Colonial Chesapeake

Book excerpt: In Colonial Chesapeake: New Perspectives leading scholars offer interdisciplinary revisionist essays on the political, cultural and social history of early Maryland and Virginia, calling special attention to the importance of power relations, reproductive politics, and identity politics in the shaping of the area. Using primary documents, which are included with the essays, this collection suggests that the multicultural Chesapeake created significant cultural, intellectual, and social norms that shaped the diverse world of the American people. This anthology uses these perspectives to represent the multitude of experiences in the region, and in doing so captures the essence of race, class, and ethnic and gender diversity that made up life in early Chesapeake Maryland and Virginia. Students and scholars in American history, as well as anthropology, will find this book essential in understanding the political history of the colonial Chesapeake area.