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The Atlantic World, 1492-1770 - AMH 4932
Dr. Rosalind J. Beiler
University of Central Florida
Fall 1998
beiler@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu
The year 1492 marked an important shift in the concentration of early modern
European expansion efforts from the east to the west. This course uses the
Atlantic Ocean as a focal point for examining that shift. It compares the
experiences of a wide variety of people who crossed the Atlantic as well as
those who
made a living at sea. For example, we will look at the lives of European explorers
and the American Indians they met in the sixteenth century, slave traders
and their cargo in the seventeenth.century, and merchants, ship captains and
European immigrants in the eighteenth century. We also w111 compare and contrast
several different colonial empires and the economic and political policies
which held them together. In the process, the ways in which Atlantic crossings
brought change in Europe, West Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas will
emerge.
The goal of this course is to provide the larger context for developments
in seventeenth and eighteenth century North America. Settlers in the British
colonies lived in a world which was intricately connected to and shaped by
cosmopolitan and international communities which spanned the Atlantic. The
ocean facilitated rather than hindered travel, trade, and communication with
people from distant lands and cultures. Throughout the semester we will discuss
the shape of this larger Atlantic world and how it changes our perceptions
of British American history.
Course Requirements:
The grade for AMH 4932 will be based on three equally- I weighted elements.
Part I -- Class participation: Class discussions are a central part
of this course. Students must complete the readings and be prepared to.discuss
them in class. Since this class will be taught more in the format of a seminar
than a lecture course, student participation is critical. Weekly journal entries,
in which you will respond to questions about the readings, will help you to
prepare for discussions. Journal entries are to be typed (double-spaced with
1-inch margins) and will be collected several times throughout the semester.
They will not receive a final grade, however, until the end of the course.
In addition to the journal, students will be evaluated on the quantity and
quality of their participation in class discussions.
Part II -- Research Project: The second part of the grade for AMH 4932
will be based on a research project. Each student will , choose one of the
topics in the course for more extensive research. During the week that the
class discusses that topic, you will become the expert for the week and you
will present your research findings to the class. The final product will be
a 10- 12 page paper. More to follow on this in class.
Part III -- Exams: The final third of the grade will consist of a mid-term
and a final exam. Exams will include essay questions. and identification terms.
Required Readings:
Lunenfeld, Marvin, ed. 1492: Discoverv. Invasion. Encounter. Lexington,
Mass: D.C. Heath, 1991.
Karras, Alan L. and J. R. McNeill, eds. Atlantic American Societies: From
Columbus throuqh Abolition. 1492-1888. York: Routledge, 1992.
Thornton, John. Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World.
1400-1680. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Mancall, Peter C., ed. Envisioning America: Enqlish Plans for the Colonization
of North America. 1580-1640. Boston: St. Martin's Press, 1995.
Bailyn, Bernard. The Peopling of British North America: An Introduction.
New York: Vintage Books, 1988.
Rediker, Marcus. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1987.
Calloway, Colin G. New Worlds for All: Indians Europeans, and the Remaking
of Early America Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1997.
Themes for the course:
1. Defining the Atlantic World
2. The Americas, Europe, and Africa before 1492 3. The role of Columbus in
Atlantic history
4. The Portuguese, Spanish, and British empires and the Atlantic World'
5. Encounters and perceptions across cultural divides
6. Cultural adaptation and exchange
7. The role of labor in creating the Atlantic world
8. Slavery and the slave trade
9. Migration -- who moved across the Atlantic ocean
10. The middle passage
11. Keeping in touch -- communication in the Atlantic World
12. Families and Kinship ties
13. Gender roles in the Atlantic World
14. Trade and the economy
15. Working on the Atlantic: Pirates, Sailors, Ship Captains and Merchants
© 2001 by The President and Fellows of Harvard College.
Created November 2002.