ISSS 325H - The Atlantic World 1500-1820

European exploration and expansion in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries established a new focal point in the world, which had long turned on the old pivot of the Mediterranean Sea. The Atlantic Ocean became a highway, linking Africa, Europe, North America, and South America in a vast network of exchange—of people, goods, ideas, and microbes. This course examines this new world, focusing on the experiences of the men and women, African, European, and Native American, who shaped it from 1500 to 1820. The communities they formed and the networks between those communities will be a major focus of investigation. The course will be structured around five major themes: Exploration and the Origins of the Atlantic World; Encounters within the Atlantic Community; the Atlantic Economy and the Slave Trade; Migrations and Settlements: Plants, Mammals and Microbes; and Atlantic Revolutions. (IR)

Credits: 3