Two Essays On The History Of England And West Africa C. 1550-1670

Rye, 1573. This paper argues that some of the first voyages to West Africa were the result of a series of small political revolutions occurring in small coastal English towns. I trace the life of a single sailor, John Emery, across the Atlantic from a small town run by oligarchs, to the Canary Islands, then to West Africa, later to the Spanish Main. I argue that the first voyages to West Africa were dependent on the accumulation of capital by small-town oligarchs, who leveraged their connection with various knowledgeable parties (mostly refugees) to go to West Africa. Of Deathless Atlantic Secrets. This paper focuses on a mysterious travel account, written sometime in the seventeenth century, which I argue provided the main thrust towards the creation of the first restoration African company. I argue that it was written by an Anglo-Dutch courtier named Balthazar Gerbier, and make a case for his authorship based on a number of textual clues. Later, I argue this method – the method of “clues,” discussed best by Carlo Ginzburg – could have a fruitful application in the field of Atlantic history.