Europeans were fascinated by America as it was entirely new to them. Artworks from the 16th to 18th centuries provide insight into how Europeans viewed America and Native Americans, with common symbols including animals, clothing, and gender representations. "America" became a symbolic concept over time, from references to newly discovered lands in works like Utopia, to the Puritan ideal of a shining "Citty upon a hill", to the later independence of America.

2.  America fascinated Europeans, as it was
something undeniably new to them
 Images painted, etched, carved by Europeans
from 16th
-18th
Century can tell us a lot about how
they viewed America and Native Americans
 Keep in mind common symbols: animals, clothing,
gender

10. “America”

11. 1676 Symbol for Massachusetts Bay Colony
Pocahantas

16. “America”

18.  More’s Utopia “close
to the islands
discovered by
Vespucci”
 Puritan “Citty upon a
hill”
 Later, American
Independence