Details

Subject(s)

• Renaissance—England [Browse]
• Humanism—England [Browse]
• Great Britain—Colonies—America—History—16th century [Browse]
• Great Britain—Colonies—America—History—17th century [Browse]
• England—Intellectual life—16th century [Browse]
• England—Intellectual life—17th century [Browse]

Series

• Ideas in context ; 67. [More in this series]
• Ideas in context ; 67 [More in this series]

Summary note

Humanism and America provides a major study of the impact of the Renaissance and Renaissance humanism upon the English colonization of America. The analysis is conducted through an interdisciplinary examination of a broad spectrum of writings on colonization, ranging from the works of Thomas More to those of the Virginia Company. Andrew Fitzmaurice shows that English expansion was profoundly neo-classical in inspiration, and he excavates the distinctively humanist tradition that informed some central issues of colonization: the motivations of wealth and profit, honour and glory; the nature of and possibilities for liberty; and the problems of just title, including the dispossession of native Americans. Dr Fitzmaurice presents a colonial tradition which, counter to received wisdom, is often hostile to profit, nervous of dispossession and desirous of liberty. Only in the final chapters does he chart the rise of an aggressive, acquisitive and possessive colonial ideology.

Notes

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Contents

• 1. Introduction
• 2. The moral philosophy of Tudor colonisation
• Tudor moral philosophy: the vita activa and corruption
• Alexander Barclay's scepticism
• John Rastell's apology
• Richard Eden's projections
• Thomas Smith and Ireland
• Humphrey Gilbert's projects
• The moral philosophy of Gilbert's projects
• Walter Ralegh's projects
• The moral philosophy of Ralegh's projects
• 3. The moral philosophy of Jacobean colonisation
• The Virginia Company
• The participants
• The vita activa and corruption
• Moral philosophy after tobacco
• Newfoundland and Nova Scotia
• New England
• 4. Rhetoric
• ǹot the Words, but the Acts'
• The foundation of commonwealths
• Linguistic possession.

Show 19 more Contents items

Other title(s)

Humanism & America

ISBN

9780511490521 (ebook)

Statement on language in description

Princeton University Library aims to describe library materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage. Read more...