POSTS – Page 23 – Atlantic History

Final Project Proposal

October 7, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

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From the project choices I posted during Week Five, I plan on researching the how the American Civil War changed cotton trade between the American South and the European counties of Great Britain and France. Before the American Civil War, According historian Louis P. Masur, three-fourths of the world’s cotton supply was produced in the American South. The Atlantic cotton trade not only made the Southern aristocrats wealthy, it also established the American South as a world economic power. Under the myth that Southern cotton was an indispensable commodity, Southern Senator James Henry Hammond in 1859 made his “King Cotton” speech. In the speech Hammond said that no one makes war on cotton because if the cotton trade is disrupted or stopped that the whole civilized world would collapse starting with England. Since the South relied heavily on foreign trade, the “King Cotton” diplomacy would end up hurting the Southern states. During the American Civil War, the North constructed a blockade which virtually cut off Southern cotton trade with European nations. Instead of trying to sell off the cotton they had on hand, the South started their embargo of cotton to Europe. Producers cut back on production and also burned excess cotton. The rationale behind the embargo was that British and French powers, needing Southern cotton, would crush the Union naval blockade and involve themselves in the Civil War. This was flawed thinking. What the South did not know was England and France were sitting on enormous reserves of cotton due the Southern overproduction. Also cotton production in Egypt and India started to yield acceptable cotton crops. As a result, Britain and France with the cotton supplies almost virtually uninterrupted would not come to the aid of the South and their war to continue the system of slavery. I recently found out about the European connection (mostly Britain) to the American Civil War where there was an actual fear and threat of European involvement interested me in this topic. Since most people think the Civil War was a conflict between the North and South, the Atlantic world dynamic shows how the war not only affected the United States but also Europe.

Final Project Topic

October 7, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

For the final project for this class, I have decided to write about slave women across Africa and in Caribbean society. I intend to look at the life of these women slaves and examine their role in society. I’d like to answer questions like how did they came into enslavement, how they were treated, and their experience in the plantations… I also want to look at the influence and contribution (if there were any) of slave women to politic and the economy.

My interest in women’s history is what draw me to this topic. In my previous women’s history classes, women in slavery tend to be discussed very briefly, typically in the first few lectures. Most of the topics tend focus on the Victorian women and the more modern issues like the women’s suffrage, and the feminist movements etc. Therefore, this is my chance to dig deeper into women’s history and examine the role of female slaves.

Final Consideration for Topic

October 7, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

After consideration of the three topics that I have considered initially – The Slave Trade in North America, The Sugar Route: The Effects to the Europeans Nations, and Life on Board: The Atlantic World Living Perspective, I have decided that I would like to complete my research on The Slave Trade and its effects in North America. The reason why I have selected this topic because I have a particular interest in learning and researching about the effects that the slave trade had in the North American region. In my current knowledge of The Slave Trade in North America, those that benefit the trade were the American colonists, and then the United States until the Slave Trade was banned. I want to go into further detail on how the Slave Trade affected American social life, economics, and politics, especially those that caused a divide between ideologies.

The Impact of Protestant Christianity on Native American Religious Practices

October 7, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Syncretism is defined as the amalgamation and blending of different cultures, values, beliefs, or religions. An important part of the Columbian Exchange was not only commerce, pathology, and demographic patterns, but also the diffusion of culture. In class, we discussed “cross cultural contact” and how it lead to Native Americans and Europeans adapting each others’ technologies or agricultural practices whenever practical. It naturally follows that some attempts might have been made by Native Americans in the Northeast to incorporate aspects of Protestant Christianity with their own indigenous religious practices. Native Americans had transcendental religions complete with cosmologies, deities, and beliefs in an afterlife. They mirror aspects of Christianity, including its own origin myth, belief in a higher power, and belief in an afterlife. These similarities would have made religious syncretism relatively seamless and attractive to some. I would like to conduct my research specifically on early Native Americans in the Northeast Atlantic who came into contact with Dutch and English iterations of Protestant Christianity.

What drew me to this topic is my awareness of how Mexican folk religions and Catholicism have been syncretized by indigenous Mexicans. In our textbook, a brief blurb was mentioned on the origins of the Day of the Dead. It went into detail how Mesoamericans substituted indigenous gods with Catholic saints to continue celebrating their holidays with church approval. The unique adaptation of the Virgin of Guadalupe as a patron saint of Mexico comes to mind as well. It occurred to me that Northeastern Indians such as the Iroquois or the Algonquin may have attempted something similar, and perhaps appropriated certain iconography (although bearing in mind Protestantism as a whole frowned upon icon worship). Religion in the Americas is a fascinating topic, especially considering how it strongly motivated mid-Atlantic voyages and the influenced the experiences Europeans, Africans, and indigenous peoples had with each other.

Final Project Topic

October 7, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

The topic I chose for the final project is the Zong massacre. The story is in 1781 the crew of Zong, a slave ship, murdered 133 African slaves in order to collect the insurance. Evidence showed the ship ran low on water and made many navigational errors. These reasons led to the crew throwing living slaves overboard at sea, living them to drown. Because of this action, the remaining slaves on the ship survived and the crew would not lose money due to slaves dying because of not having water. It was common to take out insurance on slaves because they were seen as nothing but cargo.

The Zong massacre was very important in having a part in abolishing slavery later on. It was highly publicized and made people aware of the terrors enslaved people were forced to endure. It created laws to have less slaves on the ship and culture of arts surrounding it.

The reason I chose this topic was because I think it is very important for people to be aware of these events, especially an important turning point in history. As historians, we know that slaves were thrown off ships, but to have a case that would later be used to help rid the world of slavery is incredible. I became aware of the Zong massacre when I watched the movie Belle and instantly became interested in the topic. I feel it would relate back to many themes we have discussed in class such as slavery, seeing enslaved people as commodities, social hierarchy of races, government, and even economics.

Final Project Topic

October 6, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

The topic I have chosen for my final project revolves around the Europeanisation of Pocahontas. I have always been intrigued by her life as well as the fictional versions surrounding her legacy. While the majority of people are familiar with Disney’s image of Pocahontas, I thought it would an interesting opportunity to do research on the actual person herself. The myths that followed her have led to several reimagined stories of her life, and I intend to study a more accurate picture of her experiences. She was indeed part of a cultural interaction between indigenous people and Europeans in North America. Her connections with the Jamestown settlement would make a fascinating study in white and indigenous relations, as well as conflicts between the two groups. What has seldom been mentioned in romanticized portrayals of Pocahontas’ life is that she went through Europeanisation. She adopted European dress and beliefs, actions that were deemed proper by whites. I feel it is important to acknowledge that Pocahontas was not a kind of mythical figure, but an actual, living person. Colonization, strained relations, and the enforcing of European ideals were both part of her history and Atlantic history as well. She witnessed firsthand the impact of colonization in an Atlantic space and in her own life. Studying Pocahontas’ life would lead to more understanding of her place in history, albeit an accurate one. She was not a singing princess searching for romance as depicted in the Disney movie; she was a woman who experienced dramatic changes and shifts in the Atlantic.

Colonial Failures and Successes

October 5, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Kupperman argues that the success or failure of American colonies could be largely attributed to a knowledge of the region in which they were settled. Likewise, Brooks argues that the success and failure of various African groups were dependent on the understanding of the region and the environment I which groups settled. Proto-Mande goups settled along the river after learning more about the region. They stayed away from unknown areas, such as those to the South, as they had no knowledge of the region (Brooks 28). Likewise, Jamestown colonists settled near a river and also did not stray far from the region (Kupperman 6). The English also found that the region was fertile and would be ideal for growing crops and creating a plantation.

Likewise, both authors argue that interaction with other natives to a region was vital in a group’s survival. In the beginning, Jamestown colonists became very dependent on the Indians for food and help surviving (Kupperman 8). Without the help of the Indians in the region, Kupperman argues that those in Jamestown would not have been able to survive. Mande groups near the Senegal and Niger Rivers relied on commerce from a trans-Saharan trade route during the 3^rd century (Brooks 31).

However, there were vast differences between the groups. Many of the Mande people were settling in lands for the first time, as their experiences date back millenniums. The Americas had largely been settled by other European powers, and Indian groups had lived in the New World for millenniums as well. Because of this, the Mande were the first to discover how to survive in various regions. However, those at Jamestown and other colonies relied on others who were very well versed in the region for more than trade; they relied on them to help learn about the land and how to survive it. My colleague Tram Hua argues that the Europeans fundamentally misunderstood the Indians in the region. I agree with this statement, but I would also argue that the Indians did not understand the English. It was a mutual misunderstanding that led to Jamestown’s survival, as the Indians helped the English for more than they otherwise would have. This mutual misunderstanding was not present in the narrative of the Mande.

Migration in Africa and The Jamestown Project

October 5, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Karen Kupperman’s Jamestown Project examines the temporal and geographic background of Jamestown, and George E. Brooks’ Ecological Perspectives on Mande, Population Movements, Commercial Networks, and Settlement Patterns from the Atlantic Wet Phase (Ca. 5500-2500 B.C.) to the Present studies the migration and settlements of the Mande people based on the geographical changes of the African Sahara. Both readings offer insight into how geography and the changing of land over time contribute to the moving and settling of peoples.

In Ecological Settlements…, Brooks discusses settlement and migration in west Africa over a period of eight millennia. He explains the need to survive through “adapting to changing rainfall patterns in a given area, migrating to different locations, taking advantage of circumstances regarding commercial exchanges, or raiding neighboring groups” (Brooks, 24). In order to successfully survive the harsh climate changes of west Africa, Mande speaking peoples adapted their necessities to live in environments that were neither stagnant nor comfortable. Matthew Liijova wrote that to survive, the Mande people followed rainfall, as water is paramount to thriving in any environment. I completely agree with this point, as Liijova successfully points out that Mande peoples adapted in order to accommodate for the most basic needs to survive. Brooks states that 5500 to 2500 B.C.E. was a time of flourishing for African peoples, as this was the time of the Wet Sahara–a green land with possibly three to four times more rainfall than there was between 1930 and 1960 (Brooks, 26). This point also relates to Liijova’s statement in that it reiterates the idea that simply in order to live, humans must have access to at least water.

Karen Kupperman’s Jamestown Project also discusses survival, but touches more on the myth of the Jamestown failure and how settlers had to survive through cooperation in order to create a successful colony. According to Kupperman, “Virginia’s early history… has been deemed a dismal failure. But… the Jamestown experience had produced a fundamental understanding about human understanding” (Kupperman, 327). Despite its rocky start, Virginia is a pinnacle of success in the establishment of western colonies abroad. Both Kupperman and Brooks write about survival, but in different ways. Brooks discusses survival over 8 millennia, while Kupperman discusses the failures and successes of the establishment of one colony. This shows the broad scope survival encompasses, as well as its role in the continuation of the Atlantic as a diverse environment regarding its people and geography.

Successes in Early Colonial Affairs and African Migration

October 5, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Based upon the initial reading of the Introduction to the Jamestown Project by Karen Kupperman and the Ecological Perspectives on the Mande Population Movements… by George E Brooks, one would think that these two readings have nothing in common. After closely analyzing the texts, we could find that the success or failure of a group of people is dependent on their survival skills and being able to negotiate the changes in their environment.

Before Jamestown, English ventures into the North American continent for the purposes of setting up a permanent colony of Roanoke in 1585 and then again in 1587, were met with failure (Kupperman 4). So how did the Jamestown colony become the model for later English settlements? My colleague Matthew Liivoja states that the relationship between the Algonquian people and the newly arrived English were uneasy until trade relations were established. While that might be true, the fact is the Algonquian people allowed Jamestown to survive (Kupperman 7). Now if the relations between the Algonquian people and the English settlers were tense, why didn’t the Algonquin people leave the Jamestown colony to their devises and fail as they did with the Roanoke colony? The reason might be Powhaten. Powhaten was no stranger to European men visiting the Virginia area. Hence he and his people knew of ways to handle the European invaders. What he did not expect was for Jamestown to become successful and the Europeans staying for the duration. Also since the Jamestown colony was dependent on the Algonquian people for their survival (Kupperman 8), the English started to improvising their relationships with the Native peoples (Kupperman 10).

Talking about survival, we now look at the Ecological Perspectives on the Mande Population Movement, Commercial Networks, and Settlement Patterns from the Atlantic Wet Phase by George E Brooks. In this article, Brooks looks at the migration habits of the Mande-speaking people as they lived and thrived during the eight climate periods that affected Africa from 5500 B.C. until now. Brooks suggest the origin of the Mande-speaking people began as small dispersed groups living in the area between the Senegal and Niger river (Brooks 26). I share my colleague Robert Deleon’s assessment of the Mande-speaking people. As the climate changed (either it got wetter or dryer), the Mande-speaking people would migrate to different areas in southwestern/southeastern Africa. One interesting fact I found about the Mande-speaking people was the emergence of a tradesman class called the nyamakalaw. It appears that these “occupational specialists” helped facilitate the inter-African and trans-Saharan commercial networks with their formation of commercial hubs in the savanna-woodland areas of Africa (Brooks 34).

Kupperman, Karen Ordahl. Jamestown Project. Harvard University Press: Feb. 2009

Brooks, George. “Ecological Perspectives on Mande Population Movements, Commercial Networks, and Settlement Patterns from the Atlantic Wet Phase (Ca. 5500-2500 B.C.) to the Present” History of Africa. 16, (1989), pp. 23-40.

Week 7: Colonial Failures and Successes – “Everything Going South”

October 5, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

It should be known that individuals and groups with a cause are going to have their fair share of success and failures because of their actions or pure luck. Some successes might happen because they got extremely lucky, or some might happen because of actual teamwork taking place. This can also be said in their failures they actually get or happen to get sided with (in the sense of luck). In The Jamestown Project, the article talks about how Jamestown became a model for success and failures by stating that “[the] little colony struggled through a horrible first decade on the path that would lead to stability, and, eventually, success” (Jamestown Project, 1). The colony of Jamestown is a perfect example of a town that could live this narrative being told.

Jamestown was able to become a successful establishment because it used unethical methods to become a successful establishment. Mentioned by Robert Deleon in another but similar reading, the establishment used slavery and indentured servants to build and expand the economy and status of the location in question. In Robert’s post, he mentions about how Spanish rule used these labor practices to benefit the Spanish. In this article, slaves and indentured servants were used to producing Jamestown cash crop, tobacco, by stated that it had to “institute slavery [from] imported Africans to … search for profits” (Jamestown Project, 1). While this can be considered a success in those days because of the ethics they conducted to get the results they wanted, the establishment would have failed if they did not have those slaves or indentured servants.

Jamestown could also be considered as a failure because it resulted into lying and greed to get to the position of success. It was mentioned in the article that there were three causes that could of have resulted in a true failure of the establishment, but because of luck, individuals living in Jamestown were able to make it out alive. The three failures were the following: Environmental causes, unrealistic economic goals – money collection and trade routes, and unrealistic goals in colonization – organizational efforts (Jamestown Project, 9-10). Due to these errors, it could of been possible that Jamestown would have failed, but after review of Jamestown in today’s perspective, I could say they succeeded, but just barely (in meaning that they did not “Go South”).