Atlantic history is an emerging field that is being shaped by the efforts of young historians.
It is a field with a broad focus, which charts the contributions of Africans, Europeans, and americans in creating the common Atlantic world as it emerged after the Columbian voyages. Increasingly, Atlantic history is recognized as a special area of historical scholarship, as reflected in the growing number oconferences, and academic positions dedicated to it. Trade, migration, ethnicity, disease, and the flow of ideas are among the major themes. Noe of these themes can be studied by looking at one continent exclusively. The student of slave life in the Americas, for instance, can learn a lot from the history of West Africa and Angola.