Engaging Children in Vast Early America

"Young people - Indigenous, African, and European -- played pivotal yet overlooked roles in the early history of the Americas. As active agents who performed essential labor, cultural intermediaries who bridged societal divides, and bearers and innovators in cultural practices, the young were instrumental in the colonizing and nation-building process. Challenging adult-centric perspectives that marginalize the young, this groundbreaking collection offers a more inclusive narrative that not only honors their memory, but provides a fresh lens on the social dynamics and cultural exchanges that shaped life in the Western hemisphere from the 17th to the early 19th centuries. Highly attentive to race, class, and gender, the authors draw on previously untapped sources to recover the experiences and historical significance of young people in the collision of cultures that created a new world in the early Americas."

Steven Mintz, Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin, US, and the author of Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood

"Taking an approach that places the diverse experiences of youth in the Americas into a single frame to argue for their centrality in foundational colonial projects, the book's chapters provide a series of discrete, accessible, and original contributions to the history of childhood. Even more, the chapters serve as object lessons on the methodological creativity that has become a hallmark of the field."

Bianca Premo, Distinguished University Professor of History, Florida International University, US

"Every society is full of children and yet our histories are almost entirely about men (and sometimes women, mostly white and sometimes people of color). This exciting and important collection challenges us not only to locate but to center children and childhood in the critical field of Vast Early America. Revealing and impressive, their research gives us new ways to think about this formative period."

Karin Wulf, Director, John Carter Brown Library and Professor of History at Brown University, US