Cape Cod’s shallow bays and shifting sands are partly to blame for the region’s frequent whale strandings. Samuel de Champlain’s map of Malle Barre (Nauset Harbor), based on soundings taken during his 1605 voyage around Cape Cod, graphically portrays the dangers Cape Cod’s shoreline posed to ships and whales alike. From H. H. Langton and W. F. Ganong, trans., The Works of Samuel de Champlain . . . (Vol. 1) Reprinted, Translated and Annotated by Six Canadian Scholars under the General Editorship of H. P. Biggar (1922). Courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society. Click image for enlargement
Welcome to Commonplace, a destination for exploring and exchanging ideas about early American history and culture. A bit less formal than a scholarly journal, a bit more scholarly than a popular magazine, Commonplace speaks—and listens—to scholars, museum curators, teachers, hobbyists, and just about anyone interested in American history before 1900. It is for all sorts of people to read about all sorts of things relating to early American life—from architecture to literature, from politics to parlor manners. It’s a place to find insightful analysis of early American history as it is discussed in scholarly literature, as it manifests on the evening news, as it is curated in museums, big and small; as it is performed in documentary and dramatic films and as it shows up in everyday life.
In addition to critical evaluations of books and websites (Reviews) and poetic research and fiction (Creative Writing), our articles explore material and visual culture (Objects); pedagogy, the writing of literary scholarship, and the historian’s craft (Teach); and diverse aspects of America’s past and its many peoples (Learn). For more great content, check out our other projects, (Just Teach One) and (Just Teach One African American Print).
How to cite Commonplace articles:
Author, “Title of Article,” Commonplace: the journal of early American life, date accessed, URL.
Sophie White, “Trading Looks Race, Religion and Dress in French America,” Commonplace: the journal of early American life, accessed September 30, 2019, https://commonplace.online/article/trading-looks-race-religion-dress-french-america/
Joshua R. Greenberg, editor
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