HST3143   Merchants, Mariners and Migrants: The English Overseas, 1570-1624   (20 credits)

Description

The period c.1570-1624 saw a reorientation of England¿s global position, as increasing numbers of English people began to venture into unfamiliar regions. This course charts the nature and significance of their travels. We will encounter merchants in Europe, the Ottoman Empire and the far east, settlers and conquerors in Ireland and America, explorers in the frozen seas of the far north, and pirates in Spanish America. The latter part of the course focuses on the foundation of England¿s first `successful' American colony, Jamestown. Throughout, we consider the motives driving these ventures, and the complex nature of the encounters that ensued.

Reading List