Lecture 1 Outline: Europe Creates an Atlantic Economy (75 minutes).
1. An analytical approach to American history.
· Explain why things happen, not so much why
•Power: Community (equality) versus Domination (inequality).
· Easiest way to talk about history – who controls who
•Economy, modes of Production and classes.
· The root of all power is the economy
· Sets limits on other things like religion
· Organization of work
· Who own the land/means of production (power)
· Defines your economic class – motive of historical processes
•Imperialism, "Settler Solidarity," and "War Capitalism."
· Domination of one ethnic group by another
· Struggle between empires and marginalized groups
· And also empires vs empires
· War capitalism – control and compete for economic resources
· Europe controlled areas for profit
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2. European imperialism and "Gold Hunger."
· Motivation for conquest
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•Feudal society: Lordship/vassalage and serfdom in Europe.
· Wealthy people control poor people and they farm for them
· Serf = poor farmer – come with the land and have the obligation to work
· Land is given in return for military loyalty
· Vassal = person in service to the king
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•The transition from feudalism to capitalism in Europe.
· Collapse from roman empire caused kingdoms
· Merchants sold things
· It’s cheaper to travel on sea than on land
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•Lords, peasants and capitalist agriculture.
•Merchants, artisans and capitalist manufacturing.
· Peasants forced to move into cities and become waged laborers to get work
· Wage laborers band together to become workshops that can outcompete individual laborers
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•Centralizing "national" monarchies (Absolutism).
•Rising costs of the central state (especially military).
•Conflict between lords (rents) and kings (taxes) over
Peasant production.
•Alliance between lords and kings against peasants (centralized feudalism).
· Centralizing power into the kings
· 1. Royal army – kings army payed only by king and loyal to him
· 2. Central administration – the kings law is the only law and it is the royal bureaucracy
· 3. Right to tax – expropriating the peasa...
