HIST 32242 — Cultural Entanglements: Life and Death in 17th Century North America
Special Collections Teaching Session
The following items were displayed as part of the Special Collections Teaching Session for HIST 32242 on 02/03/23:
Thomas Elyot, The castel of helth [London, 1541]
Frederick S. Ferguson Book Collection R128506.2
Along with The Boke Named the Govenour (1531) and his Dictionary (1538), this work first printed in 1539 completed the ‘trilogy’ of Elyot’s major publications. It provides advice on the uses and effects of different foods and diets and popularized the theory of the four humours and complexions. Elyot connected strong emotions with the onset of distressing physiological symptoms and illnesses. Criticized by physicians, the book was popular with the reading public, going through 17 editions.
Available online via Early English Books Online
Nicolas Monardes, Ioyfull newes out of the newe founde worlde [London, 1596]
English Tract Collection 6914.1
This is an English translation by John Frampton of Nicolás Bautista Monardes’ best known work Historia medicinal de las cosas que se traen de nuestras Indias Occidentales, published in three parts under varying titles (in 1565, 1569 and completed in 1574; with an unchanged reprint in 1580). Mondardes (1493–10 October 1588) was a Spanish physician and botanist whose extensive trade links with America and the Indies enabled him to describe the uses and cultivation of quinine, sassafras, cassava, rhubarb and ginger. He was the first physician to write of the poison curare, and his lengthy description of an even more famous American plant introduced to Europe the terms ‘tabaco’ and ‘nicotain’.
Available online via Early English Books Online
Special Collections R19401
A book of hours, of the use of Rome in Latin and French. Vérard’s printed books are well known for the importance of their illustrations but also for the widespread reuse of woodcuts, which was facilitated by the use of generic scenes. It can create meaningful associations or lead to discrepancies between texts and images.
Single page available online via Luna
John Josselyn, An account of two voyages to New-England [London, 1674]
Special Collections 10100
Josselyn was a 17th century traveller to North America and this book describes his two voyages to New England, the first in 1638, when he stayed for fifteen months, and the second, longer journey in 1663. Much of the work is devoted to the natural history of the region. It is notable for its accuracy and forms an important early study of the flora and fauna of New England and discusses their medical uses and abuses including that of tobacco.
Available online via Early English Books Online
William Wood, Nevv England’s prospect [London, 1634]
Special Collections 6910.8
The work includes descriptions of plant life, geography and climate in addition to explications of Native American life and English settlements. Its treatment of the topography of New England and the accompanying ethnological study of New England’s original inhabitants ensured its popularity among the reading public in England. At the end of the volume Wood includes a short vocabulary of indigenous words and phrases.
Available online via Early English Books Online
John Gerard, The herball or Generall historie of plantes (1633)
Gerard first published his herbal in 1597, which detailed several hundred English plants and included numerous non-native species. In 1633 Thomas Johnson, a London apothecary and botanist, undertook the task of revising and expanding Gerard’s original work and this is the first revised and enlarged edition. It remained popular an influential well into the 18th century.
Available online via Early English Books Online
Selected pages available online via Luna
Charles de Rochefort, The history of the Caribby-islands [London, 1666] Special Collections 5975
This work is a 1666 English translation of the Huguenot minister Charles de Rochefort’s 1658 survey of the Caribbean. It is divided into two parts, the first dealing with the geography and natural history of the Caribbean with the second looking at its people and the use of enslaved labour in the colonies there. It was translated into English by John Davies of Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire and in addition to describing the Caribbean, it also includes details of settlements in North America and an account of Inuit living along the Davis Strait near Greenland.
Available online via Early English Books Online
Special Collections 8124
First edition of Sloane’s most important work, containing the earliest representations of the flora and fauna of Jamaica and neighbouring islands. Sloane went to the West Indies in 1687, staying for 15 months as physician to the Governor of Jamaica, the Duke of Albemarle. The first volume, published in 1707 describes the botany of the Caribbean islands; the second volume of 1725 expanded on this, including the wildlife, climate, diseases and trade of the Caribbean. In preparing the volumes, Sloane relied on the knowledge of Indigenous populations as well as information supplied to him by Akan people that had been enslaved and brought to Jamaica to work on the plantations.
Available online via Eighteenth Century Collections Online
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