Women, Religion & the Atlantic World, 1600-1800

Drawing on historical, literary, and anthropological methodologies, Women, Religion, and the Atlantic World explores the meaning of an 'Atlantic community' and challenges the conventional boundaries of nation-bound inquiry in the humanities. The volume's contributors focus on European, indigenous, Creole, African, and mestiza women's interactions with shifting paradigms of Protestantism, Catholicism, Judaism, and syncretic beliefs throughout the Atlantic basin to highlight the unique cultural dynamics of the Atlantic. Mapping these themes with a diverse range of individual, imperial, and institutional cases, the essays include studies of a Peruvian nun's battle against a black demon, an African slave whose knowledge of the Bible stunned white men, and native American healers accused of witchcraft. Through a thoughtful consideration of the complexity of the religious landscape of the Atlantic basin, the collection provides an enriching portrayal of the intriguing interplay between religion, gender, ethnicity, and authority in the early modern Atlantic world.