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Anyone else studying 17th century colonialism? What are you studying?
I have been a bit OCD studying 17th century Dutch America for the last three years... for fun. Most of what I do is enter inventories and documents into a database for my own use... someday to publish. My info focuses on New Netherland but also have some info on the Caribbean. I don't have info on Brazil except one of the Dutch families in my database started off in Brazil before going to New Netherland. Another one is half Brazilian half Dutch prior to coming to New Netherland.
My data ranges mostly from the 1630s to 1754 with over 100 probate inventories, plus a dozen ship and store inventories. Inventories include details on clothing, textiles, foods, spices, ceramics, weapons, etc.
I call this era the Continental-American Culture of New Netherland and New York, New Jersey and Delaware. Mostly because the "material goods lifestyle" of the people in these areas remain more continental than British until the French and Indian war. New York seems to be the colony that was the most resistant to change until the war based on material culture, I don't have enough data to prove New Jersey and Delaware made it until the war before becoming more British. Though, I did see a quote that showed that the guys in Delaware dressed more like the woodland Finns than anyone else, leather doublet and breeches made of deer or elk, and Faroe Island stockings. This with their log cabins, must of been a lot like home.
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From the Neolithic to the 1820s; Textiles, Weaving, Clothing Styles, Ceramics, Economics, Small Business, Trades, Artisans, Child development, and more.
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