Abstract:

From the 1490s through the 1610s, the English failed more often than they succeeded in their efforts to explore and colonize the Western Hemisphere. But even when travelers did not return, chroniclers told their stories. Taken together, these texts constituted an archive of disappointment. In this essay, I identify the best-known accounts and set them into a historical narrative that unfolded before the English arrived in New Plymouth in 1620.

中文翻译：

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失败的时代

摘要：

从1490年代到1610年代，英国人在探索和殖民西半球方面付出的努力多于成功。但是，即使旅行者没有返回，编年史家也讲述了他们的故事。这些文本加在一起构成了令人失望的档案。在本文中，我确定了最著名的叙述，并将其描述为在1620年英国人到达新普利茅斯之前展开的历史叙述。