Discussion IV: Key Terms from Chapters 13-15
Chapters 13-15 go together pretty well. You will find “key terms” listed at the beginning of each chapter. You can also find other key concepts by looking at the headings for various parts of the chapters. For example, on page 455 you can see “Extracting Wealth: Mercantilism.” (“Mercantilism” is a great key term.) Any key event, person, or concept you can identify in the chapters will do well for this discussion.
If you are the first person to write about a key term, please write a paragraph about why you think this key term is important to what we are learning. Discuss the key term in the context of the chapter(s) and share some of what you learned. If you are the first person to write about a key term, it is appropriate to start a discussion about the term by replying directly to this post, and put the key term in bold. If someone else has brought up the key term already, you can reply to that person and add more insights about how the key term is important.
Please make sure you do at least three posts; at least two of these posts need to be responses to other students. When you reply to other students, please address them by name.
The forum is officially worth 15 points, and you can earn up to 20 points if you really get into it and do extra responses to other students. You can earn up to five points each time you send in a short but meaningful paragraph, either as an initial post on a term or as a response to another student.
Please limit each post to about a paragraph, or perhaps two short paragraphs. Please make sure you are adding something new to the discussion, and remember to emphasize how the key term is important to understanding the time period we are studying.
Please join the forum by the due date listed. The forum will continue to be open to the end of the following Monday to allow for additional replies and to help students with the essays and reflections related to these chapters.
example:
The key term Mercantilism (Chapter 13, Page 593) is a European system that expected overseas colonies to ship more than what it received in return from the homeland. European rulers thought that the overseas colonies had one purpose; and that was to enrich the homeland. It was these expectations that ultimately led to the War of Independence in 1776 – 1783. The war happened because the colonies grew tired of British rule and wanted independence. Taxation without representation became the rallying cry throughout the North American colonies. The outcome of the war ended British rule in North America. The idea of freedom spread throughout the Atlantic (Chapter 15, Page 698) In addition, Mercantilism transformed the world economically because it integrated the world through the trade of resources. The result was new wealth and political change because it ultimately led to state building that applied social contract theory written a century earlier by philosopher John Locke (Chapter 14, 669) whose principles of governance inspired the wording in the Declaration of Independence. Therefore, one can easily say that Mercantilism played an important role politically and economically throughout the world and is important to understanding the period from 1500 – 1850.
