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New World, Inc.: The Making of America by England's Merchant Adventurers
Three generations of English merchant adventurers-not the Pilgrims, as we have so long believed-were the earliest founders of America. Profit-not piety-was their primary motive.
Some seventy years before the Mayflower sailed, a small group of English merchants formed "The Mysterie, Company, and Fellowship of Merchant Adventurers for the Discovery of Regions, Dominions, Islands, and Places Unknown," the world's first joint-stock company. Back then, in the mid-sixteenth century, England was a small and relatively insignificant kingdom on the periphery of Europe, and it had begun to face a daunting array of social, commercial, and political problems. Struggling with a single export-woolen cloth-the merchants were forced to seek new markets and trading partners, especially as political discord followed the straitened circumstances in which so many English people found themselves.
At first they headed east, and dreamed of Cathay-China, with its silks and exotic luxuries. Eventually, they turned west, and so began a new chapter in world history. The work of reaching the New World required the very latest in navigational science as well as an extraordinary appetite for risk. As this absorbing account shows, innovation and risk-taking were at the heart of the settlement of America, as was the profit motive. Trade and business drove English interest in America, and determined what happened once their ships reached the New World.
The result of extensive archival work and a bold interpretation of the historical record, New World, Inc. draws a portrait of life in London, on the Atlantic, and across the New World that offers a fresh analysis of the founding of American history. In the tradition of the best works of history that make us reconsider the past and better understand the present, Butman and Targett examine the enterprising spirit that inspired European settlement of America and established a national culture of entrepreneurship and innovation that continues to this day.
Some seventy years before the Mayflower sailed, a small group of English merchants formed "The Mysterie, Company, and Fellowship of Merchant Adventurers for the Discovery of Regions, Dominions, Islands, and Places Unknown," the world's first joint-stock company. Back then, in the mid-sixteenth century, England was a small and relatively insignificant kingdom on the periphery of Europe, and it had begun to face a daunting array of social, commercial, and political problems. Struggling with a single export-woolen cloth-the merchants were forced to seek new markets and trading partners, especially as political discord followed the straitened circumstances in which so many English people found themselves.
At first they headed east, and dreamed of Cathay-China, with its silks and exotic luxuries. Eventually, they turned west, and so began a new chapter in world history. The work of reaching the New World required the very latest in navigational science as well as an extraordinary appetite for risk. As this absorbing account shows, innovation and risk-taking were at the heart of the settlement of America, as was the profit motive. Trade and business drove English interest in America, and determined what happened once their ships reached the New World.
The result of extensive archival work and a bold interpretation of the historical record, New World, Inc. draws a portrait of life in London, on the Atlantic, and across the New World that offers a fresh analysis of the founding of American history. In the tradition of the best works of history that make us reconsider the past and better understand the present, Butman and Targett examine the enterprising spirit that inspired European settlement of America and established a national culture of entrepreneurship and innovation that continues to this day.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published March 20, 2018
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August 19, 2022
“I am not so simple to think that ever any motive than wealth will ever erect there a Commonwealth…”
- John Smith, A Description of New England (1616)
“The Plymouth story, serving as America’s default founding myth, derives its power from the fact that it reflects what America wants to be, how it wants to see itself and be seen. But in its popular conception the story is misleading because there is one major feature of American life that has been often left out, ignored, overlooked, or downplayed. Commerce. Business. Enterprise…Looking back, we see that business and business people played a critical role in creating and establishing the earliest American settlements, laws, and civic institutions. Even the Pilgrims, those paragons of virtue, were funded by merchants, entrepreneurs, business leaders – both great and modest – and were organized as a commercial enterprise. Without the funding and the backing of a business organization, albeit a badly managed one, the Pilgrims might never have left Leiden…”
- John Butman & Simon Targett, New World, Inc.
New World, Inc. starts with a very simple premise and ends up striking a surprisingly rich vein of history. The stated purpose given by John Butman & Simon Targett is to revise our concept of America’s founding. The schoolhouse story, the one that every American kid learns at some point, is that the Pilgrims came to present-day New England’s shores in search of religious freedom, and that once here, their intent was to build, in John Winthrop’s phrase, a “city upon a hill,” built for God’s glory. In reality, Great Britain’s colonization of the eastern seaboard of North America resulted from a long line of risky business decisions, in which high risks (up to and including your death and/or disappearance) promised high rewards (land and timber, silver and gold, furs and fish). This goes as well for the Pilgrims who, as Butman & Targett note, had all the religious freedom they wanted in Holland. What they did not have was jobs.
In all honesty, New World, Inc. did not grip me with its thesis. A new interpretation of American history meant to celebrate businessmen? Really? As we linger in the long shadow of the Great Recession, the last thing I’m looking to do is pay homage to investors and speculators. The book’s first lines (“This story begins with sheep”) also did not act as a natural hook. Businessmen and sheep. Where is this going?
Exciting places, actually.
New World, Inc. begins in the 1550s, at a time when Great Britain was not yet the sprawling global empire upon which the sun never set. To the contrary, it was a politically tumultuous backwater that relied heavily on the woolen cloth industry (hence, the sheep). And that industry was in decline. Meanwhile, Spain and Portugal were the two superpowers dominating world trade. Just in case you doubted them, they actually signed a treaty (the Treaty of Tordesillas) dividing the New World between them. The Pope even signed off on it.
It was in these bleak times that a small group of English merchants got together and formed…a joint stock company! (I know, be still, my heart). This company, pithily named The Mysterie, Company, and Fellowship of Merchant Adventurers for the Discovery of Regions, Dominions, Islands, and Places Unknown, set its sights on finding new trading partners and new trading markets. At first, they looked to the east, towards China. While sailing the Northeast Passage, they ended up opening relations with Russia, then ruled by a pre-terrible Ivan the Terrible. Eventually, the gaze of the China-focused company turned westward, in hopes of finding the fabled “Northwest Passage” that would deliver them to Cathay.
When I review a history book, it helps to be upfront about how familiar I am with a subject before I read the first page. In this case, I knew very little. Early North American history is not my forte (I only really start paying attention around the beginning of the French & Indian War). I have read a couple books about the Pilgrims (including Philbrick’s Mayflower), I know a bit about John Smith (watching Pocahontas with my kids counts, right?), and I’ve heard of Sir Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh (spelled Ralegh, here), but otherwise, most of this subject is new to me.
For instance, I had never heard of Hugh Willoughby, who led an eastward expedition to Cathay in 1553. Three hundred years before Sir John Franklin’s doomed polar expedition, Willoughby tried to spend the winter in an inlet to the Barents Sea and ended up freezing to death with all his men. Or Martin Frobisher, a sometimes-privateer who led three expeditions in search of the Northwest Passage; he brought back to England tons of ore (which never yielded appreciable gold) and one Inuit man, whom he kidnapped (poisoning relations immediately).
These tales were not what I had expected. Indeed, I had partly feared this would be a dry explanation of 16th century financial instruments, or a treatise on mercantilism. It most certainly is not. Instead, this is a rousing, engrossingly written, fast-paced account of an age of English exploration that turned Great Britain into an overriding force in world history. Sure, you learn a bit about charters and patents, but there is also daring seamanship, court intrigue, and a great assemblage of characters, a compilation of pirates, adventurers, gamblers, and dreamers. There is Drake vs. the Spaniards, the “lost colony” of Roanoke, and John Smith and the founding of Jamestown.
This could have been a complex topic, especially for a newcomer. There are a lot of names to remember, a lot of allegiances to keep straight. The reign of Elizabeth I, for instances, can fill entire volumes. Here, Butman and Targett have to simplify without being simplistic, and they manage that trick quite nicely. This is only 316 pages of text, yet it felt complete. This is a testament to the authors’ keen grasp of their narrative.
New World, Inc. is greatly helped by a couple things that I feel should be required in most history books. First, there is a “cast of characters,” that give names and descriptions of the personages covered by the text. This is super helpful, especially if you’re like me and relatively new to this slice of the past. Whenever I got my Cecils confused, I could just flip to the front and recall the difference between William and Robert. Second, there is a chronology at the end. Between these two value add-ons, you really can’t get lost. In terms of illustrations, New World, Inc. includes an inset of full-color plates, which is also a nice touch. The only thing I would have wanted was more maps. There is a master map printed on the paste-down, which is handy in its own way (you know exactly where to find it). However, there are a lot of specific voyages chronicled here, and it would have been nice to have some of them mapped.
A book like New World, Inc. always runs the risk of attempting to prove too much. Butman & Targett do a good job of suggesting a new way of looking at the early settlement of North America without imposing a monolithic framework. There are definite limits to their storytelling. Particularly, the deep and tragic impact of colonization on the Indians living on the continent are only hinted at. Overall, though, there is not much to complain about. The best history books are both well-researched and well-written. New World, Inc. sits at that intersection.
There is a classic scene from The Simpsons when Homer and Mr. Burns are snowbound in a cabin, drinking champagne together. “You know, Mr. Burns,” Homer says, as his boss fills his flute, “You’re the richest guy I know.” “Ah yes,” Mr. Burns breezily replies, “But I’d trade it all for a little more.”
I thought of that line while finishing up the last few pages. It seems apt. A group of wealthy, successful people of business, risking their fortunes, their reputations, sometimes their lives, all for the chance at a little bit more. In doing so, they helped nudge the course of history.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
- John Smith, A Description of New England (1616)
“The Plymouth story, serving as America’s default founding myth, derives its power from the fact that it reflects what America wants to be, how it wants to see itself and be seen. But in its popular conception the story is misleading because there is one major feature of American life that has been often left out, ignored, overlooked, or downplayed. Commerce. Business. Enterprise…Looking back, we see that business and business people played a critical role in creating and establishing the earliest American settlements, laws, and civic institutions. Even the Pilgrims, those paragons of virtue, were funded by merchants, entrepreneurs, business leaders – both great and modest – and were organized as a commercial enterprise. Without the funding and the backing of a business organization, albeit a badly managed one, the Pilgrims might never have left Leiden…”
- John Butman & Simon Targett, New World, Inc.
New World, Inc. starts with a very simple premise and ends up striking a surprisingly rich vein of history. The stated purpose given by John Butman & Simon Targett is to revise our concept of America’s founding. The schoolhouse story, the one that every American kid learns at some point, is that the Pilgrims came to present-day New England’s shores in search of religious freedom, and that once here, their intent was to build, in John Winthrop’s phrase, a “city upon a hill,” built for God’s glory. In reality, Great Britain’s colonization of the eastern seaboard of North America resulted from a long line of risky business decisions, in which high risks (up to and including your death and/or disappearance) promised high rewards (land and timber, silver and gold, furs and fish). This goes as well for the Pilgrims who, as Butman & Targett note, had all the religious freedom they wanted in Holland. What they did not have was jobs.
In all honesty, New World, Inc. did not grip me with its thesis. A new interpretation of American history meant to celebrate businessmen? Really? As we linger in the long shadow of the Great Recession, the last thing I’m looking to do is pay homage to investors and speculators. The book’s first lines (“This story begins with sheep”) also did not act as a natural hook. Businessmen and sheep. Where is this going?
Exciting places, actually.
New World, Inc. begins in the 1550s, at a time when Great Britain was not yet the sprawling global empire upon which the sun never set. To the contrary, it was a politically tumultuous backwater that relied heavily on the woolen cloth industry (hence, the sheep). And that industry was in decline. Meanwhile, Spain and Portugal were the two superpowers dominating world trade. Just in case you doubted them, they actually signed a treaty (the Treaty of Tordesillas) dividing the New World between them. The Pope even signed off on it.
It was in these bleak times that a small group of English merchants got together and formed…a joint stock company! (I know, be still, my heart). This company, pithily named The Mysterie, Company, and Fellowship of Merchant Adventurers for the Discovery of Regions, Dominions, Islands, and Places Unknown, set its sights on finding new trading partners and new trading markets. At first, they looked to the east, towards China. While sailing the Northeast Passage, they ended up opening relations with Russia, then ruled by a pre-terrible Ivan the Terrible. Eventually, the gaze of the China-focused company turned westward, in hopes of finding the fabled “Northwest Passage” that would deliver them to Cathay.
When I review a history book, it helps to be upfront about how familiar I am with a subject before I read the first page. In this case, I knew very little. Early North American history is not my forte (I only really start paying attention around the beginning of the French & Indian War). I have read a couple books about the Pilgrims (including Philbrick’s Mayflower), I know a bit about John Smith (watching Pocahontas with my kids counts, right?), and I’ve heard of Sir Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh (spelled Ralegh, here), but otherwise, most of this subject is new to me.
For instance, I had never heard of Hugh Willoughby, who led an eastward expedition to Cathay in 1553. Three hundred years before Sir John Franklin’s doomed polar expedition, Willoughby tried to spend the winter in an inlet to the Barents Sea and ended up freezing to death with all his men. Or Martin Frobisher, a sometimes-privateer who led three expeditions in search of the Northwest Passage; he brought back to England tons of ore (which never yielded appreciable gold) and one Inuit man, whom he kidnapped (poisoning relations immediately).
These tales were not what I had expected. Indeed, I had partly feared this would be a dry explanation of 16th century financial instruments, or a treatise on mercantilism. It most certainly is not. Instead, this is a rousing, engrossingly written, fast-paced account of an age of English exploration that turned Great Britain into an overriding force in world history. Sure, you learn a bit about charters and patents, but there is also daring seamanship, court intrigue, and a great assemblage of characters, a compilation of pirates, adventurers, gamblers, and dreamers. There is Drake vs. the Spaniards, the “lost colony” of Roanoke, and John Smith and the founding of Jamestown.
This could have been a complex topic, especially for a newcomer. There are a lot of names to remember, a lot of allegiances to keep straight. The reign of Elizabeth I, for instances, can fill entire volumes. Here, Butman and Targett have to simplify without being simplistic, and they manage that trick quite nicely. This is only 316 pages of text, yet it felt complete. This is a testament to the authors’ keen grasp of their narrative.
New World, Inc. is greatly helped by a couple things that I feel should be required in most history books. First, there is a “cast of characters,” that give names and descriptions of the personages covered by the text. This is super helpful, especially if you’re like me and relatively new to this slice of the past. Whenever I got my Cecils confused, I could just flip to the front and recall the difference between William and Robert. Second, there is a chronology at the end. Between these two value add-ons, you really can’t get lost. In terms of illustrations, New World, Inc. includes an inset of full-color plates, which is also a nice touch. The only thing I would have wanted was more maps. There is a master map printed on the paste-down, which is handy in its own way (you know exactly where to find it). However, there are a lot of specific voyages chronicled here, and it would have been nice to have some of them mapped.
A book like New World, Inc. always runs the risk of attempting to prove too much. Butman & Targett do a good job of suggesting a new way of looking at the early settlement of North America without imposing a monolithic framework. There are definite limits to their storytelling. Particularly, the deep and tragic impact of colonization on the Indians living on the continent are only hinted at. Overall, though, there is not much to complain about. The best history books are both well-researched and well-written. New World, Inc. sits at that intersection.
There is a classic scene from The Simpsons when Homer and Mr. Burns are snowbound in a cabin, drinking champagne together. “You know, Mr. Burns,” Homer says, as his boss fills his flute, “You’re the richest guy I know.” “Ah yes,” Mr. Burns breezily replies, “But I’d trade it all for a little more.”
I thought of that line while finishing up the last few pages. It seems apt. A group of wealthy, successful people of business, risking their fortunes, their reputations, sometimes their lives, all for the chance at a little bit more. In doing so, they helped nudge the course of history.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
August 26, 2019
This is a very readable account of early English exploration and settlement of North America. Beginning with Cabot's search for a passage to Asia in 1508 and ending with the Pilgrim's first Thanksgiving in 1621, Butman demonstrates how the overriding impulses driving them across the Atlantic were economic, usually commercial. Even the Pilgrim's came, not to escape religious persecution, but for economic reasons, they having found it difficult to support themselves in the Netherlands.
June 17, 2018
ARC from publisher
May 8, 2018
I've read a lot of early American history; more in the past than recently. While few subjects cause so much ink to be expended, what more can really be said? This book really does bring, for me, a new perspective. Reaching back to the 1558 end of the Pale of Calais and the English wool trade interests, this book sets up the economic and social motivations for reaching out to the markets of "Cathay" through -- whatever would work -- the Northeast or Northwest passage. On the surface, this seems rather dry, but the social motivation are an unruly populace exemplified by Robert Kett. Kett's Rebellion was a revolt in Norfolk, England during the reign of Edward VI, largely in response to the enclosure of land. It began with a group of rebels destroying fences. One of their targets was yeoman farmer Robert Kett who, instead of resisting the rebels, agreed to their demands and offered to lead them. This is a small part, and Kett does not even rate an entry in the largest "Cast of Characters" I have seen, but it is one of the spicy tales of unrest that shows how England, certainly by the time of Elizabeth I, truly needed to find a new market for its wool goods. This economic need may seem easy to satisfy in a globe being conquered and colonized left and right, but England was much behind the game compared to Spain, Portugal, and even France. In probing around the New World looking for a toehold, the first came about (and this is something I learned here) as New Albion claimed by Sir Francis Drake for England in 1579 on the coast of what is now California. So, this was years before Roanoke, Jamestown, etc. Of course those more well-known settlements get their due, which seems rather anti-climactic and back into the familiar territory. The author here spices this up with some insight by explaining how the impact and perceived relevance of The Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony) versus the Puritans (Massachusetts Bay Colony) began to be crafted as a sort of American forefather mythology, really in the days after The Civil War. (The Pilgrims offering an ideal; The Puritans a pragmatism so loose as to even admit slavery.) Either way, all were ultimately after lucre...
[I received a copy of this book from the publisher to review.]
[I received a copy of this book from the publisher to review.]
May 15, 2018
This was my first ARC! I'm excited to review it.
"New World, Inc." tells the staccato history of England's colonization of the northern half of the New World. Despite the Pilgrim lore we've been fed throughout the 20th Century, the truth is much less vaunted--jealous of the Spaniards and without a route to Cathay (China), the Brits decamped for North America to enrich their realm. It was only after some ill-fated and mysterious fits and starts that the colonies took in the early 17th Century. It just so happens that one of those was the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, and though they were outstripped in importance and success by their Boston neighbors the Puritans, some famous New England scion ascribed some lofty ideals to them that he hoped would be emulated by his latter-day contemporaries, and thus our dowdy forebears were ennobled and lionized as our spiritual exemplars.
The authors of this text take issue with that characterization, given that it was really pretty baldfaced greed and adventurism that animated the first explorers, pillagers, and satraps of the New World. It was only after they had scoped out the fantastic loot to be had in America that they retconned the whole marauding experience as some sort of missionary sortie.
I liked this book because it is loaded with trivia and lots of colorful additions to the motives and less famous explorers of the New World, I just am not sure the authors needed 300 pages to make this point. I also would have been interested in a bit of a deconstruction of the Pilgrim ideal in its actual historic context, as well as an examination of how the mercenary character the authors impute to the earliest settlers and founders of this country manifested itself in its early culture, customs, and laws. But this is a good book for buffs of esoteric history; consider it for a Father's Day gift next month!
"New World, Inc." tells the staccato history of England's colonization of the northern half of the New World. Despite the Pilgrim lore we've been fed throughout the 20th Century, the truth is much less vaunted--jealous of the Spaniards and without a route to Cathay (China), the Brits decamped for North America to enrich their realm. It was only after some ill-fated and mysterious fits and starts that the colonies took in the early 17th Century. It just so happens that one of those was the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, and though they were outstripped in importance and success by their Boston neighbors the Puritans, some famous New England scion ascribed some lofty ideals to them that he hoped would be emulated by his latter-day contemporaries, and thus our dowdy forebears were ennobled and lionized as our spiritual exemplars.
The authors of this text take issue with that characterization, given that it was really pretty baldfaced greed and adventurism that animated the first explorers, pillagers, and satraps of the New World. It was only after they had scoped out the fantastic loot to be had in America that they retconned the whole marauding experience as some sort of missionary sortie.
I liked this book because it is loaded with trivia and lots of colorful additions to the motives and less famous explorers of the New World, I just am not sure the authors needed 300 pages to make this point. I also would have been interested in a bit of a deconstruction of the Pilgrim ideal in its actual historic context, as well as an examination of how the mercenary character the authors impute to the earliest settlers and founders of this country manifested itself in its early culture, customs, and laws. But this is a good book for buffs of esoteric history; consider it for a Father's Day gift next month!
August 17, 2018
This well-told narrative of early English exploration in North America will broaden the understanding of any reader who thinks that the project leading to the 13 colonies began at Jamestown (or even Roanoke). Starting with voyages from early in the 16th century, the authors depict in fascinating detail the efforts of London-based "merchant adventurers" to fund and equip mariners for the challenging tasks of discovery and settlement. The appetite for risk demonstrated by investors like Thomas Gresham, Michael Lok, and Thomas Smythe (not to mention some more famous individuals like Walter Ralegh and Francis Drake) makes for an inspiring story of business acumen and political maneuvering. The only disappointing chapter, perhaps, is the epilogue, "Forgotten Founders," which argues that the American public has largely forgotten the history of these men and their determination to plant an English colony in the New World, mostly because we have focused instead on the Pilgrims in particular while constructing a founding myth. I've been teaching US history for the better part of three decades, and I am certain that my students, at least, are fully aware of the commercial motives that formed the foundation of British North America. It's strange to me that the authors of this book felt compelled to tear down some perceived counter-narrative. To my mind, a variety of factors shaped the effort. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Having said that, I'm giving this book a strong rating for its intriguing portrait of the men behind the scenes whose venture capital played such an important role in America's creation.
March 27, 2018
I was pleasantly surprised after beginning to read this book, that it wasn't just another history of the beginnings of America. This book is filled with information on the people of England that began trying to find a way through Cathay, and offers more than a glimpse into the thoughts and ideas of the time on how that could become possible. The authors went to an incredible amount of work and did some very detailed research to produce this account of pre-colonisation and colonisation.
I found the detailed sections on the wool trade fascinating and found that this book was really useful for research into this period as well as for entertainment purposes. The way this is written, it was fun to read, unlike a lot of other dry, historical accounts that deal with this period. The authors' inclusion of quotes and passages from a variety of different contemporary sources allows the reader to experience life in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries in both England and Early America, making for a very connected reading experience.
I was rather intrigued at all the names mentioned in regards to the various ventures that were undertaken that you don't see mentioned other places. As a student of Colonial American studies, you become familiar with certain names, and it was nice to see the roots for these families mentioned with some detail. This book humanised these people for me, in a way that no other has.
This was a fantastic book, with a lot to offer anyone who wants to know more about this important historical period. I can see how this would be beneficial to students and teachers, and anyone else who wants to know the truth about England's desire to colonise the New World and the motivations behind their decisions.
Definitely recommended.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I found the detailed sections on the wool trade fascinating and found that this book was really useful for research into this period as well as for entertainment purposes. The way this is written, it was fun to read, unlike a lot of other dry, historical accounts that deal with this period. The authors' inclusion of quotes and passages from a variety of different contemporary sources allows the reader to experience life in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries in both England and Early America, making for a very connected reading experience.
I was rather intrigued at all the names mentioned in regards to the various ventures that were undertaken that you don't see mentioned other places. As a student of Colonial American studies, you become familiar with certain names, and it was nice to see the roots for these families mentioned with some detail. This book humanised these people for me, in a way that no other has.
This was a fantastic book, with a lot to offer anyone who wants to know more about this important historical period. I can see how this would be beneficial to students and teachers, and anyone else who wants to know the truth about England's desire to colonise the New World and the motivations behind their decisions.
Definitely recommended.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
April 11, 2018
Loved this book!
February 2, 2023
A fascinating account of the discovery of America that shows its more rooted in corporate politics than idealism. Fascinating insight into just how perilous these activities were.
May 6, 2018
A great book on US history with info that you won't get in school.
August 31, 2018
Slow to develop. Thought I was going to really enjoy it. Some parts were informative and well written. But the story tends to ramble.
July 15, 2022
This is book that keeps getting assessed downwards the more I think about it. I started at a four, moved to a three, and now I've gotten closer to a two as I wrote this review. Four because it felt unfair to judge it harshly because the punchy title didn't reflect the actual content of this straightforward history of England. Three when I started thinking about how boring parts of it was and how it felt like a more talented author could actually make the events described interesting. Two when I realized what their thesis was supposed to be and how far they missed the mark. I'm settling on three out of generosity and the fact that I didn't outright abandon it.
Maybe I'm not justified to have expected more from New World, Inc than an economic history of England's motivations and lesser-known forays into North American colonization, but I do wish it was less narrowly focused on it. I expected something more like a holistic view of the economic pull factors for not just English, but European colonization in what became the 13 colonies (so the Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, French), and perhaps the influence closely-associated English colonies in the Caribbean had on the North American venture.
Instead, this is a bit of a straightforward retelling from John Cabot through the Mayflower Compact. There really wasn't much of a hook or thesis, other than that Americans' retelling of the founding of the United States focuses too much on the Puritan efforts at Plymouth as the national mythos. It actually shocks me when I think about my experience with this book and how little the thesis seems to connect with the content.
Two major problems I have with the thesis:
1. All national mythos choose to focus on certain things while ignoring others. As far as founding myths, Puritans, Squanto, and Thanksgiving aren't toxic because they ignore a random failed colony in Maine or the fact that Frobisher froze to death in the Arctic. Modern Thanksgiving needs reassessment and reinterpretation because it whitewashes over the genocide of indigenous Americans and perpetuates the myth of Europeans being invited to the land of milk and honey by a largely docile population begging for civilization. What an odd reason to oppose the national founding mythos - how many people actually think the Pilgrims were the "first Americans" to settle in North America? At no point do the authors explain exactly why the pre-Mayflower efforts deserve a thorough reexamination beyond "hey, keep in mind there were at least a handful of other somewhat successful colonies before the Puritans!"
2. That very thesis is barely mentioned at the start, plods through history, then just ends on an unjustifiable lashing out. The narrative just kinda goes through the motions of English history with a deeper focus on the commercial aspects of colonial efforts than you normally get. Then suddenly it ends with a diatribe against Plymouth Colony and an impassioned plea to shift the US's retelling of its own foundation. It feels completely out of left field. The authors didn't earn the right to end with such a strong view through this historical narrative they explored. I'm not at all convinced that knowing about sassafras as a trade good or the intricacies of Drake's circumnavigation in Kindergarten would have mattered. As a 29-year old that already knew like 70% of what they covered, I'm not even convinced that it matters to me now.
Frankly, it feels like the authors love their topic a little too much, and had to reach into the parts bin to make this more than just a string of loosely-connected events that would be worth a couple Medium articles. The thesis feels tacked on, there are points where the same anecdote is repeated or a topic introduced (sign of major revisions and/or poor editing), and the topic not remotely relevant enough to be a hot take.
Pretty good source of trivia though.
Maybe I'm not justified to have expected more from New World, Inc than an economic history of England's motivations and lesser-known forays into North American colonization, but I do wish it was less narrowly focused on it. I expected something more like a holistic view of the economic pull factors for not just English, but European colonization in what became the 13 colonies (so the Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, French), and perhaps the influence closely-associated English colonies in the Caribbean had on the North American venture.
Instead, this is a bit of a straightforward retelling from John Cabot through the Mayflower Compact. There really wasn't much of a hook or thesis, other than that Americans' retelling of the founding of the United States focuses too much on the Puritan efforts at Plymouth as the national mythos. It actually shocks me when I think about my experience with this book and how little the thesis seems to connect with the content.
Two major problems I have with the thesis:
1. All national mythos choose to focus on certain things while ignoring others. As far as founding myths, Puritans, Squanto, and Thanksgiving aren't toxic because they ignore a random failed colony in Maine or the fact that Frobisher froze to death in the Arctic. Modern Thanksgiving needs reassessment and reinterpretation because it whitewashes over the genocide of indigenous Americans and perpetuates the myth of Europeans being invited to the land of milk and honey by a largely docile population begging for civilization. What an odd reason to oppose the national founding mythos - how many people actually think the Pilgrims were the "first Americans" to settle in North America? At no point do the authors explain exactly why the pre-Mayflower efforts deserve a thorough reexamination beyond "hey, keep in mind there were at least a handful of other somewhat successful colonies before the Puritans!"
2. That very thesis is barely mentioned at the start, plods through history, then just ends on an unjustifiable lashing out. The narrative just kinda goes through the motions of English history with a deeper focus on the commercial aspects of colonial efforts than you normally get. Then suddenly it ends with a diatribe against Plymouth Colony and an impassioned plea to shift the US's retelling of its own foundation. It feels completely out of left field. The authors didn't earn the right to end with such a strong view through this historical narrative they explored. I'm not at all convinced that knowing about sassafras as a trade good or the intricacies of Drake's circumnavigation in Kindergarten would have mattered. As a 29-year old that already knew like 70% of what they covered, I'm not even convinced that it matters to me now.
Frankly, it feels like the authors love their topic a little too much, and had to reach into the parts bin to make this more than just a string of loosely-connected events that would be worth a couple Medium articles. The thesis feels tacked on, there are points where the same anecdote is repeated or a topic introduced (sign of major revisions and/or poor editing), and the topic not remotely relevant enough to be a hot take.
Pretty good source of trivia though.
July 3, 2021
While this book focuses on the New World and America in its title, it should be noted that this book is really more about the context of England's efforts in the period before 1620 than it is about the making of America per se. That is not to say that England's colonial ventures and exploration ventures were without consequence in how America was founded and how indeed America has seen itself and seen the proper role of government in its relationship with businesses, but rather to say that the authors have chosen an unfamiliar aspect of American history to focus on instead of more familiar and obvious ones. Most of the people in this book will be unfamiliar to most readers, but their action formed a context that is vitally important in understanding how and why America was settle by the English in the way that it was, and how business concerns were of great importance. This context has had repercussions to the contemporary era and is likely to have implications that continue far beyond our age. And it is a context that is well worth reading about and this book does a good job with it.
This book is a pretty averaged sized one at about 300 pages or so in length in terms of its main contents. The book is divided into three parts and nearly 20 chapters or so. The book begins with a cast of characters that is set up as the prequel to the familiar story of the pilgrims. This is followed by a discussion of English imperial efforts before America from 1551-1574 (I), with chapters about English concerns of decay (1), dreams of China (2), the establishment of a mysterious company (3), as well as navigation (4) and exploration in Russia (5). The second part of the book looks at English enterprise between 1574 and 1604 (II), with chapters on the challenge of the age (6), the supposed passage across the Arctic (7), the search for treasure (8), goals for an English empire (9), New England (10), the death rates of early exploration missions (11), western plantation efforts (12), navigations (13), and the match between the East and West (14). The third and final part of the book looks at the establishment of the English commonwealth (III), with chapters on the Virginias (15), the public plantation (16), the first colony (17), as well as the weighty stakes (18) and voyages (19) to sustain Virginia. The book then ends with a look at forgotten founders, a chronology, a note to the reader, acknowledgements, a bibliography, notes, and an index.
Why does it matter that America was viewed as a place or corporate partnership and behavior by the underpaid English crown? Part of why it matters is because America itself developed an attitude that was similar in its own dealings with the world. It would make sense that America's own experience with private-public partnerships where government outsourced its duties to corporations would become a model that was copied frequently by the United States later on, and so it was. Admittedly, it is a bit puzzling that the authors are not interested so much in this book for these implications but rather to tell the stories of the mostly obscure people who went to Russia and the New World under mixed public-private partnerships where private merchants too significant risk in the hope of significant rewards to set up new trading establishments and occasional new settlements at appalling death rates. To the extent that this book makes such people and their actions more familiar it is very much appreciated and the authors have done good work in this. For England, the New World, and that included both the Northwest and Northeast Passages and the lands around them, were opportunities for private merchants to help the English government with its own national economic strategies. That these opportunities were sometimes costly simply comes with the territory.
This book is a pretty averaged sized one at about 300 pages or so in length in terms of its main contents. The book is divided into three parts and nearly 20 chapters or so. The book begins with a cast of characters that is set up as the prequel to the familiar story of the pilgrims. This is followed by a discussion of English imperial efforts before America from 1551-1574 (I), with chapters about English concerns of decay (1), dreams of China (2), the establishment of a mysterious company (3), as well as navigation (4) and exploration in Russia (5). The second part of the book looks at English enterprise between 1574 and 1604 (II), with chapters on the challenge of the age (6), the supposed passage across the Arctic (7), the search for treasure (8), goals for an English empire (9), New England (10), the death rates of early exploration missions (11), western plantation efforts (12), navigations (13), and the match between the East and West (14). The third and final part of the book looks at the establishment of the English commonwealth (III), with chapters on the Virginias (15), the public plantation (16), the first colony (17), as well as the weighty stakes (18) and voyages (19) to sustain Virginia. The book then ends with a look at forgotten founders, a chronology, a note to the reader, acknowledgements, a bibliography, notes, and an index.
Why does it matter that America was viewed as a place or corporate partnership and behavior by the underpaid English crown? Part of why it matters is because America itself developed an attitude that was similar in its own dealings with the world. It would make sense that America's own experience with private-public partnerships where government outsourced its duties to corporations would become a model that was copied frequently by the United States later on, and so it was. Admittedly, it is a bit puzzling that the authors are not interested so much in this book for these implications but rather to tell the stories of the mostly obscure people who went to Russia and the New World under mixed public-private partnerships where private merchants too significant risk in the hope of significant rewards to set up new trading establishments and occasional new settlements at appalling death rates. To the extent that this book makes such people and their actions more familiar it is very much appreciated and the authors have done good work in this. For England, the New World, and that included both the Northwest and Northeast Passages and the lands around them, were opportunities for private merchants to help the English government with its own national economic strategies. That these opportunities were sometimes costly simply comes with the territory.
May 24, 2018
New World Inc. is yet another revelation about the extensive backstory of the Pilgrims setting up housekeeping at Plymouth Colony in 1620. The Pilgrims weren’t the first Europeans to make their mark in the New World, despite what you may have been told in the 10th grade.
Butman and Targett make it clear that, in simplistic terms, the quest for gold and wealth and prestige is what drove European exploration of the two “new” continents—huge, well-populated land masses that hardly any of the Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch and English royals and elites imagined in the early part of the 16th century.
The authors provide deep insights by quoting extensively from primary sources.
The last line of New World Inc. tells the tale. It’s a quote from Capt. John Smith, a leader of the Jamestown settlement, written in 1616: “For I am not so simple to think that ever any other motive than wealth will ever erect there a Commonwealth; or draw company from their ease and humours at home, to stay in New England to effect any purpose."
The motives of the typical earliest colonists were, of course, diversely personal and significantly basic: get free land, do the hardscrabble work, make food, survive the winter.
New World Inc. makes it clear that the motives for the first 100 years of exploration and venturesome plans for the newfound lands were also significantly basic: get rich, and control more wealth and power. The players were kings, queens, courtiers, noblemen, merchants and a few rich guys. They never tried to hide what they were doing.
Note: Butman and Targett include an instructive chronology, illuminating notes, and an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources.
Read more of my book reviews and poems here:
www.richardsubber.com
Butman and Targett make it clear that, in simplistic terms, the quest for gold and wealth and prestige is what drove European exploration of the two “new” continents—huge, well-populated land masses that hardly any of the Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch and English royals and elites imagined in the early part of the 16th century.
The authors provide deep insights by quoting extensively from primary sources.
The last line of New World Inc. tells the tale. It’s a quote from Capt. John Smith, a leader of the Jamestown settlement, written in 1616: “For I am not so simple to think that ever any other motive than wealth will ever erect there a Commonwealth; or draw company from their ease and humours at home, to stay in New England to effect any purpose."
The motives of the typical earliest colonists were, of course, diversely personal and significantly basic: get free land, do the hardscrabble work, make food, survive the winter.
New World Inc. makes it clear that the motives for the first 100 years of exploration and venturesome plans for the newfound lands were also significantly basic: get rich, and control more wealth and power. The players were kings, queens, courtiers, noblemen, merchants and a few rich guys. They never tried to hide what they were doing.
Note: Butman and Targett include an instructive chronology, illuminating notes, and an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources.
Read more of my book reviews and poems here:
www.richardsubber.com
January 25, 2019
I learned some new things about early English exploration that I hadn't known, some of which will make their way into my classes. The struggles for investors and the support of the Privy Council & crown drove the actions of those who attempted transatlantic travel and colonization. By the time I came to the (somewhat brief) sections on Jamestown, the Pilgrims & the Puritans, I had a better grasp of how the strategies of those attempting transatlantic colonization had changed, based on the experiences of their predecessors. Still, I had to make myself keep going with this book and caught myself nodding off at times. Even though the time period is fascinating, I find economic history dry. 2.5 stars, rounded up.
August 18, 2020
Purchase New World, Inc here for just $15!
A bold new telling of the founding of America that reveals America's forgotten origins as a business-driven enterprise. American business writer John Butman and British historian and journalist Dr. Simon Targett roll back the clock to reveal that America had been in the making for seventy years before the Mayflower sailed. And while religion played a role, the driving impulse of the American initiative was commercial. Yes, America was the most ambitious start-up ever attempted.
Paul- The Book Grocer
A bold new telling of the founding of America that reveals America's forgotten origins as a business-driven enterprise. American business writer John Butman and British historian and journalist Dr. Simon Targett roll back the clock to reveal that America had been in the making for seventy years before the Mayflower sailed. And while religion played a role, the driving impulse of the American initiative was commercial. Yes, America was the most ambitious start-up ever attempted.
Paul- The Book Grocer
December 26, 2018
The book material is something I did not know about and felt should be the first type material covered in telling the story of the United States. The story of USA is a story of corporation that made its mission to get a profit from the land across the sea. For some reason, I did not know a lot about the first English in what is now present time Canada. I did not know a lot about the early steps towards patents and exclusivity of places by company’s as early as the 16th century. I am glad that John Butman and Simon Targett wrote this book and I feel that I good starting point for the story of America.
November 12, 2023
A very insightful look at the forces that created the first English colonies in America. If you enjoy this book, I would also recommend Liberty's Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World by Maya Jasanoff as another thought-provoking "behind-the -curtain" look at what was really going on during a crucial point in American history.
June 16, 2025
With a conversational tone the authors move through the political and economic intricacies of Elizabethan England, and they bring a much-needed perspective to the accepted mythology around America's founding. It may not line up with exactly what we were taught as schoolchildren, but it's a story about people seeking prosperity—American through and through.
-Rose Rankin
Read the full review at: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/review...
-Rose Rankin
Read the full review at: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/review...
May 21, 2021
Fascinating
Great historical work that brings a unique and well-supported perspective on the voyages of the 15th and 16th Century that brought Europe and other places of the world in greater contact.
Great historical work that brings a unique and well-supported perspective on the voyages of the 15th and 16th Century that brought Europe and other places of the world in greater contact.
May 17, 2024
The book fails in selling or even really sticking to its thesis, probably a marketing decision to sell the book to an American audience. It's not about the making of America, but the financial basis of early English Imperialism.
May 29, 2018
What a story about all those people who helped our children colonies
April 22, 2021
A good solid history of the period before and concurrent with the founding of the early colonies. This does a good job of putting this into a more direct business context.
May 21, 2022
The authors introduce readers to details of events and historical people not often found. The book contains copious endnotes, an excellent index, maps, pictures and a helpful Chronology.
October 23, 2023
"I am not so simple, to think any other motive than wealth will ever erect there a Commonweale."
October 16, 2018
Nice overview of the public/private jt. ventures which led to the exploration of America in the 17th century.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews