The Columbian Exchange — the interchange of plants, animals, disease, and technology sparked by Columbus’s voyages to the New World — marked a critical point in history. It allowed ecologies and cultures that had previously been separated by oceans to mix in new and unpredictable ways. It was an interconnected web of events with immediate … Continued
First contact experiences on Hispaniola included brutal interactions between the Spanish and the Native Americans. Conquistadors subjugated populations primarily to garner personal economic wealth, and Natives little understood the nature of the conquest. As early as 1522 Bartolome de Las Casas worked to denounce these activities on political, economic, moral, and religious grounds by chronicling … Continued
French language and world history teachers are often searching for entry-points to teach about questions of language, power, and colonialism in Africa. Language is a frequently overlooked domain when studying larger historical processes. Using Mauritian Creole language – "Kreol" – as an archive, this webinar will provide a lens to understand language development under situations … Continued
In the first two centuries after 1492, most colonies in the New World failed. This workshop explores why, through accounts of failures and successes and discussion about what happened. How much did colonizers’ expectations have to do with success or failure? Were the desires and power of local Indians the most important factors? How large … Continued
Where do “art” and “science” intersect in John White’s 16th century watercolors of Virginia? How would his paintings have been seen by his contemporaries? What impact did White’s work have on later generations?
The story seems familiar. A North American colonial empire, firmly established since the 1500s, is, by the 1700s, funneling great wealth to the mother country in Europe. The colonies are ethnically, ecologically, and geographically diverse. Slavery, an important part of the colonial economy, is widespread; yet some of the African-descendant population live as free people. … Continued
The last few decades have witnessed an enormous increase in interest in global health, particularly with respect to Africa. Most international agencies, national governments, pharmaceutical companies, research universities, and charitable organizations are now involved in some capacity in activities related to global health. As a result, there is currently far more money devoted to global … Continued
I’ve always loved to travel, and one of my favorite parts is getting to have a connection to the place that in our classrooms we refer to in the abstract. It makes the history more tangible, real, and often provides perspective that we don’t get from secondary sources. While travelling in Scotland last summer, I … Continued
I visited Barbados on a teacher professional development trip in 2018. My assigned research topic for the trip was Bussa’s 1816 slave rebellion. Within three days in April of that year, the rebellion had spread to most of the southern half of the island. Slavery in Barbados was addressed in a limited way by tour … Continued
My source of inspiration came from a lecture on paintings and images of slave society presented at the Barbados National Museum. The painting by Issac Sailmaker entitled “Island of Barbados” visually depicts the transformation of the island’s geography due to the creation of sugar plantations in 1694. Sugar not only transformed the physical landscape of … Continued