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The publication of the narrative accounts of the voyages of Gisnold (1602) and Waymouth (1605) opened up for English readers what was then known as Norumbega, the later New England; They are the first documents of exploration of that region to have been published since that of Verrazzano's voyage (1524) in 1556. To the accounts of these voyages by John Brereton and James Rosier there was added by Purchas in 1625 the material of Martin Pring's voyage of 1603 and some scraps of information on the attempted colony by the Virginia Company of Plymouth at Sagadahoc on the Kennebec River in 1607-1608. The narrative of the voyage of the Mary and John, discovered in the 19th century, and now attributed to Robert Davies, remains our main authority for the 1607 voyage. Many ancillary documents are added to these essential sources. Most of these narratives have been edited in the distant past but they are now furnished with full information on fauna, flora, and above all, ethnography. The material which has become available on Indians of both northern and southern New England has enabled a full account to be given of them, while expert advice has been obtained in the edition of the Eastern Abenaki vocabulary of 1605. Considerable attention has been paid to topographical problems, to which new solutions are offered in a number of cases (though conflicting views are discussed in an appendix). The volume thus makes up a collection which is basic for the understanding of how Englishmen began to explore New England (and how its inhabitants learnt something of the English) and on how that important territory first came to light in detail. The narratives are of great interest in themselves and the biographical information which it has been possible to assemble in the introduction about a number of the authors and actors in the voyages and the colonising attempt of 1607 is valuable in enabling the reader to understand what they wrote and what they omitted. Professor and Mrs Quinn have worked on this volume for a number of years and their introduction and notes constitute an important addition to our knowledge.

First published in 1974, England and the Discovery of America places the early explorations of the English in North America in the broad context of 15th and 16th century history. Marshalling evidence that cannot be pushed aside and sifting a mass of fascinating detail (including problems of cartography and the Vinland Map controversy), Professor Quinn presents circumstantial indications pointing to 1481 as the date or the discovery of America by Bristol voyagers – fishermen seeking new sources of cod, and merchant sailors with maps carrying promise of unexploited Atlantic islands. Whereas England did little to follow up her early lead, Quinn demonstrates that English initiatives from the 1580s onward, though slow, were of great importance. He brings to life the men involved in a variety of rash and heroic experiments in colonization and casts new light on their fates. He makes it clear that it was this very profusion of trial and error and trail again, as well as the conviction that settlement in temperate latitudes in North America could be effective if tenaciously enough sought, that enabled the English to strike and maintain routes in their new American world. This book will be of interest to students of English history, American history, colonial history and naval history.

First published in 1983, England's Sea Empire was originally part of the Early Modern Europe Today book series. It explores the relationships between the increase of English merchant shipping, the growth of naval power and the early experiments in overseas trade and colonisation. No other book combines these topics for the period from the middle of the 16th to the middle of the 17th century. In dealing with economic, strategic and technical problems, the authors write in language which is intelligible to non-specialist readers. They illustrate the arguments with generous quotations from contemporary sources and with maps of the regions under discussion. This book will be of value on undergraduate courses in early British or colonial or maritime history.