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Paper Assignment 3
We have explored the Great Divergence in world history, when China began agricultural expansion within the empire and Western European states began to expand overseas, seeking out new markets, natural resources, and colonial opportunities. When Western Europeans such as the British or Dutch created colonies, they used technologies of empire to subjugate peoples, conquer environments, and subdue diseases. We witnessed this fact with the invention of steamships and the medicine quinine, which allowed Europeans to travel into the interior of Africa without fear of malaria. Once they established colonies, they integrated peoples and environments into a global economic system, which often had a disruptive effect and marginalized groups and transformed ecosystems. We saw this with the Late Victorian Holocaust, when British officials exported grain from India while the country was being savaged by drought and famine. In effect, this integration into a global economy created the Third World.
Your Assignment: Drawing on the remaining lecture topics, the documentary “Darwin’s Nightmare,” and Something New Under the Sun, trace the effect of the integration of peoples and environments into a global economic and political system. What were some of the initial watersheds of European expansion? What happened when people and environments, including marine environments, were integrated into world markets? How does this marginalize certain communities, such as those depicted in “Darwin’s Nightmare”? Describe how the modern world is a product of globalization forces.
Format: This is a 5-page paper, double-spaced, 12-point font, and using MS Word.
Some Hints: The better papers will be detailed ones. I do not want vague, unsubstantiated opinions. Rather, I want knowledge based in the assigned sources. The power of good historical writing is in the detail. Give examples from the past to support your argument. Cite examples from the book, lectures, and documentaries.
