An informational blog for the history course offered through Bainbridge College (via the USG's European Council) by
Dr. Dave Nelson from 17 June through 23 July 2010.
The final week! We will have one last class on Monday, 19 July during which we will discuss the American Civil War. As the war rages, we will also look at foreign relaitons and diplomacy. We will see how England's decision not to intervene for the CSA sealed the fate of the rebelling states and ensured the survival of the United States
Then the following day, Tuesday 20 July, we will take our final exam. The next two days will be free days -- to be spent packing and trying to cram in all the places you hadn't visited yet. Places that may include shops, bookstores, plays, and nearby attractions such as the British Library, the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Musuem, Shakespeare's Globe, Regent's Park, or the London zoo. On Friday, 23 July, we leave London for Atlanta.
Interior of the British Museum
The British Library, which includes many originals such as Beatle lyrics, Jane Austen manuscripts, Shaespeare's folios and...
This week, we will discuss the American Revolution and the institution of slavery. On Monday, 12 July, we will look at the American Revolution and the early years of the new nation. We will also briefly discuss the effect of the war on England and relations between the two nations.
For class on Wednesday, 14 July, we look at how England and its colonies, and then later the United States, became dependent upon slave labor, how the slave trade worked, and the growing opposition to it in the 1800s in both England and the U.S.
For our final field trip, we will visit two places in South-East London. First in the morning, we will arrive at the Canary Wharf Underground Station to visit the new slavery exhibit at the Musuem of London Docklands. Following lunch, we will travel to the Cutty Sark station to visit the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, the site of the Greenwich Mean Time clock, from which all time zones derive. We will discuss the maritime history of London, and its role in slavery and with relations to the U.S. in the 1800s.
After a night of celebrating the Fourth of July, we will get the English to North American in class. On Monday, 5 July, we will discuss the first permanent English colonies of Jamestown and Plymouth, and how they eventually led to the original 13 colonies.
Statue of colonist and Jamestown founder Capt. John Smith
Wednesday, 7 July, we will invetigate the road to the American Revolution. How did England allow itself to lose the crown jewels of its expanding British Empire? We will look at the social, political, and cultural conflicts -- but emphasize the English perspective.
For this week's field trip, on Thrusday 8 July, we will take a walking tour of some of the major historical sites related to the American Revolution, including Ben Franklin's home in London and 9 Grosvenor Square, the London residence of diplomat (and later U.S. President) John Adams during the Revolution. In addition, we will visit Parliament in the afternoon
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This week we will bring together Europe, Africa and the Americas. On Monday, the class will look at North America, Europe and Africa in the year 1500 -- just before Contact. We will engage in a brief historical overview of the cultures, governments, and economics trends of Africa and Europe in the years leading up to 1500. Much of the European focus will be upon England. We will then discuss European contact with the "New World" from Christopher Columbus through the early English colonial attempts. A large theme here will be the national competitions between Spain, France and England over the newly discovered continent.
Wednesday's class will look at the Origins of American Liberty in England. So much of what we think as American (democracy, civil rights, liberty, taxation only with representation) is indeed English. We will discuss the English Civil War, the Restoration, Great Plague and Fire of 1665-6, the Glorious Revolution and John Locke.
The Tower dates back to the original Normans in 1078, and has housed everyone from Anne Boleyn, Queen Elizabeth, and Guy Fawkes to Thomas More, Walter Raleigh, and Rudolf Hess. One can also choose to walk over the famous Tower Bridge.
Aerial view of Tower of London
Historic drawing of the Tower
The Traitor's Gate
One of the Tower guards
The White Tower
King Henry VIII from the National Portrait Gallery
Henry's daughter, Queen Elizabeth I (National Portrait Gallery)
Henry's ill-fated second wife, Anne Boleyn (National Portrait Gallery)
We leave Atlanta for London on 17 June to arrive at Heathrow, the world's busiest airport. Students we be assigned private rooms at the University College of London (UCL). Students will be staying at Astor College (UCL), pictured here. May not be the most fashionable dorm, but you can't beat the location, in the heart of Central London. There are kitchen, bathroom and laundry facilities, plus each room has a bed, closet, desk, and sink, plus internet hookup. More images of Astor can be found here.
That first weekend, students will have an on site orientation and neighborhood tour. Dinner will be served in Ramsey Hall at UCL, as will breakfast the following morning. There will then be a Photo Frenzy contest. Lunch will be on your on, an go a free field trip to Hampton Court, the world's largest inhabited castle.
The class begins on Monday, 21 June from between 1:00 and 3:30. The first lecture will be First Britons, First Americans: Indians, Celts, Romans and Saxons. For this class, we will look at the development of the humans, and the peopling of both North America and the British Isles.
The next class will be Wednesday, 23 June (1:00 -- 3:30) with a lecture entitled The Origins of American Culture: England in the Middle Ages. We will look at the development of English and how it later influence America. Topics will include the the Norman Conquest, Magna Charter, the Forest Charter, the development of Parliament, the Black Death, and the War of the Roses.
For this week's required field trip, on Thursday, 24 June, we will visit the British Museum in the morning to look at exhibits on early American and English peoples. Then after lunch, we take a walking tour The City, the oldest part of London. Arriving by subway to the Mansion House stop, we will learn that the City's origins go back to the Romans and it still remains the economic center of London. Highlights of the walking tour may include visiting the remains of a Roman amphitheater, seeing Roman mosaics at England's oldest church, All Hallows By the Tower, visiting the Museum of London (free admission), St. Paul's Cathedral and ending at the infamous Tower of London (which we will visit next week.)
The tower bridge today
An optional field trip may be offered during the weekend to Bath (site of the mot extensive Romans ruins in England) Stonehenge & Avebury (two world-known pre-Norman Celtic sites), and Old Sarum, the remains of the Norman castle -- what many consider the true start of England.
A life-long Anglophile, I am currently Professor of History at ABAC @ Bainbridge (formerly Bainbridge State College). My specialties include U.S. History, Environmental History, British history, Cultural History, Public History, and History of the American South. I advise the Honors Program. I also sponsor the History Club, the Model UN club and co-sponsor the 42 Club (a genre fiction book club). In addition, I serve as Director for the Scotland Study Abroad Program. I hold a BA in History from the University of North Florida, and a MA and PhD in History from Florida State University. I worked for three years as a ranger with the Florida Park Service and six years as an archivist with the State Archives of Florida. I have had publications in the Gulf South Review, Florida Historical Quarterly, and Southern Studies, as well as several book chapters. My book, How the New Deal Created Florida Tourism: The CCC and the Florida Park Service will be out next year from the University Press of Florida.
Interior of the British Museum
The Magna Carta (1215)
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