The Atlantic World

"The Atlantic World: Europeans, Africans, Indians and Their Shared History, 1400- 1900, is a welcome addition to the growing scholarship on the history of the Atlantic World. Benjamin's narrative, supplemented by the voices of contemporary Atlantic World inhabitants, deftly illustrates the complex connections that have historically joined people and places around the Atlantic Basin. The text's chronological and geographic breadth make it an ideal resource for scholars and students alike." - Dr. Rebecca Hartkopf Schloss, Texas A & M University "Benjamin's is a sweeping, learned, and comprehensive history of the making and undoing of a transnational world that the peoples of Africa, Europe, and the Americas created together from roughly 1450 to 1850. Benjamin traces the rise and decline of an Iberian Atlantic followed by one dominated by the French and the British. Both systems to work, however, relied on forced labor systems and fluid but unequal sexual commerce between the races. The system came to an end with a protracted 'Age of Revolutions' that shattered empires, emancipated slaves, and brought notions of equality to the fore, but that also marginalized Africa from the global economy." -Jorge Canizares-Esguerra. University of Texas at Austin. "Both erudite and accessible, The Atlantic World is the perfect textbook for courses on the interaction between Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans in the early modern period. Professor Benjamin has achieved just the right tone, length, and detailed coverage, without losing sight of the larger picture. His years of reading widely on myriad topics has paid off handsomely, to the benefit of instructors and students alike." - Matthew Restall, The Pennsylvania State University