Response and Annotation Beginnings Week 2
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Response and Annotation:
Trade and Overseas Empires
Chad Davenport
HIWD 560: History of the Atlantic
World
February 1, 2024
1
Chapter Review
This week's readings delved into the complex development of the Atlantic World and the numerous conflicts and changes that occurred during this period. Chapter 4 of "The Atlantic World: Europeans, Africans, Indians and Their Shared History," by Thomas Benjamin, examined
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries of the Atlantic World from the standpoint of the Spanish and
Portuguese. The Iberian empires linked peoples of Europe, Africa, and the Americas through business, social, cultural, political, and administrative interactions. These interactions formed patterns and networks of the flow of people, animals, plants, diseases, commodities, manufactures, customs, and ideas, which historians coined the "Columbian exchange." The Habsburg Empire emerged as the new dynastic superpower in the sixteenth century, and various factors and individuals played a role during this period that made notable contributions resulting in two parts within the chapter.
Chapter 5 of the same book, titled "Incursions, The French and Dutch Invasions of the Iberian Atlantic," examined the conflicts that arose from the desires of other European countries to enter the Atlantic world, which changed many different aspects of the New World. The Spanish Pope Alexander VI confirmed Portuguese possession of West Africa and granted the crown of Castile all "islands and mainland" to the west of an imaginary boundary in the mid-
Atlantic after Columbus' first voyage to America. The Treaty of Tordesillas adjusted respective territorial claims in the mid-oceanic boundary between Portugal and Castile as Christianity played a role in this period. The chapter follows the Iberian Atlantic and how Africa and America produced great wealth for Portugal and Spain. With gold, silver, and sugar plantations, Portugal became enriched while the slave trade transformed. This avenue to wealth produced the 1
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incursions of other nations and countries constructing ships to join in the exploration of the New World.
In "Major Problems in Atlantic History," Alison Games and Adam Rothman explored European challenges to Iberian Hegemony in chapter 4 of their book. They sought to answer the question, "In what ways did religious and political conflicts alter the Atlantic World?" The transformation of the Atlantic world between 1560 and 1660 is explored with the chapter. The Protestant Reformation represented a complex factor that accounted for a lot of the transformation. With longstanding diplomatic, dynastic, and economic rivalries, coupled with new religious hatred, the Atlantic turned into a battlefield for souls and loot. The emergence of the English, French, and Dutch produced competitors to Habsburg's grip. These activities contributed to the emergence of the fate in the efforts to dislodge Habsburg power. The other essays and documents within the chapter explored some of the international conflicts and their repercussions throughout the Atlantic world.
Chapter 5 of the same book examined the impact of the Columbian exchange, which Alfred W. Crosby explored in his book, "The Columbian Exchange." He examined the pathogens
that accompanied European mariners, traders, and animal invasions, as well as the global effect of American foods on diets beyond the Atlantic. The essays in this chapter scrutinized the relationships of Europeans, Africans, and Americans, exploring how different groups reacted to unfamiliar diseases, animals, and foods. For example, the indigenous people used ingenuity to make maize, and the introduction of chocolate to Europe was explored.
In the journal article "Private Tooth Decay as Public Economic Virtue: The Slave-Sugar Triangle, Consumerism, and European Industrialization," Ralph A. Austen and Woodruff D. Smith explored the slave-sugar triangle, consumerism, and European industrialization in detail. 2
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They examined the European consumers of sugar, tobacco, and other plantation crops who were given the chance to purchase dental decay and lung cancer at somewhat lower prices than would have been the case without the slave trade. They concluded that only consumers "benefited" from
the British trans-Atlantic slave trade, and even those gains were small.
The major takeaways from these readings are the various factors that shaped the Atlantic World during this period, including the desire for wealth, the demand for consumer goods, and the impact of religion and culture. The competition within the Atlantic world was largely influenced by greed, with the wants and demands of consumer markets in all areas playing a critical part in European empire-building. The intensive extraction of natural resources, new forms of agricultural production with sugar, the creation of new forms of slavery, and the development of ideologies of race and racism also came into play during this period. The readings highlighted the dark side of this period, including the buying and selling of human beings, the devastating impact of diseases on indigenous populations, and the conflicts that arose due to religious and political differences. These readings have broadened my understanding of the Atlantic World during this period and the complex factors that shaped it.
Major Takeaways and Understanding
The writings pertaining to the Atlantic World in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries provides valuable insights into the intricate interactions that shaped this era of history. Thomas Benjamin's "The Atlantic World" delves into the complex web of trade, politics, and culture that connects Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Chapter 4 of the book explores these relationships. This connection has worldwide effects on diets, health, and societies on both sides of the Atlantic, as the idea of the Columbian trade highlights. To further highlight the dynamic power struggles and territorial disputes that typified this age, consider the growth of the Habsburg 3
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Empire as a dominating force in the sixteenth century, together with the battles and invasions discussed in Chapter 5.
In "Major Problems in Atlantic History," Alison Games and Adam Rothman address the transforming power of religious and political conflicts, especially those that occurred between 1560 and 1660. Political dynamics and theological ideas were affected by the Protestant Reformation and the power struggles that followed, transforming the Atlantic into a disputed space. To further illuminate the unequal distribution of benefits, Ralph A. Austen and Woodruff D. Smith examined the economic aspects of the transatlantic slave trade in their journal paper. All of the readings together provide light on the darker sides of the Atlantic World, such as human exploitation and the severe effects of illness on native communities, in addition to the political and economic forces at play.
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Annotated Bibliography
Perry, M. A., & Cruz, J. E. (2001). Cultural encounters: the impact of the Inquisition in Spain and the New World
. Journal of World History, 12(1), 1-25.
Historian Mary Elizabeth Perry specializes in the history of Latin America, especially its colonial past. She has also made contributions to cultural history and gender studies. Anne J. Cruz is renowned for her Spanish literature and culture knowledge from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Era. With her emphasis on women's writing and gender studies, she has substantially contributed to studying Spanish literature. Perry and Cruz examine the effects of the Spanish Inquisition on Spain and the New World in this essay. They contend that the Inquisition profoundly affected the social, political, and economic systems of both Spain and the New World, as well as being a religious and cultural institution. The page comprehensively overviews the Inquisition's beginnings, evolution, and goals. In addition, the writers look at how the Inquisition affected the social mores and moral standards of the communities it affected. They draw attention to how the Inquisition was a tool of authority employed to uphold social hierarchy and quell opposition. The influence of the Inquisition on
the indigenous peoples of the New World and its role in the erasure of their cultures are also covered in the essay. The writers offer a thoughtful examination of the Inquisition's effects on Spain and the New World, contending that it was a diverse, intricate organization that left a long-lasting mark on the civilizations it affected. Historians and academics interested in the
history of the New World, Spain, or the Inquisition will find this article useful.
Stolcke, Verena. "
A New World Endangered. The Making of the Iberian Transatlantic Empire.
" Current Anthropology, vol. 38, no. 5, 1997, pp. 693-720.
Scholar and social anthropologist Verena Stolcke is well-known for her contributions to cultural studies, gender studies, and anthropology. She has substantially contributed to our knowledge of gender, nationalism, and ethnicity-related issues. In this piece, Stolcke explores how the Iberian Transatlantic Empire came to be, concentrating on the sixteenth-
century Spanish and Portuguese conquest and colonization of the Americas. She contends that intricate interactions between indigenous and Iberian cultures were necessary for the development of this empire and that these interactions had important ramifications for both. Additionally, Stolcke highlights how class, gender, and color affect how colonizers and colonized relate to one another. “A New World Endangered
" provides insights into the establishment of the Iberian Transatlantic Empire and its effects on indigenous and Iberian cultures, making it an invaluable addition to the study of Atlantic history overall. The well-
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written and thoroughly researched paper will interest historians, anthropologists, and colonization researchers.
Allen, Paula Gunn. Naked and Alone in a Strange New World: Early Modern Captivity
and Its Mythos in Ibero-American Consciousness. University of Virginia Press, 2003.
Native American poet, literary critic, and historian Paula Gunn Allen (1939–2008) is renowned for her important contributions to Native American writing and investigating the relationship between feminism, spirituality, and Native American culture. Within the pages of this book, Allen delves into the idea of imprisonment and how it shaped early modern Ibero-American thinking. Allen looks at how captivity narratives were depicted and disseminated in the area using a combination of literary analysis and historical investigation. She contends that the narrative surrounding captivity had a profound impact on the interactions between Europeans and Native Americans and that it still has an impact on perceptions regarding race and colonialism today. All things considered, Allen's work offers a thorough and perceptive examination of how incarceration influenced Ibero-American thinking. It significantly adds to the disciplines of literary analysis, Native American studies, and colonial studies.
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Bibliography
Benjamin, Thomas. Atlantic World: Europeans, Africans, Indians and Their Shared History, 1400-1900.
Cambridge, 2009.
Rothman, Alison Games, and Alan. Major Problems in Atlantic History.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008.