Nature and Culture in the Early Modern Atlantic (The Early Modern Americas)

In Nature and Culture in the Early Modern Atlantic, historian Peter C. Mancall explores how Europeans and Native Americans perceived a rapidly changing natural world following Columbus’s voyages. Drawing on oral histories, folklore, manuscript atlases, paintings, and texts, the book reveals how cultural interactions shaped understandings of nature, monsters, and spirits during the 16th century. Through this vivid narrative, the work illustrates the profound impact of cross-cultural encounters on shaping the modern worldview.