Treacherous Places

September 28, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

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Lauren Benton begins her chapter “Treacherous Places” with a quote from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: “The big trees were kings.” She later states that to open with Conrad is needed to express the grandeur rivers and landscapes of colonized lands are portrayed with in European literature. Benton explains that Conrad’s Heart of Darkness mystifies the Congo River, urging readers to think about the potential evils Africa and its people hid beneath its surface (Benton, 41). Similarly, European texts about the Atlantic also fantasize about landscape, but rather than creating an ominous idea, these writings describe the unknown terrain and rivers with potential and hope.

According to Benton, rivers played an essential role in the colonization of Atlantic territory and the expansion of European empires. To defend claims, Roman Law was implemented and available across the Atlantic: “[Europeans] depended on Justinian’s Institutes in applying, by analogy, forms of acquiring property to claims for sovereign control over territory” (Benton, 55). The results of implementing Western guidelines were fortification, mapping, and other forms over marking territory throughout the Atlantic. According to Derek Taylor in Navigation and Murder on the “Saltwater Frontier”, “Europeans believed they were master navigators for having traveled across the Atlantic Ocean (Lipman 274) but, the Native Americans were no strangers to navigation.” When first arriving in the Atlantic, European sailors believed that through Roman Law, they could implement a superior form of conquest and colonization. While Europeans viewed Native Americans as barbaric and savage, Native settlers had the tools and skills necessary for navigation; the differences in the two cultures and practices led to a superiority-inferiority complex between Europeans and Native Americans. I found Taylor’s statement insightful, and it serves as an excellent connection between European navigation and colonization, and Native American prejudice and oppression.

Benton concludes her chapter by stating that the geography of the Atlantic contributed to the legalities put in place by Europeans. While in an unknown and unfamiliar environment, Europeans realized that laws and codes were not enough to gain control of the land. Instead, subjecting the terrain and waters to Roman law and creating property guidelines allowed Europeans to successfully conquer the Atlantic. Through estuary enclaves, river networks, and even literary grandeur regarding land, Europeans created sovereign spaces that merged treacherous natural territory with Western legal practices (Benton, 103).

Rivers, Roman Law, and Obscurity

September 28, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Leave it to an historian to find the two most obscure topics they can think of, smash them together like two different colors of play-dough, and hope, not only that the result makes sense historically, but that they were the first to breach the idea as well. In the case of Treacherous Places, Lauren Benton’s mixed ball of play-dough turned out to be a weird brown color. She successfully tied early riverine exploration together with the conjuring of Roman law in dealing with treason and imperial claims. It makes complete sense. The further ambassadors of the crown were able to venture into the interior of uncharted (by them) territory, the easier it became to serve their own agendas, as opposed to their respective sovereign’s. A harsh punishment was necessary to force future perpetrators to think twice before they acted against the crown. Of course, Europeans had been dealing with treason for centuries prior to Atlantic imperialism and riverine (I like that word) exploration. The Romans laid out the template for future generations to shape and mold around their contemporary societies. As with most law, there may have been too much room for interpretation, so each monarch edited the mandate to fit his or her needs directly. I can’t speak factually, but I imagine this worked out pretty well. Claiming rights were a different ball game. As my esteemed colleague, Allison, points out, “they used rivers as a symbol of land ownership and a way to show that they plan to explore more areas.” What came to mind as I was reading the chapter, were a couple of old cliches. First come, first serve; or the early bird gets the worm. Benton almost makes it sound like a game, and, again, that is exactly how I imagine it was, only considerably more dangerous than hide and seek.

What makes Benton’s play-dough brown, to me, is the question of why. I guess I just want to know the backstory behind the writing of some of the topics I have to read about. What made her write about rivers in conjunction with Roman law and treason? Additionally, in the discussion of riverine exploration, especially in Africa, I feel one should devote more than three sentences to the most notorious serial killer in that neck of the woods, disease. That also browned the dough for me.

The River Struggle

September 28, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

I found Robert Deleon’s post regarding, Murder on the Saltwater Frontier: The Death of John Oldham, to be very relatable to the topic that Benton discusses regarding rivers. Robert says, “I found the article to be very informative on the early relations between the colonists and the native tribes.” In the Treacherous Places Chapter, Benton discusses that many colonists and early explorers had to depend on local guides for navigation of the rivers. In the article about the Saltwater Frontier, it was clearly stated that Indians were used as guides for ships attempting to navigate the Americas. This system of dependence on the native people for navigation is something I am interested in learning more about. It was eye opening to me when Benton claimed that most of the history on exploration in the Americans is viewed from the perspective of land travel. Yet, water ways were a large part of that history as well.

The allure of estuaries caused men to believe that trade and settlement would be prosperous. Unfortunately, in reality, they proved to be treacherous. Many men and animals drown in the rivers, and navigating upstream proved nearly impossible. The water was often bad and the soil was not ideal for planting. American rivers disappointed many early settlers. Something about the rivers and wilderness seemed to also bring out the worst in people. I am not sure if this was directly linked to the need to survive, competition for resources, or if people felt like they could do anything they wanted because they were far away from civilization. I would like to think it was a mixture of both. Benton says the rivers incurred a high level of betrayals and insubordination. The American rivers did not seem to be something explorers were prepared for.

Primary Source for class 6.2

September 28, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Indians Fishing

Response to chapter 2 Treacherous places

September 28, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

This chapter is about rivers and treason. The chapter starts out by talking about the difficulties that Europeans faced when navigating rivers in the Americas and in Africa. During this, they also go into detail about how these rivers provided the opportunity for exploration and for trade. The chapter then goes on to discussing treason laws, where they came from, and how they were used by various European groups.

During the course of this reading, there is mention of the Europeans making use of native peoples as navigators when journeying upriver. To me, the passages that dealt with this were quite fascinating. The reason is that while the Europeans placed their lives in the hands of these navigators they were very quick to turn on them (Pg. 51-52). I thought it very odd that you would trust somebody with your life but at the same time not trust them at all. It is mentioned by the author that at least part of the reason that the Europeans do not trust the natives is the fact that they are not Christians (Pg. 53). This relates, at least in part, to the concept of imperialism. The Europeans were able to take advantage of the native peoples because they did not trust them and thought of them as being inferior. This thought of natives being inferior is also brought up in the previous readings in regards to culture and technology. Shelby Moore mentions how the Europeans saw themselves as advanced and, looked down upon the natives as being bystanders. She also brings up the point that native peoples were well versed in navigating which by extension can be seen in this chapter when the Europeans call on natives to be navigators.

Overall I found the first half of the chapter to be interesting, but the second half of it did not hold my attention as much.

A Search for Sovereignty: Ch. 2

September 28, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Lauren Benton wrote about the importance rivers played in the eyes of European explorers as well as how empires claimed the land they visited. Benton wrote that Roman law played a key role in how land was claimed, although the concept was a little vague (Benton, 55). Maps and towns were also ways that Europeans claimed land for themselves (Benton, 56). The idea that rivers in Africa would be similar to rivers in the Americas was interesting. Derek Taylor wrote last week that Native Americans had to know the “ins” and “outs” of the inland waterways during the different seasons. It goes with what Benson wrote about the Spanish in South America. Benton wrote that the Spanish did not believe the local Indians when they explained that the area (present-day Buenos Aires) had changed due to flooding and thus, the Spanish decided to move inland by river (Benton, 71). It shows that Europeans were not yet aware of how different the Americas were from Africa and Europe and that the local Indians had a better idea of the land they lived on. While the rivers provided Europeans a chance to explore different areas, it also gave them a chance to claim land. An interesting part of the chapter explained that rivers played a major role because Europeans would place markers where two rivers met to show others that the area had already been claimed (Benton, 57). Benton wrote that due to the Roman law that was known throughout Europe, claimed land was respected by other empires (Benton, 55).

Another part of the chapter explained how flexible the idea of treason was. The idea of treason had changed to different meanings in Europe but throughout Europe, actions against the royal family and their property was huge (Benton, 61). Treason was often brought up in places far from Europe, and debated due to the flexible interpretations (Benton, 68). It brings up an interesting point that the further Europeans traveled, the higher chance that treason would be interpreted differently between explorers and the king back in Europe. It gives us a glimpse of how men perhaps started to become less dependent on the crown the further away they were and started making decisions themselves.

Rivers and Treason the European Way

September 28, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

The chapter this week dealt largely with rivers and treason and how they both related to trade. While this was an interesting aspect the article I found myself more interested in an idea the chapter seemed to suggest about Europeans. I think it is interesting that Europeans in this time seemed to find an idea they like and stick with it regardless of how it works in a new area. This is first shown when the article talks about the Europeans using waterways in Africa to develop trade routes and areas of wealth. They get an idea that this is the best way to go about things and immediately try this in the Americas. They continue to live around and explore rivers even after it is not as fruitful in the Americas because this is the way things have been done. They use rivers as a symbol of land ownership and a way to show that they plan to explore more areas. This is not the only example of Europeans being set in their ways. This also comes about with the topic of Roman Law and ideals. First when the chapter discuses how Europeans still used Roman Law in regards to defining property rights and then again when it talks about Europeans still using Roman Law when it comes to ideas about treason. I think this fascination particularly with aspects of Roman Law maybe links back to a desire to keep things as they were in the “Old World” instead of entirely embracing the “New World”.

As Alec Correa pointed out in his post last week often times Europeans thought of themselves as more sophisticated and advanced than the Native Americans even though sometimes they had to admit the Natives ways might be better for certain circumstances. This ties into the idea of the Old World versus the New World. The Europeans had a hard time accepting that the Natives could maybe have a better way of doing certain things because this conflicted with a desire to just have an extension of Europe and European ideals.

A Search For Sovereignty

September 27, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Lauren Benton’s article focuses on the role of treason in the Atlantic and explains how many Europeans had committed treason and has been punished for their actions in the Atlantic. Lauren Brenton illustrates the creation of treason coming from Roman Law that created the rule of treason because they look into European powers trying increasing their power and authority with illegal tactics relating to trade or partnerships through the Atlantic. For example, Roman ideas of treason can be best described political violence and treason which could be committed at times by officials like Governors or Military Officials who have more of an opportunity to become a traitor than an honest citizen or foot soldier. (Brenton, Page 60). In my opinion, the amount of treason was committed in England and France because of increased power and more dealings were made through the Atlantic in later years. Lauren Brenton explains how both France and England had serious offenses relating to treason due to other’s people aiding the King’s enemies and gaining an advantage towards an act of war or trying to take advantage of power from the King. (Brenton, Page 61). The increase of power started to become significant in British North America through port merchants and geographic imaginary featuring upriver regions as colonial factors shaped the politics of treason during the late 17th century. For example, The English occupied and disrupted the Dutch-Indian network in the Hudson Valley River which led to the removal of Swedish settlements near Delaware. As a result, two Indians groups offset the increased power of the colonies insisting that loyal subject of English sovereign drew a direct relationship to the crown that may bypass colonial authorities. (Brenton, 90-91). The amount of treason increased and now European power in later years could no longer get away what they’re doing involving power.

This reminds me of Matt Everett’s response relating to Europeans felt that they needed more power even though the Europeans and Native Indians had agreed to a working relationship, European superiority over the Native Indians which might led to an act of war in Andrew Lipman’s reading.

Research paper topics

September 26, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

The evolution of Cape Town
The development of early European influence in the Americas
The first sailings across the Atlantic before the Portuguese

Possible Topics for the Final Project

September 26, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

The motivations behind the dehumanization of various people in the Atlantic world. On both sides of the Atlantic ocean various groups were exploited and marginlized on the basis that they were “sub-human”, I would like to explore how that designation came to be as well as the motivations of those that used it.
Methods of travel and transportation used across the Atlantic world. A necessary component of trade and commerce is transportation, considering how the Atlantic world was molded by commerce this topic seems interesting enough.
American agriculture and its effect across the Atlantic. When American crops such as tomatoes, corn and potatoes were introduced to Europe the diet of the continent was forever changed, I would like to explore the severity of that change.

Atlantic History – Fall 2016

Author: Dr. Shrout

Treacherous Places

Rivers, Roman Law, and Obscurity

The River Struggle

Primary Source for class 6.2

Response to chapter 2 Treacherous places

A Search for Sovereignty: Ch. 2

Rivers and Treason the European Way

A Search For Sovereignty

Research paper topics

Possible Topics for the Final Project