Amazons, Savages, and Machiavels: Travel and Colonial Writing in English, 1550-1630: An Anthology

A broad-based and accessible anthology of travel and colonial writing in the English Renaissance, selected to represent the world-picture of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century readers in England. It includes not just the narratives of discovery of the New World but also accounts of cultures already well known through trade links, such as Turkey and the Moluccan islands, and of places that featured just as significantly in the early modern English imagination: from Ireland to Russia and the Far East, from Calais to India and Africa, from France and Italy to the West Indies. The writings reveal painstaking attempts to understand the other as well as ignorance and prejudice, surprising connections alongside phobic reactions to difference, the desire to co-operate alongside the desire to extinguish and exploit. The second edition of Amazons, Savages, and Machiavels is significantly revised and expanded, twenty years after the first edition helped to establish the field of travel and colonial writing in English.

Format: Hardback
Length: 416 pages
Publication date: 01 July 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

A comprehensive and accessible anthology of travel and colonial writing during the English Renaissance, curated to reflect the worldviews of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century readers in England. It encompasses not only the tales of exploration of the New World but also accounts of cultures already familiar through trade routes, such as Turkey and the Moluccan islands, as well as places that held a prominent place in the early modern English imagination: from Ireland to Russia and the Far East, from Calais to India and Africa, from France and Italy to the West Indies. The writings showcase meticulous efforts to comprehend the "other," as well as ignorance and prejudice, surprising connections alongside fearful reactions to difference, the inclination to cooperate alongside the desire to extinguish and exploit. The second edition of Amazons, Savages, and Machiavels undergoes a significant revision and expansion, marking twenty years since the first edition played a pivotal role in establishing the field of travel and colonial writing in English. The anthology features substantial new chapters dedicated to various regions, including: The North, which delves into the significant Arctic voyages and the quest for the elusive North-West Passage; Islamic West Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean, which offers fresh insights into Persia, Russia, and Jerusalem; England from Elsewhere, which presents observations of England and the English from European travelers; and the epilogue on women travelers, which explores the significance of Lady Catherine Whetenhall's journey to Italy, documented after her early demise. The chapter on Africa introduces new material on the Congo, Gambia, and Sierra Leone, while the chapter on East Asia and the South Seas introduces fresh perspectives on China and Japan. Additionally, the anthology includes new images of West African figures and Sir Anthony and Lady Shirley in P.

Weight: 756g
Dimension: 242 x 164 x 30 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780198871552
Edition number: 2 Revised edition