Early Encounters in North America: Peoples, Cultures, and the Environment External This link opens in a new window
This searchable database from Alexander Street Press contains materials that describe the interaction of peoples and events between 1534 and 1860 in North America documenting the impressions of the first European traders, missionaries, explorers, soldiers, and officials. Materials include either natural features (descriptions of the animals and plants for example) or interactions among various cultural groups (Dutch, English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, African, and a host of Indian peoples). The collection contains published and unpublished narratives, diaries, journals, letters, maps, memoirs and recorded speeches as well as images, all centered on present-day Canada and the United States (with some limited coverage of Mexico). The Indian perspective is recorded in a wide variety of sources, including oral accounts written down by Europeans at the time of contact and afterward, speeches, correspondence, and publications produced by Indians.
are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.
