The book presents the Atlantic coast history as a story of interaction and adaptation among the peoples of the four continents, and discusses the variety of social, political, environmental, and cultural processes set in motion by European exploration and settlement.

Beginning with a chapter on the pre-Columbian background of Europe, Africa, and North and South America, this lively narrative traces the history of colonial America to 1763. Covering British, Spanish, French, and Dutch colonization, the book examines colonial development in the North American colonies along the Atlantic coast and in the borderlands, the North American interior, and the Caribbean.