Empire at the Periphery

”[This] book advances historians’ understanding of the genesis of the British Atlantic, the mechanics of legal and illegal trade, the far-flung networks of the Dutch, and the development of political ideologies.” - Marjoleine Kars (The Historian) “A thoughtful and impressive book.” - Jeremy Black (Journal of European Studies) “Christian Koot’s aim in this study is to enrich our understanding of the interrelations between English-Dutch Atlantic trade, the economic behavior of English settlers in North America, and English politics between 1621 and 1713.” - Claudia Schnurmann (EH.Net) “Interesting and persuasive” - Charles W.A. Prior (English Historical Review) “Scholars of Atlantic history, the British Empire, and maritime history should all find Empire at the Periphery a worthwhile read.” - Noah L. Gelfand (International Journal of Maritime History) “Koots book is a very useful addition to the historiography of the English Atlantic, especially as it takes the periphery, rather than the metropole, as its focus.” - Sheryllynne Haggerty (Enterprise and Society) “Employing fascinating examples from an impressive array of sources, Koot provides compelling evidence that English colonists economic ideologies drew in profound ways on their long-standing reliance on Dutch trade. Koots deep understanding of both conditions on the ground and of European political theory allows readers to see the evolution of particularly colonial commercial cultures in Barbados, the Leeward Islands, and New York. He attends carefully to changes in local circumstances to argue that this history of Dutch trade was central to an eighteenth-century divergence in Caribbean and mainland theories of empire.” - April Hartfield,author of Atlantic Virginia: Intercolonial Relations in the Seventeenth Century “Koot deals in a fresh and convincing manner and in an accessible style with Anglo-Dutch trade in the western Atlantic world, leaving no stone unturned.” - Wim Klooster,author Revolutions in the Atlantic World: A Comparative History “Koot weaves a fascinating tale of the tensions between center and periphery during the early decades of the British Empire. The new English colonies struggled to acquire a staple crop or trade and to get the provisions and commodities they needed to continue to grow. England could not supply them adequately and the Dutch could. The resulting conflicts fueled the arguments between London and its nascent empire and shaped the ultimate form of the empire. Koot has given us a new and fresh look at English trade and empire.” - Robert Ritchie,Senior Research Associate, Huntington Library

Christian J. Koot is Associate Professor of History at Towson University, where he teaches courses on Colonial and Revolutionary America. He is author of Empire at the Periphery: British Colonists, Anglo-Dutch Trade, and the Development of the British Atlantic, 1621-1713.

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