Cultures and Contexts: Atlantic Encounters Paper

Assignment # 2 Fall ’19 Choose one of the six topics below and write a three-page paper in response. All papers should be double-spaced in twelve point Times New Roman font with oneinch margins.  Respond to the question(s) of your choice with a formal essay. Your paper should have an introduction that states a thesis, provide evidence from the primary source in support of that thesis, and offer a conclusion that discusses the significance of the argument you have made. In discussing the primary source, describe the historical context in which it was produced and received. Analyze as much as you can about when, where, why, by whom and for whom it was created. Consider its reception and influence both at the time it was produced and in later decades and centuries. Discuss also the genre of the document. What kind of writing or source is it? What are the special formal attributes of this kind of source? What is the tone of the source? Consider what kinds of ideas and information this type of source conveys most clearly and what limitations are inherent in this type of source? Your paper should use specific supporting examples and quotations from throughout the book you choose to write about. (Please follow the Chicago Manual of Style for footnoting; you will get instructions on this in section.) SEE NEXT PAGE FOR QUESTION OPTIONS CHOOSE ONE Questions on Towrson, First Voyage Made to the Coast of Guinea: 1. How does Towrson interact diplomatically with the African and European groups he encounters on his voyage? What can his account tell us about English approaches to foreign policy, and European political interactions with African leaders during this period? 2. Towrson spends much time describing African social practices and at times directly compares those practices to English ways of being. What aspects of African life does he value and what aspects does he find strange? What does his characterization of those values say about English intentions on the West Coast of Africa? 3. In Towrson’s account of his 1555 voyage to Guinea, we see a range of commodities being traded between the English and the inhabitants of the West Africa coast. What can these commodities, and the different values ascribed to them, tell us about the role of England within African trade circuits, and about England’s status relative to other European powers at the time? Questions on Las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies 1. What aspects of Spanish colonization (and actions by Spanish colonists) in the Americas does Las Casas consider just vs. unjust and why? How are his ideas of justice informed by his Christian beliefs? 2. The Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies contains descriptions of events Las Casas himself witnessed, as well as testimony he obtained from other sources. How does his handling of these materials differ, and what rhetorical strategies does Las Casas adopt in an effort to make his text into coherent whole? 3. According to Las Casas, Spanish behavior in the Indies violated natural rights and natural law, as well as civil and divine laws. How does he weigh the influence of these overlapping influences on the Spanish legal system? What does his emphasis on one or another say about Spanish theories of colonization?