“The Atlantic world was a world that Europeans, Africans and Americans “had created together”, with peoples from outside. That’s the belief of Peter Coclanis, the Albert R. Newsome Professor of History and Economics and vice provost for international affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In his article: Atlantic World or Atlantic/World? published in the William and Mary Quarterly in 2006, Coclanis argues that the study of Atlantic history is too narrow. He writes in this article that there is no context in which the Atlantic world can be completely separated from interactions with the rest of the world. According to Coclanis, if one wants to study Atlantic history of the early modern period (c. 1500-1800 CE), one needs to focus more on other areas, such as countries outside the Atlantic or their commercial circuits, in order to fully understand the history. of the Atlantic. This idea that Atlantic historians need to change focus is contradictory to what Atlantic history is. If Atlantic historians have shifted their focus to include countries not connected to the Atlantic, can we still speak of Atlantic history or should we believe what Coclanis suggests: should historians even focus on the Atlantic world? Coclanis wrote in response to his article published four years earlier entitled: Drang Nach Osten: Bernard Bailyn, the island world and the idea of ​​Atlantic history. He writes because he feels that he is now "a little better informed" to the extent that his criticism has become "a little more nuanced and sophisticated." Coclanis reveals his feelings towards the study of Atlantic history by being disappointed and unconvinced by the arguments put forward by historians. He states that "academics... middle of paper... also includes extra-Atlantic regions." This idea is contradictory to what Atlantic historians, and undoubtedly historians in general, study. The goal of any history is to understand the developments that took place in the Atlantic. Including other regions outside the Atlantic does not improve the Atlantic story. In fact, it does just the opposite; it becomes a world story, removing the importance of the Atlantic from Atlantic history. What Coclanis argues is that to fully understand Atlantic history, one must understand what is happening simultaneously across the globe. Works Cited Coclanis, Peter A.. “Atlantic World or Atlantic/World? The William and Mary Quarterly 63.4 (2006): 725-742. Coclanis, Peter A.. “Drang Nach Osten: Bernard Bailyn, the World Island, and the Idea of ​​Atlantic History” Journal of World History 13.1 (2002): 169-182.