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what you read in the pages assigned from dominion of war and captives, the lives of george washington

By 11:59 PM on Wednesday, October 5, you are to upload onto Blackboard a 3- to 4-page paper that explores two readings on the Seven Years’ War in North America and in India. Your paper should get close to the bottom of page 3 and may continue onto page 4 if you wish. This paper is worth 8 points. You are to read pages 104-135 in the first chapterabout George Washington in Anderson and Cayton’s book, Dominion of War (NOT the whole chapter!) and a chapter from Linda Colley’s book, Captives (2002).

I have posted the chapterby Colley on Blackboard. Anyone who has not yet purchased Anderson and Cayton’s book and the book by Alan Taylor, AmericanRevolutions, should do so at once.I will not be posting the chapter on Washington or any of the chapters from Taylor’s book on Blackboard. Make sure you buy physical copies of Dominion of War and American Revolutions. Electronic books often have pagination that differs from the physical books. You are to compare, on the basis of what you read in the pages assigned from Dominion of War and Captives, the lives of George Washington and a person named Sarah Shade that you will meet in the Colley reading.

Washington and Shade occupy different class positions within the British Empire. Some things to keep in mind as you read the chapter on Washington: how did Washingtonbecome a very wealthy man? What was his family’s social position? How important were “connections” in Washington’s riseto great wealth and power? What was his specific model for turning land into immense wealth for himself, and what role were common people to play in making him rich? How did Washington’s attaining enormous wealth depend on being able to take advantage of people like Sarah Shade? How were making war and making a fortune related activities

– what did Washington hope to gain, materially, from victory over the French and their Indian allies? Comparison does not necessarily mean showing how two things arethe same. If you were asked to compare a two-inch model of a 747 and an actual 747 jetliner, youwould probably spend a lot of time pointing out differences, too.In terms of the comparison you are making in your paper, Shade and Washington lived very different lives. Shade was somebody that historian Linda Colley found out about through discovering primary sources about her. Mention exactly how we know about her. Also mention why we can be reasonably sure about a lot of the things she went through, while a report we have from around Shade’s time, about another woman, Hannah Snell, was probably made up. Washington was born in the British Empire, as was Shade. It was only later that the British colonies in North America, where Washington was born, would revolt and declare themselves independent of Britain.

Before 1776 and all that, Washington fought as a loyal British subject against the French in the Seven Years’ War (1756 – 1763), a globalconflict that in its North American context is known as the French and Indian War. Britain’s struggle to assert authority in another part of the world, India, is an aspect of this global struggle. Shade left England in 1769 for an India that had been impacted in major ways by the Seven Years’ War. When Sarah Shade went to India, Britain was in the process of taking over the Indian subcontinent. Think about what a gigantic feat it was for Britain to gradually take control of this vast territory. Talk about how uncertain the outcome of the effort was. Why are tigers an apt symbol of these challengesand uncertainties?

Shade’s life tells us a lot about theBritish Empire in the mid- to late 18th century, as does Washington’s. You should point out in your paperpersonal characteristics Shade and Washington share, although they are very different people. You should write one, well-organized essay that compares the lives of Washington and Shade and that brings in the issues pointed at above. Your essay should be written on the basis of the two readings assigned. Papers based on clicking around the internet will be rewarded with a low grade. Papers that incorporate information from sources that are not cited will be given a zero, as plagiarized work. Your paper should not be “cut and paste”. I do not want long quotations or paraphrases from either reading, or from the instructions I am providing you here.

A good way to write the paper is to give yourself plenty of time to read both texts. Then put the readings aside and do something else in your busy life. How you will put your paper together will “gel” while you take a walk or do the dishes or whatever else you attend to. When you sit down to write the paper, only look back at the texts to verify a fact or to extract a short quote that expresses well or in a colorful ways

me point you’re making. From time to time, give page numbers in parentheses, like this: (p. 82), so your reader will be able to follow where you have gotten yourinformation in the assigned reading. Grammar, spelling, overall organization, forcefulness and clarity of arguments that reflect a solid grasp of the readings – all of that will be part of the grade. Happy (world-wide) explorations! Best wishes, Joseph Cartolano