The Old World

In this project, the Old World refers to Western Europe, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Arctic Ocean. The emigrants to the eastern shores of North America came from this region. They brought with them a shared intellectual, religious, and technological heritage that had been formed during the millennium known as the Middle Ages. Their culture emphasized a respect for tradition together with problem-solving approach to everyday life. Continuity and innovation may seem to be opposites, but this mixture allowed the new arrivals in the Western Hemisphere to adapt to an environment that was superficially familiar, yet fraught with perils for the unwary.

In their new home the early colonists found an abundance of a commodity that was becoming increasingly scarce in their homelands: raw materials. Metallic ores of all descriptions were easy to mine. Virgin territory meant that grains could produce yields far greater than in Europe. Abundant wildlife, fish, and fowl gave these settlers unaccustomed plenty of protein. All this had to be manufactured into useable materials, whether in the oven or the forge. The settlers were forced to confront a problem that was familiar from their original homes: lack of people. So they took the medieval machines and adapted them to service in a new land.