Terra Nova Audiobook By Jack Bouchard cover art

Terra Nova

Food, Water, and Work in an Early Atlantic World

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Terra Nova

By: Jack Bouchard
Narrated by: Sofia Willingham
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In the early decades of the sixteenth century, mariners from across Europe forged a vast seasonal fishery along the coasts of the northwest Atlantic. Long before there was Newfoundland or Canada, Europeans called this floating colony Terra Nova, and they laid the foundation for a history of extracting food and fuel that extended into the twentieth century. Once one of the largest European colonies in the Atlantic basin, Terra Nova has never before been considered in its historical entirety or in a wider Atlantic context.

Historian Jack Bouchard tells the story of Terra Nova, showing that its early development was shaped by colonial histories across the Atlantic world. He demonstrates that when we put food production, ocean environments, and maritime labor at the center of the story, we can see the overlooked lives and voices of those who made change in these early years. The result is a new history of the Atlantic world: one where humans migrate in the wake of ice and fish, where Indigenous American and Arctic trade routes are joined to transatlantic exchange, where colonies exist without settlement or empire, and where food production, labor, and maritime landscapes are at the center of our shared history.

©2025 Jack Bouchard (P)2025 Tantor Media 16th Century Economic History Economics Maritime History & Piracy Modern World Colonial Period

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This isn't a hyper narrative driven popular history, but Terra Nova and the fishery and the people there felt very real to me after reading it. I feel like this is a very engaging and accessible academic history. It's always amazing when you read something that by touching on little tidbits of records and evidence from the past brings a very real feeling world to life for you.

I really enjoyed the book and felt like I learned a ton. I would be a little careful if you feel like you might not be able to handle something that's less narrative driven, but I don't think an interested reader without a ton of exposure to history would have any difficulty becoming fascinated by this. If it sounds interesting to you I think it's probably worth giving it a shot.

A really well written history on an overlooked topic

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