Encounters in the New World:A History in Documents

Description

From Columbus’s voyage in 1492 to the publication of the autobiography of Olaudah Equiano| a former slave| in 1789| Jill Lepore| winner of the distinguished Bancroft Prize for history| brings to life in exciting| first-person detail some of the earliest events in American history in Encountersin the New World.
Providing fascinating commentary along the way| Lepore seamlessly links together primary sources that illustrate the powerful clash of cultures in the Americas. Through emotional eyewitness accounts — memoirs| petitions| diaries| captivity narratives| private correspondence — formal documents| official reports| and journalistic reportage| dramatic stories of the New World are revealed| including:
* A Jesuit priest’s chronicle of life among his Iroquois captors
* Aztec records of forbidding omens
* John Smith’s account of cannibalism among the British residents of Jamestown
* Memoirs by members of Cortes’s expedition
* Reminiscences of an escaped slave
A special 16-page color cartographic section| including maps from both Europe and North America| provides a fascinating look at how the maps’ creators saw themselves and the world around them.