The Rise of the Atlantic
World
Gayle K. Brunelle
gbrunelle@fullerton.edu
http://fpwebs@fullerton.edu/gbrunelle
Office Hours, MW, 1:30-2:30, M 6-7 p.m.
Telephone: (714)278-7045
Office: H-710E
Section 1 17454
REQUIRED READING:
Noble David Cook, Born to Die. Disease and New World
Conquest, 1492-1650 (Cambridge: 1998) ISBN:
0-521-62730-3
Timothy J. Shannon, Atlantic Lives: A comparative
approach to early America, (New York: Pearson/Longman,
2004) ISBN: 0-321-07710-5
John Thornton, Africa and Africans in the Making of
the Atlantic World, 1400-1800 (Cambridge, Second
Edition, 1998) ISBN: 0-521-62724-9
Victors and vanquished: Spanish and Nahua views of the
Conquest of Mexico, Stuart B. Schwartz, ed. (New York:
Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000) ISBN: 0-312-39355-5
The Jesuit Relations: Native and missionaries in
seventeenth-century North America, Alan Greer, ed. (New
York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2000) ISBN:
0312167075
Patricia Seed, Ceremonies of possession in Europe’s
conquest of the New World, 1492-1640, (New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1995) ISBN: 0-521-49757-4
On Reserve:
1. Anthony Grafton, New Worlds, Ancient Texts, ch.
3, "All Coherence Gone"
2. Seymour Phillips, "The Outer World of the European
Middle Ages, in Stuart Schwartz, Implicit Understandings:
Observing, Reporting, and Reflecting on the Encounters
Between Europeans and Other Peoples in the Early Modern Era
(Cambridge UP: 1994), 23-63.
3. Eduardo Aznar Vallejo, "The Conquests of the Canary
Islands," in Schwartz, Implicit Understandings,
134-156.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to explore the main themes and
problems of the history of the Atlantic Basin from 1450 to
about 1700. Increasingly, "Atlantic World" is emerging as a
new historical field, in which historians are able to trace
economic, social, and cultural connections and continuity.
Most of these connections arose as a result of the
migrations, forced and voluntary, of Europeans and Africans
across the Atlantic into North, Central, and South America.
We will begin this course with European exploration of the
Canary Islands and the coast of West Africa. From there we
will examine the discovery and conquest of the New World,
the role of Africans in the creation of the Atlantic World,
not only as slaves, but also as traders and contributors of
cultural models, the rise of what Philip Curtin has termed a
"Plantation Complex," and, finally, the Spanish, French and
English colonies down to the mid-eighteenth century.
Naturally, this course can only scratch the surface of the
growing field of Atlantic World, but it will serve as a
sufficiently complete introduction to allow students to
delve deeper into the subject in the form of research
projects and independent studies.
LEARNING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:
1. Examine and understand the main problems and themes of
Atlantic World history, from the beginning of Europe’s entry
into the Atlantic until the establishment of the "plantation
complex" in the conclusion of the 17th century.
2. Acquire a foundation with which to comprehend the
development of the Atlantic World from the 18th
century to the present.
3. Skills improvement: textual comprehension, oral and
written communication.
ASSESSMENT:
Student learning will be assessed primarily on the basis
of command of concepts and information presented in the
readings, lecture and class discussion. Students will also
be expected to demonstrate improvement in communication
skills, especially in writing.
"A" level work = In exams, students will be able to
articulate clearly and coherently, and in essay format, the
answer to the questions asked. By essay format, I mean that
their answers will be in the form of an argument, with an
introduction, a body of evidence, and a conclusion. They
will answer each question completely, and their answers will
show evidence of understanding, rather than merely reciting
facts or paraphrasing the readings or lectures. In sum, they
will be able to demonstrate that they have digested the
material rather than merely memorized it. By the same token,
in their book reviews, students will discuss the thesis or
interpretation of the book, as well as the evidence upon
which the thesis is presented, and make a critical judgement
about the value of the book. Papers will be well written and
well edited for grammar and style. In class
discussion students will make thoughtful comments and/or ask
thoughtful questions.
"B" level work = In exams students will demonstrate that
they have digested the readings and class discussions,
similar to that of "A" level work, although their
understanding and/or articulation of this will be less
complete than that of "A" level work. Their exams are likely
to be more "factual" and less thoughtful. Book reviews will
demonstrate at least a partial grasp of the thesis of the
work, but less understanding of the interpretation than that
of "A" level work. Papers will be well edited for grammar
but may contain some stylistic errors. Class participation
may be less frequent or less thoughtful than that of "A"
level work.
"C" level work = Students will demonstrate retention of
the gist of readings, lectures and class discussion, but
without a grasp of an ability to make connections among the
concepts contain in that material. Writing will be edited
for grammar but still contain some grammatical and/or
stylistic errors. Book reviews will read more like book
reports, focusing on the factual information in the book and
having little or nothing to say regarding interpretation.
Class participation will be infrequent.
"D" level work = Students will complete all of the
assignments, but with evidence of minimal effort only.
Written work will contain errors in understanding and
articulation, including little evidence of editing for
grammar and style. Exams will not demonstrate comprehension
of concepts, although they may contain fragments of
information from readings and class lectures and
discussions.
"F" level work = Students will not complete all of the
assignments, and their work will be rife with errors of
comprehension and articulation, including no evidence of
editing for grammar and style. Exams will demonstrate
neither comprehension of concepts nor evidence of diligence
in completing reading assignments and attending class.
GRADING:
Student learning will be assessed on the basis of student
performance in:
1. two written essay exams, each worth 25 % percent of
the final grade;
2. one 10-12 page (excluding notes) research paper, in
which students will write an essay answering a question I
have supplied, and using secondary sources to formulate
their answer, worth 20% of the final grade;
3. Ten 1- 2 page typed (double spaced) response to the
readings papers. These papers must be turned in at the
beginning of the class meeting in which the reading is
scheduled to be discussed. They cannot be emailed, and no
late papers will be accepted. The purpose of these
papers is to ensure that students are doing the readings and
are prepared to discuss them in class. In each paper
students will respond to the following questions:
What is the central question or theme of each reading
assigned for that week?
What evidence is the author using to answer it
(except for primary sources)?
In the case of a primary source, like the letters of
Cortes, the questions would be: Why is the author
writing this source, and what can we learn from it
related to the central themes of the class?
25 (final)
Research Paper = 25
Reading Responses = 25
100
Please note that in accordance with new university
policies permitting the use of plus/minus grading, and in
order to achieve a more accurate assessment of the quality
of student work, I will be grading according to the
following scale:
97-100 = A+ 93-96 = A
90-92 = A-
87-89 = B+ 83-86 = B
80-82 = B-
77-79 = C+ 73-76 = C
70-72 = C-
67-69 = D+ 63-66 = D
60-62 = D- 59 or below = F
GRADUATE AUGMENTATION
Graduate students taking this course must complete two
additional book reviews from works listed in the appended
"Recommended Readings." The four book reviews will count for
5% percent each, for a total of 10% of the final grade.
Their research paper will be 15 to 18 pages, excluding
notes, and will be based on at least one primary source as
well as on secondary sources.
Although I will not grade specifically on
grammar and writing style in the essay
exams,
obviously good coherence and structure
will improve students’ grades, whereas
incoherent,
rambling exams which do not answer the
question asked fully will fare more poorly.
I will pay
close attention to style and grammar, as
well as coherence, structure, and content,
in the papers.
However, as my goal is to effect an
improvement in your communication skills,
students will be
required to hand in a draft of their
research paper on or before the due date for
the draft
marked on the syllabus, so that they may
revise their work on the basis of my
comments.
They must hand in the draft with my
comments with the final draft of their
paper. I
realize that students come into a class
with different levels of historical
understanding and
communication skills. By the same token,
all of us, no matter how proficient, can
improve.
Therefore, I will look for evidence of
improvement in reading comprehension and
writing, and
will grade accordingly.
Because the focus of this class is on
learning content and improving
comprehension, most
of the class will be taught in the form
of class or small group discussion. The
success of
this class therefore depends on students’
willingness to come to class prepared
(that
means, with the reading done) and ready
to participate in discussions. These factors
will
determine the class discussion portion of
the grade. Students who are
frequently
absent, in mind or body, can expect a
poor grade!
Please note that due to the small but significant
minority of students who plagiarize, either the first or
final draft of your paper must be handed in via Turnitin.com.
Students will find a Powerpoint presentation on how to use
Turnitin at:
http://fdc.fullerton.edu/technology/turnitin/default.htm.
I will also discuss Turnitin the first day of class. The
class ID number is 1239025. The password is "password."
Rather than wait to be caught plagiarizing, deliberately or
inadvertently, I strongly urge you to submit your drafts and
review your reports on them yourselves. If your papers
contain more than 24% material from other sources (i.e.,
yellow or above on your report), even if cited correctly,
this constitutes too many quotes or otherwise "borrowed"
material, and the paper should be revised to reduce this. If
you have quoted from sources and not cited them, you must
cite them in the revised version. If I catch you "borrowing"
too many quotes from legitimate sources, I will require you
to rewrite your paper in your own words. Failure to do so
will result in an "F" for the paper. If I find that you’ve
purchased the paper from an "essay mill," I will drop you
from the course and report you for academic dishonesty.
MAKE UP EXAM POLICY:
Because both exams will be take-home,
there will be no make-up exams.
Attendance policy: students may miss up to three classes
for any reason – illness, family emergency, travel – without
penalty. Students who miss more than two classes before
census will be
automatically dropped from the class. Students who
miss more than three classes during the semester will drop
one grade for their final grade for each class missed.
HONOR POLICY:
Students may work together to discuss the
readings and prepare for exams. All work
performed
for a grade in the class should be the
student’s own work however. University Honor
Policy
will be observed.
TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS:
Week 1/January 22: Introduction. The medieval Atlantic.
European exploration and settlement of the Balearic Islands:
A model for the Atlantic? Reading: Seymour Phillips, "The
Outer World of the European Middle Ages," from Stuart
Schwart, ed., Implicit Understandings, p. 23-63, on
reserve, and Alison Games, "Atlantic History: definitions,
challenges and opportunities," handout and on reserve.
Week 2/January 29: Europe, the Canary Islands, the
Azores, and the coast of West Africa. Reading: Edwardo Aznar
Vallejo, "The Conquests of the Canary Islands," in Schwartz,
ed., Implicit Understandings, 134-156.
Week 3/February 5: The Spanish conquest of the Caribbean
and the New World. Reading: Victors and Vanquished,
first half.
Week 4/February 12: The conquest, continued, Reading:
Victors and Vanquished, second half.
Week 5/February 19: Presidents’ Day – NO
CLASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Week 6/February 26: The consequences of the conquest for
indigenous peoples of the Caribbean and Central America.
Reading: Cook, Born to Die, p. 1-94.
Week 7/March 5: The role of disease in the European
conquest of the Americas. Reading: Cook, p. 95-end. Also,
return drafts of book reviews. Note: I will pass out the
midterm next week. We will review for it this week. Please
come to class prepared with any questions you might have.
Week 8/March 12: The midterm will be handed out tonight
and due next week.
Cultural syncretism between Europeans and Native
Americans. Reading: Seed, Ceremonies of Possession,
p. all.
Week 9/March 19: Syncretism continued. Reading – excerpts
from Grafton, New Worlds, Ancient Texts, ch. 3, "All
Coherence Gone," on reserve.
Please note – March 26-April 1 is spring break – NO
CLASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Week 10/April 2: Mapping the early modern world;
cartography as a tool of empire. Reading - cartography web
sites to be announced. Students will view images of maps and
be prepared to discuss them in class.
Week 11/April 9: The role of Africans in creating and
maintaining the Atlantic world. Reading: Thornton, Africa
and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World,
Introduction and Part One, "Africans in Africa," p. 1-128.
Week 12/April 16: Cultural Syncretism and the African
contribution of Africans to American culture. Reading:
Thornton, Part Two, "Africans in the New World," p. 129-334.
Week 13/April 23: North America, the French colonies.
Reading, The Jesuit Relations.
Week 14/April 30: North America, the English colonies.
Shannon, Atlantic Lives, all.
Week 15/May 7: Catch up week. No reading due. Note: Your
final versions of your research papers are due this week.
Also, final exam will be handed out. Bring to class any
questions you might have regarding the final. The final exam
will cover all material from the mid-term through week 15.
Week 16: Final Exam.
RECOMMENDED READINGS (BIBLIOGRAPHY)
Altman, Ida. Emigrants and Society.
Extremadura and Spanish America in the Sixteenth
Century . Berkeley. University of California
Press. 1989.
--------------- . Transatlantic Ties in the Spanish
Empire. Brihuega, Spain & Puebla, Mexico, 1560- 1620.
Stanford. Stanford University Press. 2000.
Andrews, Kenneth R. Ships, Money & Politics. Seafaring
and naval enterprise in the reign of Charles I.
Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1991.
__________. The Spanish Caribbean: trade and
plunder, 1530-1630. New Haven. Yale University
Press. 1978.
Canny, Nicholas and Pagden, Anthony, ed. Colonial
identity in the Atlantic world, 1500-1800.
Princeton. Princeton University Press. 1987.
Clendinnen, Inga. Ambivalent Conquests: Mayan and
Spaniard in the Yucatan. Cambridge. Cambridge
University Press. 1995.
__________. Aztecs. An interpretation. Cambridge.
Cambridge University Press. 1991.
Crosby, Alfred W. Ecological Imperialism: The
Biological Expansion of Europe. Cambridge.
Cambridge University Press. 1986.
Curtin, Philip. Cross-Cultural Trade in World
History. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.1984.
Curtin, Philip. The Rise and Fall of the Plantation
Complex. Cambridge. Cambridge University
Press. 1990.
Eccles, W. J. The French in North America,
1500-1783. Revised edition. East Lansing, Michigan.
Michigan State University Press. 1998.
Eltis, David. The rise of African slavery in the
Americas. New York. Cambridge University Press.
2000.
Fernández-Armesto, Felipe. Before Columbus:
Exploration and colonization from the Mediterranean to the
Atlantic. Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania
Press. 1987.
Fuson, Robert H. Juan Ponce de Léon and the
Spanish discovery of Puerto Rico and Florida.
Blacksburg, Virginia. The McDonald and Woodward
Publishing Company. 2000.
Games, Alison. Migration and the Origins of the
English Atlantic World. Cambridge, Mass. Harvard
University Press. 1999.
Goslinga, Cornelis Christiaan. The Dutch in the
Caribbean and on the Wild Coast, 1580-1680.
Gainesville, Fla. University of Florida Press. 1971.
Greenblatt, Stephen. Marvelous Possessions: the
wonder of the New World. Chicago. University of
Chicago Press. 1991.
Greenblatt, Stephen, ed. New World Encounters.
Berkeley. University of California Press. 1993.
Hoffman, Paul E. The defense of the Spanish Caribbean,
1535-1585: precedent, patrimonialism, and parsimony.
Baton Rouge. Louisiana State University Press. 1980.
McGrath, John T. The French in early Florida: in
the eye of the hurricane. Gainesville. University
Press of Florida. 2000.
Morison, Samuel Eliot. The European Discovery of
America. The northern voyages. Oxford. Oxford
University Press. 1971.
Padden, R. C. The Hummingbird and the Hawk: conquest
and sovereignty in the Valley of Mexico, 1503-1541.
Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State University Press. 1967.
Russell, P. E. ed. Portugal, Spain, and the African
Atlantic, 1343-1490: chivalry and crusade from John of Gaunt
to Henry the Navigator. Brookfield, Vt. Variorum. 1995.
Todorov, Tzvetan. The Conquest of America: the
question of the other. Revised edition. Norman,
Oklahoma. University of Oklahoma Press. 1992.
Trexler, Richard C. Sex and Conquest: gendered
violence, political order, and the European conquest of the
Americas. Ithaca, New York. Cornell University Press.
1995.
Trigger, Bruce G. Natives and Newcomers: Canada’s
"Heroic Age" Reconsidered. Kingston and Montreal.
McGill-Queen’s University Press. 1985.
READINGS (BIBLIOGRAPHY)
