| Using a new form of interdisciplinary history, this project examines the architecture of competing North American fortified communities to reveal the central role of imperial presence in defining individual identity during the 18th century. This multilingual work shows that ordinary provincials lived not in a fluid and open Atlantic World, but amidst fiercely violent imperial competition, where Britain, France, and Spain built massive, costly forts that became primary sites for colonial administration and vivid symbols of imperial presence. In response to the distinct identities which imperial architecture reflected, provincials of all backgrounds constantly monitored their national affiliations, sometimes making difficult compromises to protect their property, faith, freedom, and lives. This project compares the Castillo San Marcos, a gleaming stone castle in Spanish Florida, the Fortress Louisbourg in Nova Scotia, a modest fishing village redesigned as a cosmopolitan French stronghold, and the British Fort Stanwix, a frontier imperial citadel that later became an outpost for American Revolutionaries. |
