History
The Northern European Atlantic World
Document Type
Book Chapter
Abstract
Confronted with the establishment of Portugal and Spain as the hegemonic Atlantic powers, northern Europe - France, England, and the Netherlands - initially tried to obtain African and American riches by raiding and trading. Successful colonisation of the New World had to wait until the early seventeenth century, and settlements remained small until the 1640s. By then, northern Europe held sway in various parts of North America, the Caribbean, and Brazil, and had captured Portugal's main West African trading station. As raiders, traders, and settlers, they had formed relations with native Africans and Americans, who had often enabled them to survive. But prejudice against their new neighbours intensified. This article looks at the northern European Atlantic world, focusing on privateers, merchants, and fishermen as well as informal intermediaries.
Publication Title
The Oxford Handbook of the Atlantic World: 1450-1850
Publication Date
2011
ISBN
9780191743467
DOI
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199210879.013.0010
Keywords
Atlantic, Caribbean, colonisation, fishermen, informal intermediaries, merchants, Northern Europe, Portugal, privateers, Spain
Repository Citation
Klooster, Wim, "The Northern European Atlantic World" (2011). History. 53.
https://commons.clarku.edu/historyfac/53
