The Atlantic World is a historical concept referring to the interactions between the peoples and empires bordering the Atlantic Ocean from the 15th to the 19th centuries.

It connects the histories of Europe, Africa, and the Americas into a single, integrated system.

The system was created by the voyages of European explorers, which initiated sustained contact between the continents.

A central feature of the Atlantic World was the 'Columbian Exchange,' the transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and people.

The transatlantic slave trade was a brutal and fundamental component of the Atlantic economy.

Plantation economies based on enslaved labor were established in the Americas to produce commodities like sugar, tobacco, and cotton for European markets.

The Atlantic World saw the creation of new, syncretic cultures, blending European, African, and Indigenous traditions.

The flow of silver and gold from the Americas to Europe fueled the growth of capitalism.

The political ideas of the Enlightenment circulated throughout the Atlantic World, inspiring the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions.

The study of the Atlantic World helps to understand modern history from a global, rather than purely national, perspective.