A Cold Welcome: The Little Ice Age and Europe's Encounter with North America

by Sam White

Overview

Cundill History Prize Finalist
Longman–History Today Prize Finalist
Winner of the Roland H. Bainton Book Prize

“Meticulous environmental-historical detective work.”
—Times Literary Supplement

When Europeans first arrived in North America, they faced a cold new world. The average global temperature had dropped to lows unseen in millennia. The effects of this climactic upheaval were stark and unpredictable: blizzards and deep freezes, droughts and famines, winters in which everything froze, even the Rio Grande. A Cold Welcome tells the story of this crucial period, taking us from Europe’s earliest expeditions in unfamiliar landscapes to the perilous first winters in Quebec and Jamestown. As we confront our own uncertain future, it offers a powerful reminder of the unexpected risks of an unpredictable climate.

“A remarkable journey through the complex impacts of the Little Ice Age on Colonial North America…This beautifully written, important book leaves us in no doubt that we ignore the chronicle of past climate change at our peril. I found it hard to put down.”
—Brian Fagan, author of The Little Ice Age

“Deeply researched and exciting…His fresh account of the climatic forces shaping the colonization of North America differs significantly from long-standing interpretations of those early calamities.”
—New York Review of Books

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674244900
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	02/04/2020
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	866,158
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Sam White is Associate Professor in the Department of History at The Ohio State University.

Table of Contents

List of Maps ix

Author's Note xi

Introduction 1

1 Where Everything Must Be Burning 9

2 Such Great Snows We Thought We Were Dead Men 28

3 The Land Itself Would Wage War 50

4 Bitter Remedies 70

5 We Had Changed Summer with Winter 88

6 Destroyed with Cruel Disease 109

7 Our Former Hopes Were Frozen to Death 132

8 Winter for Eight Months and Hell for Four 154

9 Death Follows Us Everywhere 186

10 Such Wonders of Afflictions 229

Conclusion 250

Notes 259

Acknowledgments 351

Index 353

Editorial Reviews

Meticulous environmental-historical detective work… White’s aim is to show how the patterns of European colonization in North America in the century before 1620 were driven by the engagement between settlers and the climatic and environmental conditions they encountered… A Cold Welcome is a pioneering and precise environmental history of the European settlement of North America.

Times Literary Supplement - Robert J. Mayhew

In his deeply researched and exciting new book, A Cold Welcome, the historian Sam White focuses on the true stories of the English, Spanish, and French colonial expeditions in North America. He tells strange and surprising tales of drought, famine, bitterly cold winters, desperation, and death, while anchoring his research in the methods and results of the science of climate change and historical climatology…He weaves an intricate, complex tapestry as he examines the effects both of climate—meteorological conditions over relatively long periods of time—and of weather—the conditions of the atmosphere over a short term—on vulnerable colonists in North America in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries…His fresh account of the climatic forces shaping the colonization of North America differs significantly from long-standing interpretations of those early calamities.

New York Review of Books - Susan Dunn

White presents a fascinating account of Europeans’ 16th and early 17th century incursions into North America to highlight that colonial exploration was impeded by famines, diseases, afflictions and deaths for the British, the French, and the Spanish as they faced storms, icy winters, hurricanes, droughts, and extreme cold spells…In making climate history and climate reconstruction part of a contextualized historical inquiry, White not only stresses what was, but also implies what could have been for the early European expansion into Northern America…Beautifully written and skillfully researched, this book is highly relevant for scholars interested in the ways in which colonial history has been shaped at the intersection of human societies and the natural world, and more widely for all who seek to understand the consequences of present-day climate change on contemporary and future human communities…White’s book constitutes a reminder of the deleterious effects of uncontrolled climatic variations throughout social history, and yet another warning.

EuropeNow - Hélène B. Ducros

Sam White’s aptly named A Cold Welcome is a remarkable journey through the complex impacts of the Little Ice Age on Colonial North America. His compelling narrative takes the study of early America in a new, and potentially highly important, direction that delves into a now vanished world of daunting climatic extremes. This beautifully written, important book leaves us in no doubt that we ignore the chronicle of past climate change at our peril. I found it hard to put down.

Brian Fagan

The period from 1492 to 1620 is the ‘forgotten century’ in American history, with most textbooks offering only a passing mention to early European exploration and settlement in North America. In fact, there were dozens of attempts to penetrate the continent, but all ended in starvation, disease, violence, and death. In A Cold Welcome, White explains how the Little Ice Age contributed to these failures. By combining archival research with the latest findings of climate scientists, he makes a brilliant contribution to both American and environmental history.

Daniel Headrick

A Cold Welcome deserves a warm reception from anyone interested in colonial America, the early modern Atlantic, or the history of changing climates. Taking a holistic view of North America, White brilliantly illuminates the history of early Spanish, French, and English settlements as they struggled to come to grips with unexpected climates and a challenging spell during the Little Ice Age.

J. R. McNeill

Today, as we confront an uncertain future from global warming, A Cold Welcome reminds us of the risks of a changing and unfamiliar climate.

Northeastern Naturalist

In the barbarous early years of European colonization of North America, there have long been three acknowledged Horsemen of the Apocalypse: poor planning, cultural incomprehension, and bad timing. Sam White reminds us of a fourth deadly rider: climate change. His analysis of the Little Ice Age in North America makes the crucial point that failure to understand and adapt to climate change has been fatal.

Joyce E. Chaplin

An environmental historian by trade, [White] has produced a highly readable study of how people struggled to exist and gain a foothold in unfamiliar lands.--Brian Renvall "Library Journal" (10/1/2017 12:00:00 AM)

In his deeply researched and exciting new book, A Cold Welcome, the historian Sam White focuses on the true stories of the English, Spanish, and French colonial expeditions in North America. He tells strange and surprising tales of drought, famine, bitterly cold winters, desperation, and death, while anchoring his research in the methods and results of the science of climate change and historical climatology...He weaves an intricate, complex tapestry as he examines the effects both of climate--meteorological conditions over relatively long periods of time--and of weather--the conditions of the atmosphere over a short term--on vulnerable colonists in North America in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries...His fresh account of the climatic forces shaping the colonization of North America differs significantly from long-standing interpretations of those early calamities.--Susan Dunn "New York Review of Books" (11/9/2017 12:00:00 AM)

Meticulous environmental-historical detective work... White's aim is to show how the patterns of European colonization in North America in the century before 1620 were driven by the engagement between settlers and the climatic and environmental conditions they encountered... A Cold Welcome is a pioneering and precise environmental history of the European settlement of North America.--Robert J. Mayhew "Times Literary Supplement" (3/26/2019 12:00:00 AM)

Today, as we confront an uncertain future from global warming, A Cold Welcome reminds us of the risks of a changing and unfamiliar climate.-- "Northeastern Naturalist" (3/1/2020 12:00:00 AM)

White presents a fascinating account of Europeans' 16th and early 17th century incursions into North America to highlight that colonial exploration was impeded by famines, diseases, afflictions and deaths for the British, the French, and the Spanish as they faced storms, icy winters, hurricanes, droughts, and extreme cold spells...In making climate history and climate reconstruction part of a contextualized historical inquiry, White not only stresses what was, but also implies what could have been for the early European expansion into Northern America...Beautifully written and skillfully researched, this book is highly relevant for scholars interested in the ways in which colonial history has been shaped at the intersection of human societies and the natural world, and more widely for all who seek to understand the consequences of present-day climate change on contemporary and future human communities...White's book constitutes a reminder of the deleterious effects of uncontrolled climatic variations throughout social history, and yet another warning.--Hélène B. Ducros "EuropeNow" (12/1/2017 12:00:00 AM)

A Cold Welcome deserves a warm reception from anyone interested in colonial America, the early modern Atlantic, or the history of changing climates. Taking a holistic view of North America, White brilliantly illuminates the history of early Spanish, French, and English settlements as they struggled to come to grips with unexpected climates and a challenging spell during the Little Ice Age.--J. R. McNeill, coauthor of The Great Acceleration

In the barbarous early years of European colonization of North America, there have long been three acknowledged Horsemen of the Apocalypse: poor planning, cultural incomprehension, and bad timing. Sam White reminds us of a fourth deadly rider: climate change. His analysis of the Little Ice Age in North America makes the crucial point that failure to understand and adapt to climate change has been fatal.--Joyce E. Chaplin, author of Round About the Earth

Sam White's aptly named A Cold Welcome is a remarkable journey through the complex impacts of the Little Ice Age on Colonial North America. His compelling narrative takes the study of early America in a new, and potentially highly important, direction that delves into a now vanished world of daunting climatic extremes. This beautifully written, important book leaves us in no doubt that we ignore the chronicle of past climate change at our peril. I found it hard to put down.--Brian Fagan, author of The Little Ice Age

The period from 1492 to 1620 is the 'forgotten century' in American history, with most textbooks offering only a passing mention to early European exploration and settlement in North America. In fact, there were dozens of attempts to penetrate the continent, but all ended in starvation, disease, violence, and death. In A Cold Welcome, White explains how the Little Ice Age contributed to these failures. By combining archival research with the latest findings of climate scientists, he makes a brilliant contribution to both American and environmental history.--Daniel Headrick, author of Power over Peoples

From the Publisher

White presents a fascinating account of Europeans’ 16th and early 17th century incursions into North America to highlight that colonial exploration was impeded by famines, diseases, afflictions and deaths for the British, the French, and the Spanish as they faced storms, icy winters, hurricanes, droughts, and extreme cold spells…In making climate history and climate reconstruction part of a contextualized historical inquiry, White not only stresses what was, but also implies what could have been for the early European expansion into Northern America…Beautifully written and skillfully researched, this book is highly relevant for scholars interested in the ways in which colonial history has been shaped at the intersection of human societies and the natural world, and more widely for all who seek to understand the consequences of present-day climate change on contemporary and future human communities…White’s book constitutes a reminder of the deleterious effects of uncontrolled climatic variations throughout social history, and yet another warning.

EuropeNow - Hélène B. Ducros

A Cold Welcome deserves a warm reception from anyone interested in colonial America, the early modern Atlantic, or the history of changing climates. Taking a holistic view of North America, White brilliantly illuminates the history of early Spanish, French, and English settlements as they struggled to come to grips with unexpected climates and a challenging spell during the Little Ice Age.

J.R. McNeill

10/01/2017
In a work spanning history and science, White (The Climate of Rebellion in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire) closely examines how Spanish, French, and English explorers and settlers dealt with extreme climates in the lands they sought to inhabit. An environmental historian by trade, the author has produced a highly readable study of how people struggled to exist and gain a foothold in unfamiliar lands. Between approximately the middle of the 14th century to the early 19th century, the Little Ice Age witnessed a noticeable cooling trend, which was particularly felt by those in the American continent. Compared to Europe, the winters in Jamestown, VA, and Santa Fe, NM, were harsh and unexpected. White describes how people endeavored to find a way to survive in their surroundings. In Quebec, for example, French settlers welcomed the advice of First Nations people who taught them remedies that were used in combatting the ill effects of scurvy. VERDICT Overall, White does a commendable job of relating how the colonists' tenuous first years in the Americas were perilously close to failure. Ultimately, their survival may provide lessons for us today as we deal with conspicuous climate change.—Brian Renvall, Mesalands Community Coll., Tucumcari, NM

Library Journal