The First European Colonization of the North Atlantic
The First European Colonization of the North Atlantic
Files
Publication or External Link
Date
2015
Authors
Hambrecht, George
Advisor
Citation
2015. Hambrecht, George. The First European Colonization of the North Atlantic. in eds. Mark Leone and Jocelyn Knauf, "Historical Archaeologies of Capitalism", 203-225.
DRUM DOI
Abstract
Many facets of what are commonly considered to be novel and unique characteristics
of modern Capitalism have their roots, often in a mature form, in the Medieval
Period (Abu-Lughod 1991; Crosby 2004; Hoffmann 2001; Marks 2007). Archaeological
work focusing on the Norse North Atlantic from the Early Medieval Period
through to the Early Modern Period has been especially effective at revealing certain
of these phenomena, specifically those dealing with the commoditization of
natural resources and the influence of global markets on colonization. The early
medieval colonial expansion of the Norse and the subsequent centuries of interaction
with the medieval world system anticipate the central place that international
global markets had on the formation of the post-Columbian world. This essay will
discuss the North Atlantic Norse colonies, specifically the Faroe Islands, Iceland,
Greenland, and Newfoundland. For the purposes of this volume, this discussion is
offered as a counter-point to the discussions of the post-Columbian colonial efforts
of the Europeans in the Americas. The intention is to use the medieval Scandinavian
colonial migration to problematize the larger discussion on the nature of colonies,
colonialism, and the emergence of capitalism.