Europe, Africa, and the Americas

History Now, a quarterly online journal for history teachers and students, is now available at www.gilderlehrman.org/historynow.

Teachers responsible for a class in early American history often find themselves asking: When does American history begin? What does "America" include? The current issue of History Now takes the broadest approach to such questions, examining what historians call "The Atlantic World," four continents linked by the Atlantic Ocean. Scholars look at conditions in England and the Americas before English colonization; they create a context for understanding Indian and African enslavement; and they examine the perils of traveling the waters that connect peoples of each continent to one another.

This newsletter is of particular interest for teachers involved in book group this fall. Check out the interactive maps, "Perils of the Ocean in the Early Modern Era", and related lesson plans.