THE EARLY MODERN ATLANTIC WORLD

Transcription

1 Trent University HISTORY 3755 THE EARLY MODERN ATLANTIC WORLD FW Professor Arne Bialuschewski Office: Lady Eaton College N115 Secretary: Christine Quigley Phone: , ext Phone: , ext Office hours: Wednesday 13:00-14:30 INTRODUCTION Comprising the western littorals of Europe and Africa, as well as the Caribbean and the eastern coastal rim of the Americas, the Atlantic World represents a major, perhaps the most important, unit of study in early modern history. This course encompasses developments from the beginning of European settlement in the New World to the pre-revolutionary period in the mid-eighteenth century. Topics include the destruction and reconfiguration of indigenous societies, cross-cultural relations, European transatlantic migration, the slave trade, overseas trade, as well as war and conflict in colonial empires. This course primarily deals with social, economic, and cultural issues rather than political history. Even though the emphasis is on the British in the early modern Atlantic World, this course will also consider aspects of Swedish, Dutch, French, Spanish, and Portuguese overseas history.

2 OUTLINE The weekly lectures usually address two related topics and are essential to the course. Most of the tutorials follow one topic of the week s lecture topics, examining selected problems and issues. In some instances the tutorials branch off, focusing on general problems of historiography or controversial issues of social, economic, or cultural history in order to address a broad range of perspectives and themes. The recommended textbook The Atlantic World: A History, , published in 2007, offers comprehensive background reading. In particular pages 77 to 322 serve as a complement to selected topics presented in lectures. Mandatory readings for the tutorials are available online or will be made accessible on the mytrent Learning System. Students are expected to write a research paper that is based on primary sources. The focus can be on cross-cultural relations one of the hottest fields of historical research in recent years but other issues or questions relating to the early modern Atlantic World with the exception of piracy are also welcome. Towards the end of the academic year students have to present and discuss their research projects in class. There will be two in-class exams at the end of each semester. EVALUATION First term: Seminar participation 15% Research paper proposal 5% Research paper draft 15% Exam 10% Second term: Seminar participation 15% Seminar presentation 5% Research paper 25% Exam 10%

3 Schedule Lectures: Tuesday 17:00-18:50 OCA 203 Tutorials: Tuesday 19:00-19:50 SC W3 Tuesday 20:00-20:50 SC W3 Deadlines 5 November: Research paper proposal 26 November: Research paper draft 18 March: Research paper final version Assignments must be handed in by the required date. There will be a late penalty of 5% per day. Research Project Students have to select their own research projects which must be based on primary sources. It is recommended to select one or two publications accessible in Early English Books Online or the Eighteenth Century Collections Online ( under E- books the search term voyage or travels leads to numerous titles). Students should focus on one aspect of this source, such as cross-cultural relations or economic development. The paper must be analytical rather than descriptive. The argument has to be presented in a coherent way, and the paper must deal with the relevant secondary literature. A draft must be submitted by 26 November. The corrected and annotated manuscript will be returned to the students. Revised drafts can be discussed with the instructor during the winter term. The final version should be about 5000 words long. Towards the end of the academic students are expected to present the results of their research in class. Course goals As a third year course, History 3755 provides a detailed investigation of the early modern Atlantic World, continuing to build on methodologies, debates, interpretations, interdisciplinary approaches, and historical skills learned in other history courses. Students will further develop their skills in historical research, analysis, interpretation, and problem solving, working with both primary sources and secondary literature, and critically evaluating the ideas and arguments of major scholars in the field. Students will be encouraged to make use of the tools of interdisciplinary approaches and historiography to situate their own original arguments in the context of ongoing historical debates and assess evidence

4 critically. In essays and class discussions, students will hone their ability to communicate their ideas effectively and logically. Students on completing the course successfully should understand the basic conventions of historical writing, the rules of academic integrity and professionalism, the importance of personal initiative and accountability, and the evolving nature of historical knowledge. Furthermore, this course is designed to introduce students to cultures from different parts of the globe. Learning objectives This course has been developed to address two learning outcomes. By the end of the course a successful student should be able 1) to critically assess secondary literature and 2) to develop an argument based on primary sources. Academic dishonesty and plagiarism Academic dishonesty, which includes plagiarism and cheating, is an extremely serious academic offence and carries penalties varying from a 0 grade on an assignment to expulsion from the university. Definitions, penalties, and procedures for dealing with plagiarism and cheating are set out in Trent University s Academic Dishonesty Policy. You have a responsibility to educate yourself unfamiliarity with the policy is not an excuse. You are strongly encouraged to visit Trent s Academic Integrity website to learn more: < Upon request, students must be ready to present their research notes and explain their work to the instructor. Access to Instruction It is Trent University s intent to create an inclusive learning environment. If a student has a disability and/or health consideration and feels that he/she may need accommodations to succeed in this course, the student should contact the Student Accessibility Services (SAS) Office (BH Suite 132, Tel.: , accessibilityservices@trentu.ca) as soon as possible. Complete text can be found under Access to Instruction in the Academic Calendar.

5 SCHEDULE Lecture 10 September: Introduction Tutorial: Organization of the course Lecture 17 September: What is Atlantic History? The Geography of the Atlantic World Background reading: textbook, pp Tutorial: Why Europe? Reading: Paul Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000 (London, 1988), pp Lecture 24 September: Europe in the Age of Expansion The Conquest of the New World Tutorial: Disease and Mortality, Reading: Francis J. Brooks, Revising the Conquest of Mexico: Smallpox, Sources, and Populations, Journal of Interdisciplinary History 24 (1993), pp. 1-29; Massimo Livi-Bacci, Return to Hispaniola: Reassessing a Demographic Catastrophe, Hispanic American Historical Review 83 (2003), pp Lecture 1 October: Desperate Crossing-DVD Background reading: textbook, pp Tutorial: Discussion of documentary Lecture 8 October: The Economic Development of the Colonies Transatlantic Trade Background reading: textbook, pp Tutorial: The Navigation Acts, Reading: John J. McCusker, British Mercantilist Policies and the American Colonies, The Cambridge Economic History of the United States, ed. Stanley L. Engerman and Robert E. Gallman (Cambridge, 1996), vol. 1, pp Lecture 15 October: The Use of Online Resources Publishing History Tutorials: Discussion of research projects 21 to 25 October: Reading Week Lecture 29 October: The Transatlantic Slave Trade Tutorial: Working with primary sources Lecture 5 November: Pre-Colonial Africa in the Atlantic World Africa and the Slave Trade

6 Tutorial: The Impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade on Africa, Reading: Paul Lovejoy, The Impact of the Slave Trade on Africa: A Review of the Literature, Journal of African History 30 (1989), pp Lecture 12 November: The Middle Passage-DVD Tutorial: Discussion of documentary Lecture 19 November: The Fateful Voyage of the Excellent, Mortality in the Notorious Triangle Tutorial: Olaudah Equiano s Narrative: Reading: Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African (London, [1789]), vol. 1, pp ; Paul E. Lovejoy, Autobiography and Memory: Gustavus Vassa, alias Olaudah Equiano, the African, Slavery and Abolition 27 (2006), pp ; Vincent Carretta, Response to Paul Lovejoy s Autobiography and Memory, Slavery and Abolition 28 (2007), pp ; Paul E. Lovejoy, Issues of Motivation, Slavery and Abolition 28 (2007), pp Lecture 26 November: The Chartered Companies Interlopers and Private Traders Week 11: Tutorial: The Free Trade Discussion, Reading: Tim Keirn, Monopoly, Economic Thought, and the Royal African Company, in Early Modern Conceptions of Property, ed. John Brewer and Susan Staves (London, 1995), pp December: Exam Lecture 7 January: Black Robe-DVD Tutorial: discussion of movie Lecture 14 January: Comparative Colonization: Spain and England Sweden, the Netherlands, Scotland, and France Tutorial: Canada in the Early Modern Atlantic World, Reading: Cole Harris, The Pattern of Early Canada, The Canadian Geographer / Le Géographe canadien 31 (1987), pp Lecture 21 January: Transatlantic Migration: England and Ireland Germany Tutorial: Indentured Servitude, Reading: Hilary M. Beckles, The Concept of White Slavery in the English Caribbean during the Early Seventeenth Century, in Early Modern Conceptions of Property, ed. John Brewer and Susan Staves (London, 1995), pp Lecture 28 January: Women in the Atlantic World

7 Tutorial: Women in the Colonies, Reading: Lois Green Carr and Lorena S. Walsh, The Planter s Wife: The Experience of White Women in Seventeenth-Century Maryland, William and Mary Quarterly 34 (1977), pp ; Trevor Burnard, Inheritance and Independence: Women s Status in Early Colonial Jamaica, William and Mary Quarterly 48 (1991), pp Lecture 4 February: The Wooden World: Life at Sea Transatlantic Communication Tutorial: Mutiny and Rebellion, Reading: Marcus Rediker, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Merchant Seamen, Pirates, and the Anglo-American Maritime World, (Cambridge, 1987), pp , Lecture 11 February: War and Conflict Privateering and Piracy Background reading: textbook, pp No tutorial 17 to 21 February: Reading Week Lecture 25 February: Transformations at the Periphery of the Atlantic World: Peru Madagascar Tutorial: Cross-Cultural Relations in Madagascar, Reading: Mike Parker Pearson, Close Encounters of the Worst Kind: Malagasy Resistance and Colonial Disasters in Southern Madagascar, World Archaeology 28 (1997), pp ; Pier M. Larson, Colonies Lost: God, Hunger, and Conflict in Anosy (Madagascar) to 1674, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East 27 (2007), pp Lecture 4 March: Atlantic Islands Brazil in the South Atlantic World Tutorial: Benjamin Schmidt, Exotic Allies: The Dutch-Chilean Encounter and the (Failed) Conquest of America, Renaissance Quarterly 52 (1999), pp Lecture 11 March: Native Americans in Europe Africans in Europe Tutorial: Presentation and discussion of students projects Lecture 18 March: Dietary and Consumer Revolutions in the Early Modern Period Tutorial: Presentation and discussion of students projects Lecture 25 March: Atlantic Revolutions Tutorial: Summary of course contents 1 April: Exam 2013 Arne Bialuschewski