Dr. Sam White was the assistant professor of environmental history at Oberlin College before moving to the history department at Ohio State University. His research comprises of how we can use natural and human records to reconstruct past environments and human reactions to them. His primary focus is the Little Ice Age, publishing two works on the subject. His first book, The Climate of Rebellion in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire, was published in 2011 and focuses on the impacts of the Little Ice Age on the Middle East. His second book,titled A Cold Welcome: The Little Ice Age and Europe’s Encounter with North America, was published in 2017 and discusses the experience of English, Spanish, and French colonists and they attempted to establish footholds in the New World. A Cold Welcome is a groundbreaking work as one of the first publications to examine the Little Ice Age‘s influence in the colonization of the Americas. Dr. White, through this book, argues that the reason Europeans had so much difficulty establishing footholds in the New World was due to the brutal seasons caused by climactic shifts created by the Little Ice Age.
A Cold Welcome is comprised of ten chapters, each designated to colonization efforts of different geographic regions by different European nations. Chapter one discusses European preconceptions of climate based on their home nations and religious beliefs. Many people believed that shifts in weather was brought on by their sins rather than climate change. Chapter two discusses the attempt made by Spanish aristocrats to conquer Florida. Dr. White explains that their attempts were futile and foiled by the terrain and weather as many settlements did not last. Chapter three discusses France‘s attempt to settle in Florida. The French run into the same issues as the Spanish and England emerges as a competitor. Though England is undermined by religious strife, they establish the Roanoke colony in 1587. This colony eventually disappears, most likely due to drought and starvation brought on by climate change. Additionally, Dr. White explains within this chapter the issues of lack of stable funds and lack of emphasis on permanence that colonies faced during this time. Chapter four examines the discovery of silver in South America by the Spanish and the Inflation it creates back in Europe. This discovery forces other European nations to look to the New World for lucrative resources and food supplies. Chapter five discusses the establishment of Jamestown and the role of John Smith in its survival as well as reconnaissance expeditions made by the French, English, and Russians of the Canadian coasts in search of the Northwest Passage. Chapter six discusses Jamestown in further depth and the challenges faced by colonists that reinforced codependency with the Powhatan peoples. Chapter seven discusses English attempts at settling the New England region. Dr. White also utilizes this chapter to discuss the study of tree rings, ice cores, and lake sediment as effective forms of measuring climate change over time. Chapter eight discusses the Spanish conquest of New Mexico and how the Little Ice Age effected desert regions. Chapter nine discusses European exploration of the eastern Canadian coastline and development of the region as a fishing staple. Chapter ten discusses struggles back in England to recruit colonists and Jamestown‘s starving time.
Dr. White utilizes a vast array of primary sources to gain firsthand insight into human experiences during such a unique phenomenon: intelligence documents, journals, diaries, ship or captain‘s logs, personal correspondence, medical records, sermons, government documents, and pamphlets. These were woven into the work seamlessly to present information in a captivating manner. This is the greatest strength of the work. Instead of feeling like a scientific read, the book itself felt more like an intimate story of desperation and human perseverance. A Cold Welcome could easily be read by any curious reader or academic alike
