England and the discovery of America, 1481-1620,: From the Bristol voyages of the fifteenth century to the Pilgrim settlement at Plymouth: the ... colonization of North America by the English

by David Beers Quinn

V/G. Excellent condition with dust jacket. Crisp, clean pages w/o underlining, marginalia, or highlighting. Tight spine. No significant nicks or tears but some shelf wear. Has embossed "Ex Libris" stamp and mylar cover.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

497 pages, Hardcover

First published July 4, 1974

About the author

David Beers Quinn was an Irish historian who wrote extensively on the voyages of discovery and colonisation of America. Born in Dublin, Ireland, he graduated from Queen's University, Belfast in 1931. He then completed a PhD on the early Tudor administration in Ireland at King's College London. He subsequently spent five years as lecturer at University College, Southampton (now Southampton University). Returning Belfast in 1939 he taught Irish history.

Reviews

[Matthew Welker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is just an excellent history book about an interesting topic. I think if you’re some really interested in the exploration age & early colonial period, it should be a must especially if wanting to learn about the English side of this era.

What lead me to the book itself was Edward IV by Charles Ross. I remember there being a random sentence about how English sailors may have found The New World as early as 1481. One of those lines that grabs your interest and leads to an extensive google search. Well not much about that was turned up save for this book and so I got my hands on it. Worth it.

David Beers Quinn’s work is top notch. It’s thorough. It’s comprehensive. It’s well organized. It’s everything you want in a history book. I loved how each part, chapter, and so on was broken down. I like when history books are organized this well. Where you have a part, you have multiple chapters in that part, and within those chapters there’s numbered sections. Just great organization. Plus each part had a short summary going over all that you just read.

As for the subject of the book, I learned a lot. As an American we’re all taught about Roanoke, Jamestown, and the arrival of the Pilgrims in 1620. Yet just given the fluff. This book provides so much more background and it’s like a behind the scenes look into the period. You learn about a number of different figures you’ve never heard of who are both interesting & colorful in their own right. In summary, this book will give you England’s first forays into exploring westward in the opening of this new era and building up to what drove England to really start making attempts to settle North America. From the religious motivations to trade. You’ll learn so much.

For anyone who is interested in this historic time period and going more into the origins of England’s America, I can’t recommend enough.