Creating the
Atlantic
EUGENE LANG COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AT THE NEW SCHOOL – SPRING 2018
What is “the Atlantic World?” How
are we to make sense of that idea
relative to the early modern period
(c. 1500-1800)? How does that idea
help us make sense of the early
modern period? Beginning in the
1950s but accelerating the last few
decades, historians have increasingly
turned to an “Atlantic” perspective
as an attempt to transcend the
boundaries and limitations of
traditional national history. In doing
so, they have shown just how
interconnected were the seemingly
disparate societies all along the
Atlantic basin.
From the triangle slave trade to
information and literary networks,
from the emergence of mercantile
capitalism to republican revolutions,
the early modern Atlantic World was
a dynamic system in which
unfamiliar peoples encountered one
another, old cultures were
transformed, new cultures were
created, and, ultimately, new
republican nation-states, both
European and African in origin, were
forged through revolution.
This course explores the political,
intellectual, and social upheavals
from the seventeenth to the early
nineteenth century that set the
foundation for the emergence of the
modern West.
Along the way, we will seek out
connections and disconnections
between empire, enlightenment, and
republicanism in the period, not least
the paradox of how an enlightened
imperial age produced both liberal
self-determination and subjugation
of peoples on an unprecedented
scale.
CLASS MEETINGS
Mondays and Wednesdays
8:00am – 9:40am
65 West 11th Street
Room 464
CONTACT INFO:
Professor Michael D. Hattem
Email: hattemm@newschool.edu
Office: 80 5th Ave., Rm 522
World:
Empires,
Enlightenment
s, and
Revolutions
LHIS 2081 CREDITS: 4 CRN 6293 SEC A
Office Hours: By appointment
CLASSROOM POLICIES
ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY
RESPECT ONE ANOTHER
This rule is paramount. Students should
be aware that this course—especially the
portion dealing with contemporary society
and politics—will address controversial
issues such as politics, race, and religion.
To do so productively requires developing
an understanding of the perspectives of—
and arguments made by—many different
groups. Therefore, there is no room in the
respectful and rational debate that this
course requires for interrupting,
ridiculing, or making ad hominem attacks
against fellow classmates. Our classroom
is a safe space for both students and the
free exchange and discussion of ideas
(even those one may find morally or
politically repugnant). In this class,
CREATING THE ATLANTIC WORLD: EMPIRES, ENLIGHTENMENTS, 2
AND REVOLUTIONS

diversity of viewpoint and intellectual

empathy is essential to learning.
Class Meetings
This class meets twice a week, on
Mondays and Wednesdays from
11:55am to 1:35pm. A list of
seminar meetings is as follows:

o Class 1 (January 22)

o Class 2 (January 24)
o Class 3 (January 29)
o Class 4 (January 31)
o Class 5 (February 5)
o Class 6 (February 7)
o Class 7 (February 12)
o Class 8 (February 14)
o Class 9 (February 21)
o Class 10 (February 26)
o Class 11 (February 28)

o Class 12 (March 5)
o Class 13 (March 7)
o Class 14 (March 12)
o Class 15 (March 14)
o Class 16 (March 26)
o Class 17 (March 28)
o Class 18 (April 2)
o Class 19 (April 4)
o Class 20 (April 9)
o Class 21 (April 11)
o Class 22 (April 16)
o Class 23 (April 18)

Course
o Class 24 Objectives
(April 23)
o Class 25
(April 25) IMPORTANT DATES
o Class 26
LAST DAY TO DROP: March 2
(April 30)
o Class 27 MID-TERM EXAM: March 14
(May 2)
o Class 28 LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW: March 26
(May 7)
o Class 29 FINAL EXAM: MAY 14
(May 9)
o Class 30
(May 14)

Required Readings:
 Alan Taylor, American Colonies: The Settling of North America

 Wim Klooster, Revolutions in the Atlantic World: A Comparative

CREATING THE ATLANTIC WORLD: EMPIRES, ENLIGHTENMENTS,
AND REVOLUTIONS
OFFICE HOURS
I am happy to meet with students by
appointment either in-person or via video
call. In addition, I will also be available to
meet via Google Docs and its chat
function to go over outlines of your final
paper in real-time. Contact me via e-mail
(hattemm@newschool.edu). My office is
at 80 Fifth Avenue, Rm 522.
COURSE MATERIALS
BOOKS: The primary books required for this
course are listed on page 2 under “Required
Readings.” The books can be purchased at
Barnes & Noble at 33 E. 17th Street and Union
Square. They can also be purchased or rented
via Amazon. Renting or buying used copies,
either on Amazon or at The Strand, can cut the
cost of the books in half. They have also been
placed on Electronic Reserve through the
Library. (NB: If hardship makes it impossible
for you to purchase the required books, please
let me know as soon as possible so I can help.)
READINGS: All other readings (except those
hyperlinked in the syllabus) can be found in the
Files tab on the course’s Canvas page (in
folders broken down by week).
Assignments
READING CHALLENGES
Many weeks students will be assigned
a Reading Challenge, which can be
found in the Discussion tab on the
course’s Canvas page. Reading
Challenges are designed to get you
thinking and writing as a historian
and improve a number of key
academic skills. Each Reading
Challenge begins by introducing
students to a specific task or
challenge faced by historians and
concludes with a prompt and/or a
question about that week’s assigned
reading. To complete the Reading
Challenge, students must answer the
prompt in no more than 250 words
no later than Tuesday at 12pm.
Therefore, students should always
check the Reading Challenge before
doing their weekly readings. Reading
Challenges account for a significant
portion of your final grade. For full
credit, Reading Challenges must be
submitted on time and show
thoughtful engagement with the
week’s assigned reading.
IMPORTANT: Since Reading
Challenges account for ¼ of your
final grade, missing one means you
will lose approximately four points off
your final grade. Yes, you read that
3
correctly. There will be no
opportunities to make up missing
Reading Challenges at the end of the
semester so be sure to get them done
correctly and submitted on time.
MID-TERM EXAM
The mid-term exam will consist of a
few ID terms and an essay question,
both drawing on the first half of the
course. The exam will be taken in-class
on March 14th.
FINAL PAPER
Each student will write a 2,000-word
final paper due on May 14th. For the
final paper, students may choose to
focus on a specific topic/event or
synthesize the course as a whole.
Early in the semester, students will
receive a “Final Paper Handout” with
more instructions. We will also spend
some class time throughout the
semester on the process of writing the
paper and your choice of topic must
be approved by me before Spring
Break. There will also be an “un-
essay” option for the final paper that
will be discussed in class.
.
CREATING THE ATLANTIC WORLD: EMPIRES, ENLIGHTENMENTS,
AND REVOLUTIONS
GRADING
Students will be graded on the quality of their work and
the amount of effort they put toward their work.
 Discussion Participation 25%
 Reading Challenges 25%
 Mid-Term Exam 25%
 Final Paper 25%
For each unexcused absence after one, 1/3 of a grade will
be deducted from your final grade (e.g., from A to A-). If
you have to miss a class, be sure to email me ahead of
time or your absence will be deemed unexcused. Repeated
tardiness will also result in a similar grade deduction.
Unless, there has been a prior arrangement with the
professor, for each day a paper is submitted late, 1/3 of a
grade will be deducted from your final grade.
PLAGIARISM POLICY
The New School defines plagiarism as “the
unacknowledged use of someone else’s work as one’s own
in all forms of academic endeavor (such as essays, theses,
examinations, research data, creative projects, etc).” The
New School’s policy, which can be found
here:(http://www.newschool.edu/lang/subpage.aspx?id=37
4)
Also see The Academic Honesty and Integrity Policy
found at: http://www.newschool.edu/policies
More information can be found at the Learning Center’s
website: http://www.newschool.edu/learning-center
4
PREPARATION
You are expected to not only read but think about each
week’s readings. Simply reading the words is
insufficient. This course being a seminar requires proper
preparation. There is a direct correlation between
students’ preparedness, the value they get from the
course, and their final grade. To properly prepare each
week:
 READ the assigned texts slowly and carefully
 TAKE NOTES as you do the readings (argument,
source base, methodology)
 THINK of at least one question or comment to
bring up during discussion
 REVIEW your notes and/or go back and skim the
readings again before class
DISABILITY POLICY
“In keeping with the university’s policies of providing
equal access for students with disabilities, any student
with a disability who needs academic accommodations is
welcome to meet with me privately. All conversations
will be kept confidential. Students requesting any
accommodations will also need to contact Student
Disability Services (SDS). SDS will conduct an intake
and, if appropriate, the Director will provide an academic
accommodation notification letter for you to bring to me.
For more information, please see Student Disability
Services’ website: http://www.newschool.edu/student-
services/disability-services
 Course Schedule
Week 1: Introduction
M (1/22): Welcome
Who am I? Who are you? Why are we here?

W (1/24): What is the “the Atlantic World?”

What is “the Atlantic World?” When did the idea/concept originate? What shortcomings in historical perspective is it
trying to
overcome? What are its own shortcomings?
READ: Morgan and Greene, “Introduction: The Present State of Atlantic History,” 3-24; Chaplin, “The
Atlantic Ocean and Its Contemporary Meanings, 1492-1808,” 35-49

Week 2: Pre-Columbian Atlantic Legacies

M (1/29): North America before Settlement
How did the circumstances in North America before Columbus shape indigenous responses to the arrival of Europeans?
READ: Richter, Before the Revolution, ch.1 (3-36)

W (1/31): Europe before Settlement

How did the circumstances in Medieval Europe shape the origins of European imperialism?
READ: Richter, Before the Revolution, ch. 2 (37-63)

I. Empires
Week 3: Spain Takes the Lead
M (2/5): First Contacts
What motivated the 16th-century explorers to the Western Hemisphere? Why was Spain the first empire to colonize the
“New
World?”
READ: Taylor, American Colonies, chs. 1-2 (3-49); Heckewelder, History, Manners, and Customs of the Indian
Nations, 71-82

W (2/7): The Caribbean, South America, and the Rise of the Spanish Empire, 1500-1600
Why was Spain so successful in taking the lead in European empire building? How did Spanish conquest of the
Americas affect the
indigenous populations?
READ: Taylor, American Colonies, chs. 3-4 (50-90); MPACH, 61-70, 75-80

Week 4: England’s Imperial Misadventures

CREATING THE ATLANTIC WORLD: EMPIRES, ENLIGHTENMENTS, 6
AND REVOLUTIONS

M (2/12): Settling the Chesapeake

Why was the Chesapeake settled? By whom? What challenges did the colonists face? How did slavery begin in Virginia?
READ: Taylor, American Colonies, 117-137; MPACH, 70-74, 80-87; 110-118

W (2/14): Settling New England

Why was New England settled? By whom? How did settlement affect Native Americans in the region?
READ: Taylor, American Colonies, 158-203; MPACH, 88-96, 106-110

Week 5: The “Other” English Colonies

W (2/21): Settling the Mid-Atlantic Colonies
Why did the Dutch settle New York? Why did they lose New York? Why was Pennsylvania settled?
READ: Taylor, American Colonies, 245-274

Week 6: Creating the New Eighteenth-Century Atlantic World I

M (2/26): Settling the Carolinas and the West Indies
How important were the West Indies to the European imperial dynamic? How did they shape the settling of the
Carolinas?
READ: Taylor, American Colonies, 204-244; MPACH, 189-217

W (2/28): The Transatlantic Slave Trade and Atlantic Slavery

How did the early relations between Europeans and Africans shape the emergence of the transatlantic slave trade? How
did that trade and slavery develop in the Americas?
READ: Thornton, “Slavery and African Social Structure,” 72-97; MPACH, 225-251

Week 7: Creating the New Eighteenth-Century Atlantic World II

W (3/5): Bacon’s Rebellion and King Phillip’s War
How did the traumatic events of the 1670s derive from the colonies’ patterns of settlement? How did they shape those
colonies
moving forward?
READ: Taylor, American Colonies, 138-157, 187-203; MPACH, 119-154

M (3/7): The Glorious Revolution and Imperial Relations in the Mid-Eighteenth Century
Why did the English overthrow James II in 1688? How did the Glorious Revolution affect the American colonies?
CREATING THE ATLANTIC WORLD: EMPIRES, ENLIGHTENMENTS, 7
AND REVOLUTIONS

READ: Taylor, American Colonies, 275-337; MPACH, 377-411

Week 8: The Seven Years’ War

M (3/12): The “Final” War for Empire
Why was the Seven Years’ War fought? What were its consequences?
READ: Middleton, Colonial America, ch. 19 (473-506)

W (3/14): Mid-Term Exam

II. Enlightenments

Week 9: Enlightenments in Europe

M (3/26): What is “The Enlightenment?”
How are we to define and understand “the Enlightenment” as an intellectual event? Was there only one Enlightenment?
READ: Outram, The Enlightenment, 1-42; Kant, “What is Enlightenment?”

W (3/28): The Social Nature of the Enlightenment

How are we to define and understand “the Enlightenment” as a social event?
READ: Outram, The Enlightenment, 43-83; Rousseau, The Social Contract (excerpt)

Week 10: Enlightenment in the Atlantic World

M (4/2): Enlightenment in an Atlantic Context
How did the Atlantic context shape the Enlightenment and vice versa?
READ: Rothschild, “The Atlantic Worlds of David Hume,” 405-448; Smith, Wealth of Nations (excerpt)

W (4/4): Enlightenment and Empire

How did Enlightenment thought contribute to imperial and anti-imperial ideologies in the eighteenth century?
READ: Pagden, Lord of all the World, 1-10; 63-125; Diderot on slavery; Priestley, “The End of Empire”

III. Revolutions
Week 11: The American Revolution I
CREATING THE ATLANTIC WORLD: EMPIRES, ENLIGHTENMENTS, 8
AND REVOLUTIONS

M (4/9): European Imperial Reforms, 1763-1770

Why did Britain and other empires undertake systematic imperial reforms after the Seven Years’ War?
READ: Cogliano, Revolutionary America, 6-44, MPEAR, 66-91

W (4/11): American Independence, 1770-1776

Why did Americans declare independence? How did circumstances throughout the Atlantic World shape that
independence?
READ: Cogliano, Revolutionary America, 44-71, MPEAR, 128-155

Week 12: The American Revolution II

M (4/16): The United States Constitution
How are we to understand the Constitution in relation to previous political developments in the Atlantic World?
READ: Cogliano, Revolutionary America, 94-134; MPEAR, 411-428, 436-453

W (4/18): The Nature and Atlantic Context of the American Revolution

Was the American Revolution a fundamentally radical or conservative event? How did the Atlantic context shape how
we answer
that question?
READ: Klooster, Revolutions in the Atlantic World, 1-48

Week 13: The French Revolution

M (4/23): Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
What circumstances brought about the French Revolution?
READ: Doyle, The French Revolution, 1-52; Sieyès, What is the Third Estate? Declaration of the Rights of Man; de
Gouges, Declaration of the Rights of Woman

W (4/25): The Imperial “End” of the French Revolution

Why did the French Revoution end as it did?
READ: Doyle, The French Revolution, 52-97; Robespierre, Speech to the National Convention (1794); Napoleon’s
“Proclamation to the French Nation” (1799)

Week 14: The French/Haitian Revolutions

M (4/30): The Nature and Atlantic Context of the French Revolution
How are we to define the French Revolution? What is its relationship to the American Revolution?
CREATING THE ATLANTIC WORLD: EMPIRES, ENLIGHTENMENTS, 9
AND REVOLUTIONS

READ: Klooster, Revolutions in the Atlantic World, 49-90

W (5/2): L’Ouverture and a New Republic

How did a rebellion in a small island produce the first black republic in the New World?
READ: Klooster, Revolutions in the Atlantic World, 91-126; “Declaration of the Independence of the Blacks of St.
Domingo”; L’Ouverture’s prison account

Week 15: The Haitian Revolution and Beyond

M (5/7): The Nature and Atlantic Context of the Haitian Revolution
How are we to define the Haitian Revolution? What is its relationship to the American and French Revolutions?
READ: Klooster, Revolutions in the Atlantic World, 91-125

W (5/9): The Atlantic Reverberations of the Haitian Revolution

What happened to the Atlantic World in the nineteenth century? How are those developments connected to the
American, French, and Haitian Revolutions?
READ: Klooster, Revolutions in the Atlantic World, 169-188; Dubois, “Atlantic Freedoms” (Aeon)

Week 16: Conclusion

M (5/14): Conclusion