conquest

chapter 5|11 pages

The voyages of Columbus

chapter 6|5 pages

The Columbian Exchange

chapter 7|8 pages

Earliest encounters

chapter 8|15 pages

Spanish colonial institutions in New Spain

chapter 9|2 pages

The colonization of Brazil

part III|28 pages

Connections, journeys, and war

chapter 11|8 pages

Atlantic trade and empire

chapter 12|18 pages

Slavery

part IV|48 pages

The age of ideas

chapter 13|6 pages

The Enlightenment

chapter 14|14 pages

The age of revolution

chapter 15|9 pages

New forms of resistance and expansion

chapter 16|17 pages

The abolition of slavery in the Atlantic

part V|28 pages

The paradox of modernity

chapter 17|6 pages

Industrialization

chapter 18|4 pages

Migration

chapter 20|7 pages

Continued colonialism

chapter 21|3 pages

Conclusions