Course Intentions

This course will look at how Africa has participated in larger global historical processes as a result of the slave trade. We will look at how Africa was transformed by the trade and how Africa and Africans in turn transformed the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Indian Ocean worlds.

Course Requirements

Reading:

You will be doing lots of reading. It is essential that you come to class ready to discuss. This course is structured around a series of scholarly debates so it is essential that you read and understand the material before you come to class.

There are four core texts for the course:

Phillip Curtin, Rise and Fall of the Plantation Complex, (Cambridge 1990)

Robert Harms, The Diligent, (New York, 2002)

John Thornton, Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, (Cambridge, 1992)

David Eltis, The Rise of African Slavery on the Americas, (Cambridge, 2000)

Supplementary readings are on reserve at the library or available online.

Writing:

Research paper

You will write a research paper on a topic of your choice subject to my approval. I have appended a non-exhaustive list of possible topics to the end of the syllabus. Whether you choose one of these or not you will need to inform me of your topic and approach by Sept. 19. The paper should be 15-20 pages long, clearly written, and feature full and proper citation of all sources used. If you have any questions about how to cite another person's work don't hesitate to ask. You might also consult Henry Steffens and Mary Jane Dickerson, Writer's Guide: History, (Lexington, MA: 1987), which is full of useful advice about the habits of the elusive footnote as well as providing a step by step explanation of the process of writing a research paper. .

Other paper guidelines:

1) It must be typed, doubled-spaced, and have adequate margins. No one will think the less of you if your margins exceed 1".

2) It should include a bibliography in addition to footnotes or endnotes.

3) Do not use parenthetical citation.

4) Late papers will be accepted, but will lose a letter grade a day.

Reaction papers:

You will write six reaction papers over the course of the semester. The reaction papers will be one page, single-spaced, typed accounts of your reaction the readings of particular week. There are 12 weeks of readings, so you will have to write reaction papers for half of the readings. You should do at least one for each of the four books. It is up to you to choose which weeks to skip. Reaction papers must be turned in, in class, on the day for which the readings were assigned.

Arithmetic:

None.

Grades:

Your grade will be based on the following calculation:

Paper 50%

Reaction papers 30%

Participation 20%

Attendance:

You miss class at your own peril. If you must miss class for medical or other reasons please let me know as soon as possible. The best course of action is to leave a message at the History Department. Even if you miss class for a valid reason it is up to you to find out what happened in class. I don't take attendance, but I also reserve the right to make any announcement or change of plans in class. In any case you would be foolish to miss classes since (1) your grade depends heavily on participation and (2) you have paid a small fortune to be here.

Schedule

1. Jan 9 and 23

Course introduction, African Background, and an introduction to slavery

Readings: Gilbert and Reynolds, Chapters 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13. Lovejoy, Chapter 1.

2. Jan. 30

Origins of the Atlantic System

Readings: Thornton, Chaps 1&2; Curtin, Chaps 1-4

3. Feb 6

Slavery and African Life

Readings: Thornton, Chapters 3 and 4.

4. Feb. 13

Africans in the Atlantic World

Readings: Thornton, Chapters 5-10; Curtin, Chapter 6.

Paper topics and tentative bibliography due

5. Feb 20

The Atlantic in the Eighteen Century

Readings: Thornton, Chapter 11; Curtin, Chapter 10; Harms, Parts 1-3.

6. Feb 27

The Voyage of the Diligent

Readings: Harms, Parts 4-7

7. March 6

The Voyage of the Diligent (continued)

Readings: Harms, Parts 8-12

8. March 13

Slavery in the Atlantic World

Readings: Eltis, Chapters, 1-4

9. March 27

Slavery in the Atlantic World (continued)

Readings: Eltis, 6-10

10. April 3

Abolition of the Slave Trade

Readings: Eltis, Epilogue; Curtin, Chapters, 11-14.

11. April 10

The Indian Ocean

Readings: Vaughn, Chapters 5&6.

Paper drafts due

12. April 17

Paper presentations

13. April 24

Paper presentations

April 26 Papers Due

Possible Paper Topics

Maritime technology and the slave trade

African religion in the New World

Maroonage and resistance

Slavery and origins of western racism

Slave soldiers

Afro-Brazilians in West Africa

The prazo

Abolitionism

Slave trading and political transformation (pick a slave trading polity and document its changes)

Plantation conditions in the New World or in Africa or a comparison of the two

Slave trading and the development of capitalism in Africa

Slavery and the Origins of European racism

Sugar

Male Rebellion (Bahia)

Slavery in West African jihadist states

The Saint Domingue slave revolt

Olaudah Equiano reconsidered