Reference no: EM133764674
Homework: What Is Imperialism
After completing the preparatory homework for this unit, submit a two-page reflection on the unit topic. The reflections MUST be supported with accurate references to the secondary and primary materials that will be introduced in class discussions or developed in the homework. To receive full credit on this homework, the reflections must meet the following criteria: (i) Accuracy and authenticity-correct information conveyed in your own words. (Completing reflections using AI technology is prohibited!) (ii) A reference to at least one secondary or primary source in the unit's collaborative notetaking homework, key terms homework, or interactive projects. (A formal citation is not required.)
Below are questions that you might consider when writing your two-page reflection? These questions are not prompts; they are only ideas to consider if you need support or inspiration.
A. Early in the unit, we looked up the Wikipedia definition of imperialism. How does your knowledge about the seventeenth century confirm, alter, refine, or expand this definition?
B. Imperial narratives often represent the conquest of Indigenous Americans as inevitable. Was the defeat of Indigenous Americans in the seventeenth-century a predictable conclusion? Why or why not? (Remember that the answer is more complex than English muskets!)
C. Why and/or how did the "Middle Ground" of mutually beneficial trade collapse over time and the balance of power tip in the English colonists' favor? What does this shift in the balance of power illuminate about the economic motives of colonialism and the function of colonial governments?
D. What was the role of propaganda in justifying English imperialism? How did propaganda make the colonists' imperial actions seem necessary and even righteous?
E. How did Indigenous peoples and colonial women participate in and shape the imperial effort to colonize North America? Why is this participation and influence important to include?