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Assignment III – World Civilization
Since sugar was the commodity produced by the Caribbean plantations and it was a commodity in great demand in Europe, could we argue that Caribbean slave plantation systems were promoted and protected by the European states partially as a result of mercantilist beliefs (you need to basically connect, sugar, mercantilism, slavery…)
To answer this question properly you need to address the following: What is mercantilist economic theory? Explain what mercantilists understood as wealth. What are the implications for this perception of wealth when it comes to things like trade, and the acquisition of goods for trade? Using your lecture material and the provided primary source document (From the Diary on the Abolition of Slave Trade) and the Baker excerpt article explain the economic justifications provided by the pro-slavery lobby for the continuation of the practice.
To avoid having you drift off-topic, I have devised a series of questions that will hopefully make sure you are on track. If you have completed the essay you can use these as a check list.
1- What are the basic economic principles/features of Mercantilism? What did it recommend a government do? Use our lecture on mercantilism to answer this question and define mercantilism very clearly. Make sure that you highlight how mercantilist measured wealth.
You may also use the textbook (p. 458-459 in 2nd ed.) but make sure you do not turn this into a discussion about the place of the colonies in the mercantilist system (that is a different issue outside of our scope.)
2- Once you have spelled out the basic economic features of mercantilism, consider the following questions: Where the sugar colonies profitable? Did they add to a nation’s wealth? You can use lecture as well as article to answer this and to find evidence and numbers.
3-If sugar is a valuable and sought-after commodity, what happens if a nation does not produce its own, but has to import it?
4-Starting with the Portuguese and Spanish what model of sugar plantations had they established that had proven to be very profitable? In the planters’ minds were there alternatives to slavery to get the labor force that plantations needed? Why did they consider African slaves the ideal work force for these plantations?
Make sure that your thesis statement clearly makes an argument for a connection between mercantilism, sugar and the acceptance of slavery as, at the very least, a necessity.
As always be sure to cite and quote, and for the love of all that you hold dear, do not try to submit unoriginal work, you will most likely be caught and accordingly sanctioned!
Instructions:
Your essay should be no longer than 4 pages. Use 12 point script and please double space. Please utilize normal pre-set (1 inch) margins.
When citing the material, especially when using direct quotes, please use footnote citations. (In Word go to References and Footnote and then type your source information.) A works cited page is not a substitute for footnotes. If you need guidance or help with this please do not hesitate to come visit with me or the TA’s.
Use Chicago Manual of Style (Turabian) for referencing. You can find brief guides readily available online.
Please use assigned material and do not use outside sources.
Be sure to edit your work for spelling and grammar mistakes as well as organization and clarity.
File naming procedure are identical to last assignment: Last name – First Name – Assignment II – WOH 2001
Below you will find the information you will need to create citation for the readings from module 9 that you are using for this essay. I am also including the appropriate links.
The first: “is an article from a London newspaper called ‘The Diary’ or ‘Woodfall’s Register’ which was published on Thursday 16th April, 1789.
In the late 1780s, there was a fiery debate in newspapers and magazines on the question of slavery. The monitored abolitionist activities in newspapers and magazines and employed writers of their own to respond by circulating pro-slavery letters and articles in the same newspapers. This article attempts to persuade its readers of the economic benefits of slavery in the West Indies…Many pro-slavery campaigners played on paranoia about empire and indicated that the prosperity of the British Navy, the merchant navy and the Caribbean itself all depended on slavery. Destroy this slavery, they argued, and the would collapse.”West Indies Lobby (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)British Empire (Links to an external site.)
Taken from: The Diary or Woodfall’s Register
Author / Creator: none
Publisher: none
Date: April 16 1789
Copyright: By permission of the British Library
https://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/campaignforabolition/sources/proslavery/proslaveryarticle/proslaveryarticle.html (Links to an external site.)
The Second reading : is a one-page screen capture of an excerpt from a much longer article I had originally thought to assign you by William Blaker tilted “William Wilberforce on the Idea of ‘Negro’ Inferiority.” The article while interesting is a little bit dated, especially when it comes to its language/phrasing, so I decided to give you only the most relevant excerpt due to that.
“William Wilberforce on the Idea of ‘Negro’ Inferiority.”
William Baker
Journal of the History of Ideas
Vol. 31, No. 3 (Jul. – Sep., 1970), pp. 433-440 (8 pages)
*Please cite this source like you would a journal article. All the information you would need to do so is above. If you want to see an example of how to cite a journal article refer to the citation guide, I inserted in Module 4.
The full article can be found in facsimile form on the JSTOR article database, which you can access should you wish (not necessary for our assignment) on the FIU library website.
Assignments will be Assessed on the following Criteria:
1) Quality of thesis statement which you craft in response to the question: A thesis statement as you should be aware, is a succinct statement that usually comes at the very end of your introduction and posits your argument. Basically, you will be assessed on how well you explain the argument you are presenting in your paper, or in some cases how well you describe the arguments in the reading or readings you have been assigned (depending on directions in prompt)
2) Quality of supporting evidence: You will be assessed on how well you use relevant quotations and appropriate material from assigned readings, text, and lectures to support your argument; and on whether you cite that material properly. In this class we will be using what is known as the Chicago or Turabian style in order to format our citations.
3) Organization of Paper: You will be assessed on how well you organize your narrative in support of your argument. In short, does your narrative progress logically and in a way that supports your thesis/argument and leaves the reader convinced of how right you are!
4) Quality of writing. YES, quality of writing is crucial. Recall this is not a literature composition but an analytical essay. Write clearly and succinctly. Doing otherwise could result in failure!
1. Quality of Intro and Thesis Statement:
a-Does the paper include a thesis statement that presents the overall argument of a connection between the mercantilist attitudes in Europe, sugar, and the justification of slavery.
b-Is thesis positioned correctly in introduction (at the end)
c-Does any part of introduction create ambiguity as to the main argument that the prompt directed us towards
2. Quality of Supporting Evidence
a- Student engaged the two assigned readings (the excerpt and the primary source) and the appropriate PPs (Spanish and Portuguese Colonial Expansion, Mercantilism, and some might use the slavery PP, but that last is not that important)
b- Student uses the most relevant quotes and details where appropriate (numbers, quotes regarding importance of sugar and slave trade to economy, competition …) and clearly explain the purpose of the quote. Basically, does student demonstrates understanding of what they are quoting
c- Student appropriately uses quotation marks and understands the need to integrate quotes in sentence and paragraph.
*useful skill: appropriately shifting verb tenses and prepositions inside quotes and inserting changes between brackets [] as appropriate, is a way to properly integrate quotes into your narrative
e- Student cites material appropriately using Turabian style in the footnotes
3. Organization of Paper
a- Student addresses every part of prompt
b- Student uses paragraphs to appropriately organize the narrative and clearly delineates the topic of each paragraph (topic statement) and retains clarity throughout
c- Student transitions smoothly between paragraphs (using transitional statements where necessary) and not leave reader wondering ‘why are we discussing this sub-topic here?’
d- Student has a proper conclusion that revisits thesis and expounds on it
4. Quality of Writing
a- Word Choice (words used in appropriate context.)
b- Grammatical errors (verbs usage, preposition usage, possessive usage…)
c-Sentence Clarity! Are words and phrases well-arranged do they create a well-formed sentence
d-Sufficient Original Content
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