• Examine the condition of England at the time of the nations early colonization efforts. Focus especially on the rise of the Elizabethan monarchy and the spirit of the English renaissance (for example, Shakespeare, Sir Walter Raleigh) in London and other commercial centers, as well as the social upheaval in the countryside (enclosure). Show how these factorsas well as religious rivalry with Spainlay behind the colonization effort.
  
  

REFERENCE: Carl Bridenbaugh, Vexed and Troubled Englishmen, 1590 - 1642 (1968).

• Consider the traditional Indian cultures of the south Atlantic coastal regions, and examine the transformations they underwent in response to English colonization. Explain the particular changes that affected the Powhatans of Virginia in relation to the larger patterns of English-Indian encounters that shaped subsequent American history.
  
  

REFERENCE: Helen Rountree, The Powhatans of Virginia: Their Traditional Culture (1989).

• Examine the issue of race relations in the early southern colonies, showing how the early patterns established there set a course for subsequent American history. Focus particularly on the policies of driving out the Indians and of importing African slaves as a solution to the labor shortages in the New World.
  
  

REFERENCE: Timothy Silver, A New Face on the Countryside: Indians, Colonists, and Slaves in South Atlantic Forests 1500 - 1800 (1990).