One girl’s life—and the lives of her people—are changed forever.To Pocahontas and her people, the Tidewater is the rightful home of the Powhatan tribe. To England, it is Virginia Territory, fertile with promise, rich with silver and gold. As Jamestown struggles to take root, John Smith knows that the only hope for survival lies with the Powhatan people. He knows, too, that they would rather see the English starve than yield their homeland to invaders. In the midst of this conflict, Pocahontas, the daughter of the great chief, forges an unlikely friendship with Smith. Their bond preserves a wary peace—but control can rest only in one nation’s hands. When that peace is broken, Pocahontas must choose between power and servitude—between self and sacrifice—for the sake of her people and her land.Revised edition: This edition of Tidewater includes editorial revisions.

    Tom Cheke’s world is turned upside-down when he is kidnapped from his home by Barbary corsairs during an audacious night raid. Sold into slavery in seventeenth-century Algiers, Tom carves out a new and promising life only to have it shattered once more. Another twist of fate throws him into the hands of a Scottish knight of the Order of St John and into a turbulent world of ciphers, spies and assassinations. This is a remarkable account of how a young man comes of age, grasping life from the setbacks of fortune. It is a tale of friendship and reconciliation, of intrigue and deceit, in which trust is betrayed and deep-rooted beliefs and values are cast into doubt. In Slave to Fortune, DJ Munro skilfully captures a bygone era of galleons and gunpowder as the plot twists from the alleyways of Algiers, through the splendour of Malta and the canals of Venice, to maritime Portsmouth and the rustic charms of the Isle of Wight. With echoes of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped and J. Meade Falkner’s Moonfleet, Slave to Fortune is an uplifting, intelligent adventure that will keep readers enthralled. Suitable for all ages from young adult upwards, Slave to Fortune was a #1 bestseller on Kindle (UK) for Historical Thrillers in October 2017 and a #1 bestseller for YA Historical Fiction in April, May and October 2017. The novel won the Grand Prize for young adult fiction at the Chanticleer International Book Awards (2017) and was also a first place winner for historical fiction.

    No one knows where Damian Seeker originated from, who his family is, or even his real name. Mothers frighten their children by telling them tales of The Seeker. All that is known of him for certain is that he is utterly loyal to Cromwell, and that nothing can be long hidden from him. In the new, fashionable coffee houses of London, a murder takes place. All London is ringing with the news that John Winter is dead, the lawyer Elias Ellingworth, found holding a knife over the bleeding body of the dying man, held in the Tower. Despite the damning evidence, Seeker is not convinced of Ellingworth's guilt. He will stop at nothing to bring the right man to justice...

    Bands of renegade soldiers and broken men roam the countryside, looting, burning and raping. In Parliament, former allies are torn apart after six years of bloody conflict. Will there be peace instead of war, or a military take-over of the country? John Swynfen, a rising young MP and one of the leaders of the moderate party, is working for peace, but only if safeguards can be established to protect Parliament and control the powers of the king. Ranged against him and his friends are Oliver Cromwell and his son-in-law Henry Ireton, intent on seizing power by the sword and destroying not only the monarchy but the elected government. Within a few weeks, London is occupied by Cromwell's army, parliamentary government is in ruins, the king is executed. And John Swynfen is a prisoner. Anne Swynfen travels home from Westminster to Staffordshire with her young children through a desperate winter. There, uncertain whether she will ever see her husband again, she takes charge of the large estate, where starvation looms due to bad harvests, and violent danger threatens from outlaws and the armies of both sides. While she struggles against prejudice to do a man's job, John is shot, beaten, shackled, humiliated and tortured. Tempted by golden promises if he recants, threatened with death if he does not, he tries to cling to his sanity and his beliefs. When he finally escapes, he begins a terrible journey home across war-torn England to find his wife. This is a story about keeping faith – many kinds of faith – in the face of terror, anguish and despair.

    After the King raises his standard against his rebellious Parliament, idealistic young Luce Pettitt sees his duty clear - to defend the noble cause of freedom against the Royal tyrant. He doesn't expect that duty to lie with possibly the scruffiest, most disreputable troop of cavalry in the Army of Parliament, commanded by maverick ex-mercenary Hollie Babbitt. Events conspire to bring Hollie and Luce to a wary friendship, in spite of their differences. But in the aftermath of the first bloody battle of the war, will Luce keep faith with his ideals, or his friend?

    An outcast in her own village, she befriends the Device family in Blacko, and she is quickly embroiled in their world of folk magic and superstition, of old family feuds and dangerous reputations. When fate intervenes to reunite her with Tom, Jennet risks everything for love and happiness, but when tragedy strikes Jennet finds that she is vulnerable to accusations for which she could pay the ultimate price. The Gisburn Witch is a novel about falling in love with the wrong person, making the wrong friends, and being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

    In southwestern Taiwan the Dutch establish a trading settlement; in Nagasaki a boy is born who will become immortalized as Ming dynasty loyalist Koxinga. Lord of Formosa tells the intertwined stories of Koxinga and the Dutch colony from their beginnings to their fateful climax in 1662. The year before, as Ming China collapsed in the face of the Manchu conquest, Koxinga retreated across the Taiwan Strait intent on expelling the Dutch. Thus began a nine-month battle for Fort Zeelandia, the single most compelling episode in the history of Taiwan. The first major military clash between China and Europe, it is a tale of determination, courage, and betrayal – a battle of wills between the stubborn Governor Coyett and the brilliant but volatile Koxinga. Although the story has been told in non-fiction works, these have suffered from a lack of sources on Koxinga as the little we know of him comes chiefly from his enemies. While adhering to the historical facts, author Joyce Bergvelt sympathetically and intelligently fleshes out Koxinga. From his loving relationship with his Japanese mother, estrangement from his father (a Chinese merchant pirate), to his struggle with madness, we have the first rounded, intimate portrait of the man. Dutch-born Bergvelt draws on her journalism background, Chinese language and history studies, and time in Taiwan, to create an irresistible panorama of memorable characters caught up in one of the seventeenth century’s most fascinating dramas.

    It was one of the most turbulent periods in our history, remembered for fire, plague and high treason alongside baroque music and Pepys's famous diary - but what are the stories behind the facts? Andrea Zuvich leads us through this fascinating era, condensing over 100 years of turmoil into 100 informative, bitesize facts. The well-known myths and unlikely truths surrounding the Stuarts are thoroughly examined, from the deaths of kings and the discovery of brave new worlds to Tulip Mania and the dangers of drinking orange juice.

    The gift of a sonnet, 'stolen' music, inexpressible secrets, and an irrepressible spirit have stowed away on her journey. Haunted by whispers and visions, angels and demons, will she rise out of grief and aimlessness? Her father's friendship with the residents of Wroxton Abbey, who are important figures in the court of Charles II, offers new possibilities, especially as music and its masters ~ including the 'divine' Henry Purcell ~ have not finished with her yet.

    England has been plunged into a Civil War. Blandford Candy is sent to London, after an illicit affair, and joins the Roundhead army to fight against the King, taking part in the Battle of Edgehill. A reluctant hero if ever there was one, he becomes a spy for the cause - and, through luck or judgement, uncovers more than one Royalist plot. His love of wine and the fairer sex prove both a curse and a blessing for the agent. Blandford soon earns the enmity of the King’s spy mistress Jane Whorwood, and patronage of the great parliamentarian leader John Hampden. As well as navigating the politics and perils of the Civil War Blandford must also deal with members of his family, who turn out to be to be far more duplicitous and ruthless than any rival agent. To survive, Blandford must choose a side. The Last Roundhead is the first book in the acclaimed series of novels, charting the adventures of Sir Blandford Candy during the English Civil War. Recommended reading for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Michael Jecks and George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman books. Praise for Jemahl Evans and the Blandford Candy series. “Blandford Candy is as endearing a rogue as you are likely to find in any work of literature.” Matthew Harffy author of the Bernicia Chronicles. “The research is impeccable and the writing full of verve.” Antonia Senior, The Times. “It's great fun and a rollicking good read.” Historical Novel Society. “Frankly, glorious.” Michael Jecks. Jemahl Evans is the author of the acclaimed Sir Blandford Candy series of novel. He lives in West Wales.

    . . For generations Lady Diana de Vere’s family loyally served England’s crown. But after King Charles II’s untimely death, her father becomes an outcast for refusing to submit to James II’s tyranny. Charles, Duke of St. Albans—the late king’s bastard son by actress Nell Gwyn—escapes his newly crowned uncle’s matchmaking efforts by secretly pledging to wed Diana, then departing for the Continent to become a soldier.Before the battle-scarred war hero returns to claim his promised bride, political and religious turmoil brings about revolution and yet another coronation. As companion to Queen Mary Stuart, Diana has followed her de Vere forbears into royal service. Though she hopes Charles will abandon his military career after marriage, he resists joining the ranks of the courtiers he despises and mistrusts.In palace corridors and within their own household the young duke and duchess confront betrayals, scandals, and tragedies that threaten to divide them. And neither the privileges of birth nor proximity to the throne can ensure their security, their advancement—-or their happiness.

    Lieutenant Jack Channing's life is about to be immutably altered by two events. He falls in love with a beautiful countess and witnesses an attempt on the Polish King Sigismund's life. News reaches the court that assassination attempts on Catholic monarchs have occurred elsewhere in Europe and Jack is charged with the responsibility of finding and crushing the perpetrators - murderers that became known as the Green-Scarf Fraternity. Mixing real historical events with fictional retelling, The Cavalier Club, is a richly detailed, impeccably researched story of adventure, bravery and love set during one of Europe's longest and most destructive conflicts.

    The King raises his standard against Parliament, and for bright, handsome young Puritan Thankful Russell, his new officer's commission in the Army of Parliament is the gateway to a freedom and a happiness he has never known before. Freedom, and friendship, and an escape from his zealot sister, and a new purpose in life. (And girls, and laughter, and music, and the other things that any ordinary good-looking young man at nineteen takes for granted.)But Thankful is no ordinary young man, and these are not ordinary times, and before the day has ended his life will take a turn that he never, in his wildest dreams, imagined.Or his worst nightmares.

    Instead, she’s trapped by a curse that tosses her through time whenever she attempts to leave the small town. With her curiosity shop and Great Dane familiar, Isabeau has finally found her place in time. When her landlord’s sexy nephew moves in, she thinks she may have found Mr. Right as well.Grayson Wright’s intrigued by the beautiful Isabeau, but a friend’s accusations make him worry Isabeau took advantage of his beloved uncle. Gray’s determined to learn the truth, even at the risk of losing his heart.Can Isabeau prove she’s not the gold-digger Gray fears and that her love for him is true? Can Gray learn to trust his heart, which tells him Isabeau’s the perfect woman for him? Or will Isabeau’s curse take the chance away from them both?

    With a king beheaded, a king in exile, and a Lord Protector ruling the land, the future looks certain for many and fraught with danger for others. ‘Tis true to say, characters have shaped their own destinies: but at what price, and what price must be paid for the future? ~ The Countess Spy – Anita Seymour Oliver Cromwell is triumphant and the king is dead, But Elizabeth, Lady Tollemache will never give up on the Royalist Cause and pledges her loyalty to the exiled King. ~ The Price of Convictions – Anna Belfrage Mathew Graham has the choice between staying in Scotland and Risking death, or leaving his homeland and breaking his heart. Not the easiest of choices... ~ Si tu Doir Partir – M. J. Logue Russell thought he would never be worthy of the only woman he’d ever wanted: Thomazine thought he was an idiot... ~ The King’s Courier – Francine Howarth “Breeches do not maketh man, any more than skirts maketh woman.” ~ The Chambermaid – Andrea Zuvich “I am as you find me. The wheel of fortune has turned, And Vauxhall Manor’s rightful heir has returned.” ~ Secrets of a Princess – Kelli Klampe “They will take you even if they know the cost will be their very life.” ~ Goblin Damn’d – Susan Ruth “I fear this gentleman does not understand the jeopardy he is in. One cannot simply walk into Woodhall and hold guns to people’s heads.”

    Twelve-year-old Petra has stowed away to escape her abusive father. But she quickly realizes that surviving for months at sea will be impossible without help. So when Bram, the half-Dutch / half-Javanese son of the ship’s carpenter finds her hiding spot, Petra convinces him to help her stay hidden . . . and help disguise her as a boy.If Petra is discovered and exposed as a girl, she could be tossed overboard, or worse . . . returned to her father. And if Bram is exposed for helping her, he could lose the only home—and family—he has. As tensions rise on the ship, with pirates attacking, deadly illness, and even mutiny, Petra and Bram face impossible decisions that test their friendship and threaten their dreams of freedom.Told in alternating voices, this richly researched novel is filled with secrets, intrigue, and incredible adventure.

    From the thundering hooves of Mongol or Cossack cavalry across the steppes to the clanking of tanks on parade in Moscow or Beijing, elements of this system still cast a shadow on the region at the heart of Earth’s largest continent. By tracing the evolution of Central Asian warfare and diplomacy through a series of historical examples, ranging from the ancient Xiongnu people and medieval Mongol Empire to the fall of the Soviet Union, historian Christopher Mott argues that the original system of informal relationships, indirect rule, and rapid military movement did not entirely fade from the region with the eclipse of the nomadic powers during the Middle Ages. In fact, many states like China, Iran, and Russia had already been influenced by nomadic people, and in so doing adapted their own diplomatic and military policies accordingly. The Formless Empire: A Short History of Diplomacy and Warfare in Central Asia is an engaging study of the nature of non-Western imperialism and great-power strategy. In addition, the book demonstrates that regional histories can show us the variety of political possibilities in the past and how they were adapted to changing circumstances—a point made even more important by the rapid changes facing global security and new forms of empire building. “Christopher Mott’s extremely erudite and wide-ranging examination of the history of Central Asia shows us that we have been far too narrow-minded and Eurocentric in thinking about power and how the global system changes historically. Given the current interest in ‘caliphates’ we need to reflect on the history of the areas of the world that dance to a different historical drum than we do in the West.” —Andrew John Williams, author of France, Britain, and the United States in the Twentieth Century

    Kingdom Overthrown: The Battle for Ireland, 1688-1691 is a fresh narrative account of the Williamite War, wherein Ireland became an unexpected stage in this European struggle. To the Irish officers who served in both armies, it was a fight for control of land, property, and influence. It was also part of a pan-European war that would have consequences across the continent; it saw the last ever confrontation on a battlefield between two claimants to the English throne, featuring many intense clashes including the siege of Derry and the battles of Aughrim and the Boyne. Providing the necessary historical context following Charles II's rise to power, the book then charts the central phase of the war, details the Williamite victory in Ireland, and outlines the social, political, and cultural consequences of the war. First-hand accounts of the soldiers and officers in both armies - collected from historical manuscript collections, copies of correspondence, and personal memoirs - give life and color to the narrative. Kingdom Overthrown is an accurate and human account of the most destructive conflict ever fought in Ireland.

    But at midwinter, she receives unexpected guests who will change her life in ways she could never have imagined.Decent, conventional, cleanly Het, the mending-est lady in Essex, attracted to her nephew's wilful-scruffy commanding officer, a rangy Lancastrian with a redheaded temper?Never happen. What would the neighbours say?

    It seeks to bring coherence to a pre-revolutionary historiography that focuses on questions of conformity to and (semi-)separatism from 'the church by law established' and a post-1642 historiography built around a coarse polarity of 'Presbyterian' and 'Independent', and modern notions of religious toleration.This book argues that the fundamental ecclesiological issue in 1638 - 44 was the question of church power. Once Parliament conceded that ecclesiastical power did not reside in the diocesan bishop, the state, along with its leading puritan divines, needed to isolate where church power existed and how that power was executed.Parliament wanted a church that would stymie a clerical usurpation of state control, but could equally fend off the burgeoning call for separation of church and state. When Parliament called the Westminster assembly of divines, it knew that one of the most destabilising elements of the body politic was an inchoate national church, where heterodoxy presented as much of a threat as prelacy.This book rigorously examines this pivotal moment of religious reform by analysing a small but vitally important group of these assembly divines, their writings, and their private interaction as Parliament began national church reform in the midst of a civil war. It challenges many long-held assumptions surrounding religious and political debates during the Puritan Revolution and will provide a new framework for both students and teachers to understand one of the most important moments in British history.

    Ignoring the dark warnings of his sister and astrologers, Cardinal Mazarin brings his niece to the French court, where the forbidden occult arts thrive in secret. In France, Marie learns her uncle has become the power behind the throne by using her sister Olympia to hold the Sun King, Louis XIV, in thrall.Desperate to avoid her mother's dying wish that she spend her life in a convent, Marie burns her grimoire, trading Italian superstitions for polite sophistication. But as her star rises, King Louis becomes enchanted by Marie's charm. Sensing a chance to grasp even greater glory, Cardinal Mazarin pits the sisters against each other, showering Marie with diamonds and silks in exchange for bending King Louis to his will.Disgusted by Mazarin's ruthlessness, Marie rebels. She sacrifices everything, but exposing Mazarin's deepest secret threatens to tear France apart. When even King Louis's love fails to protect Marie, she must summon her forbidden powers of divination to shield her family, protect France, and help the Sun King fulfill his destiny.

    Drawing on a wide range of sources, including personal diaries, medical texts, and devotional literature, the author enters the sickrooms of a diverse sampling of early modern Britons. The resulting stories of sickness reveal how men and women of the era viewed and managed their health both similarly and differently, as well as the ways prevailing religious practices, medical knowledge, writing conventions, and everyday life created and supported those varying perceptions.   A unique cultural history of illness, Weisser’s groundbreaking study bridges the fields of patient history and gender history. Based on the detailed examination of over fifty firsthand accounts, this fascinating volume offers unprecedented insight into what it was like to live, suffer, and inhabit a body more than three centuries ago.

    Written in a lively and accessible style, and incorporating the latest scholarship on the artist, Franits provides fresh insights into many of Vermeer's most famous works, uncovering the creative process behind them and their wealth of meanings.

    As each strives to find their identity and their place in a world where they can never fully feel accepted, they are unexpectedly faced with a bigger challenge: the Black Death. How will they cope with the terror that is all around them? What inner resources can they find to make sense of life? In the face of such devastation, can things ever be the same, or what new world should they build? As each of them tells their story, we see the glimmerings of hope and new life in the midst of great uncertainty. Ellen, William and Sam-three young people with an extraordinary challenge to face.

    Don't do it."And the man with the knife turned, thinking to give the gawky Englishman a second smile, and all his mates jeered and clapped, standing clear so that the hearth was as bare as an arena.Amsterdam, Christmas 1626It has been a year of wonders for Puritan's brat Holofernes Babbitt. Run away to the Low Countries at eighteen to take up a career as a mercenary in the Imperial Army, so far Hollie's luck has held. At least, he's still alive.Homeless, friendless, and broke till the spring campaigning starts again, it looks as if it may be a bleak Christmas for Hollie.But miracles happen, at midwinter...

    Forward written by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, the owners.

    It is almost four years since King Charles I was executed. While Parliament dithers and Oliver Cromwell’s impatience mounts, an armed avenger stalks the streets and a series of murders threatens the highest echelons of government.At the core of the mystery is Thomas Darke. He may be a colonel in Parliament’s victorious army, but his one obsession is with a crime: the assassination of Colonel Rainsborough, the army’s foremost radical. He may work as a waterman on the Thames, but his secret activities touch the realms of power, where royalist still contends against parliamentarian and where John Thurloe, Cromwell’s spymaster, strives to lay hands on the fatal avenger. Darke may even tempt the heart of the beautiful Alice Hull—but can she give herself to a man whom death seems to pursue like a familiar?This taut tale of revenge explores new aspects of two shocking events during the struggle for democracy in England: the assassination of Colonel Rainsborough in 1648, and the invasion of the House of Commons on 20 April 1653, when Parliament was dissolved in a military coup.Above all it is an ingenious ghost story, following a driven, vengeful spirit through the intimate and vivid lives of the people of London as he discovers, paradoxically, what it is to be human.Have the cavaliers underestimated Darke’s determination to avenge the crime he witnessed all those years ago?Farewell, Cavaliers is the sequel to The Winter Prince and is the second thrilling installment of the Terror and Awe: England’s Revolution series. Praise for Cheryl Sawyer 'Cheryl Sawyer weaves an excellent story and creates fabulous characters that stay with you long after you finish the book.' Historical Novel Society Praise for The Winter Prince ‘Hardcore history buffs will appreciate the fly-on-the-turret view of the dramas besieging the British royal court in 1642, when the country is rocked by civil war.’ Publishers Weekly ‘The depiction of Rupert as a commander is both vivid and convincing. I was particularly impressed by the description of the battles of Newark and Marston Moor … seen as they might have appeared to Rupert at the time, in a spectacular manner.’ Sir Frank Kitson (former Commander-in-Chief, UK Land Forces)‘Politics and passion, duty and desire provide the key ingredients in The Winter Prince, as Sawyer deftly matches her expertly crafted, history-rich plot with a wonderfully intriguing heroine and bittersweet romance.’ Booklist, American Library Association New Zealander Cheryl Sawyer has two master's degrees, with honors in French and English literature, and her career has included teaching, publishing, and writing. She has traveled to all the countries where her novels are set, and currently lives in Sydney, Australia. Author website: cherylhingley.com Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.

    marked the disintegration of order and security in Europe. It would be twelve centuries of trial and error before a successor political system--the nation-state--emerged to fill the void. The Eastern Roman Empire survived for a thousand years after the Western Empire's fall, shielding the West from the encroachment of militant Islam. During the same millennium, the Catholic Church unsuccessfully tried to resurrect a universal empire in the West. During the period of the Renaissance, Reformation and Thirty Years' War, the nation-state arose as Rome's successor. This is the story of those 1,200 years, an era that transformed the Western outlook from one bound to faith amidst chaos to one armed with reason and a belief in progress.

    Drawing on sources in a variety oflanguages and on the evidence of archaeology, anthropology, and history, the volume outlines the transformations that the acquisition of the horse wrought on a diverse range of groups within these four continents. It explores key topics such as changes in subsistence, technology, and belief systems, the horse's role in facilitating the emergence of more hierarchical social formations, and the interplay between ecology, climate, and human action in adopting the horse, as well as considering how far equestrian lifestyles were ultimately unsustainable.

    The stories give a detailed account of the trials, or tribulations, of those who were escorted through the doors of the formidable Warrington Bridewell, but also reveal a little glimpse of what life was like in the town during a time of industrial development and population growth. Whether your interest is true crime or local history, there is hopefully something here to interest you.

    Prosecuted on trumped-up charges of embezzlement, mismanagement of funds, and high treason, Fouquet managed to exonerate himself from all of the major charges over the course of three long years, in the process embarrassing and infuriating Louis XIV. The young king overturned the court’s decision and sentenced Fouquet to lifelong imprisonment in a remote fortress in the Alps.A dramatic critique of absolute monarchy in pre-revolutionary France, Embezzlement and High Treason in Louis XIV's France tells the gripping tale of an overly ambitious man who rose rapidly in the state hierarchy—then overreached. Vincent J. Pitts uses the trial as a lens through which to explore the inner workings of the court of Louis XIV, who rightly feared that Fouquet would expose the tawdry financial dealings of the king's late mentor and prime minister, Cardinal Mazarin.

     It's not the most auspicious beginning to a twenty-year friendship, but everyone's got to start somewhere...

    Both words can be found in The First English Dictionary of Slang, originally published in 1699 as A New Dictionary of Terms, Ancient and Modern, of the Canting Crew by B. E. Gentleman. Though a number of early texts, beginning in the sixteenth century, codified forms of cant—the slang language of the criminal underworld—in word lists which appeared as appendices or parts of larger volumes, the dictionary of 1699 was the first work dedicated to slang words and their meanings. It aimed to educate the more polite classes in the language and, consequently, the methods of thieves and vagabonds, protecting the innocent from cant speakers and their activities.            This dictionary is also the first that attempts to show the overlap and integration between canting words and common slang words. Refusing to distinguish between criminal vocabulary and the more ordinary everyday English of the period, it sets canting words side by side with terms used in domestic culture and those used by sailors and laborers. With such a democratic attitude toward words, this text is genuinely a modern dictionary, as well as the first attempt by dictionary makers to catalog the ever-changing world of English slang.            Reproduced here with an introduction by John Simpson, chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, describing the history and culture of canting in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as well as the evolution of English slang, this is a fascinating volume for all who marvel at words and may wish to reclaim a few—say, to dabble in the parlance of a seventeenth-century sailor one day and that of a vagabond the next.

    Once a new, exciting, and frightening concept, “the world” was transformed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. But how could one envision something that no one had ever seen in its totality?  The Worldmakers moves beyond histories of globalization to explore how “the world” itself—variously understood as an object of inquiry, a comprehensive category, and a system of order—was self-consciously shaped by human agents. Gathering an international cast of characters, from Dutch cartographers and French philosophers to Portuguese and English poets, Ramachandran describes a history of firsts: the first world atlas, the first global epic, the first modern attempt to develop a systematic natural philosophy—all part of an effort by early modern thinkers to capture “the world” on the page.