CHY4U CCA: Step 5 Outline Template expand as needed to a total of 6-9 examples   Thesis: (The outline depends on the thesis statement)     The theme of primary source evidence has been deeply woven into the World History course allowing for better analysis of the past through contextualization, corroboration and close reading of documents

The theme of primary source evidence has been deeply woven into the World History course allowing for better analysis of the past through contextualization, corroboration and close reading of documents.

1. Point

In studying Japan in the 17th century, historians must examine the anti-Jesuit and anti-foreigner edicts that were issued by various Shoguns in reaction to the growing presence of Catholic missionaries.

1. Example

To contextualize these documents historians must consider that Japan had initially welcomed westerners from Portugal starting in the 1500s. The number of converts was high; 250 000 in the first 50 years (1). Study of the documents reveals the escalation against foreigners: in the first edict of 1587 by Hideyoshi Tokugawa only the missionaries were banned while traders were allowed to remain: “Hereafter anyone who  does  not  hinder  the teachings of  the  Buddha, whether he be a merchant or not, may come and go freely from Christian countries to Japan.” (2) The tone is generally moderate. By contrast, the 1635 Edict contained severe consequences for Japanese who went abroad and thus purportedly brought back foreign influences: “No Japanese is permitted to go abroad. If there is anyone who attempts to do so secretly, he must be executed….If any Japanese returns from overseas after residing there, he must be put to death.” (3) An event that puts that harshness into context is the San Felipe incident of 1596. A Spanish ship was found offshore carrying trade goods from Japan, presumably to the Americas. This worried the Japanese about the intentions of western powers toward pillaging Japan freely. As well, the way the social structure of Japanese classes worked was such that those most likely to convert because of their interest in trading with the Portuguese - the daimyo or lords - were also the object of obedience from their vassals, the peasants. Shoguns began to question whether the loyalty of the peasants was now owed to them as rulers of Japan or to the Catholic Church (4).

Mini Citation if needed (Last, Title, p.)

1 PBS, Memoirs of a Secret Empire, https://www.pbs.org/empires/japan/theprogram.html

2 and 3: Asia for Educators. The Edicts of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. N.d. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/tokugawa_edicts_christianity.pdf

4 Risa Gluskin, “Causes and Consequences in Japan’s Foreign Relationships”, CHY4U Unit 1, 2022.

Connection to Thesis (include HTC)

It is impossible to understand the change in tone of these edicts without historical context. The context demonstrates the incremental changes that occurred between 1587 and 1635 and the social and political progress that Shoguns sought to preserve for themselves, as well as the fear they demonstrated about losing their newly centralized control over the social hierarchy. Escalation in the seriousness of edicts did not happen by accident; there were historical forces at play, such as increasing encroachment of foreigners as seen through the San Felipe incident in 1596.

2. Point

Next, historians are able to examine contextualization of the economic aspects of the relationship between Kongo and Portugal in the 1500s.

2. Example

The British Museum’s Kongo activity included numerous short historical interpretations of said relationship - one in which Kongo became a source of slaves in its new trade relationship with Portugal. Sometimes history can be messy. There’s no easy answer as to whether King Afonso of Kongo was truly begging for the Portuguese to leave Kongo alone in his letter of 1526. On the surface it appears to be a plea from an exploited, weakened king (Afonso) to a superior, Portugal’s king,  who has the power to make changes to stop “depopulating” Kongo by taking slaves. He writes: “and so great, Sir, is the corruption and licentiousness [immorality] that our country is being completely depopulated, and Your Highness should not agree with this or accept it as in your service.” (1) Or, does Afonso see himself as an equal writing to the Portuguese king. There are contextualizing primary sources that indicate as early as 1512 (nearly two decades before Afonso’s letter), the Portuguese King Manuel saw Kongo as ripe for the picking, such as in this letter: “This expedition has cost us much: it would be unreasonable to send it home with empty hands. Although our principle wish is to serve God and the pleasure of the king of Kongo, none the less you will make him understand – as though speaking in our name – what he should do to fill the ships, whether with slaves, or copper, or ivory.”  (2)

Mini Citation if needed

1 William H. Worger, Nancy L. Clark, Edward A. Alpers, Africa and the West: From the Slave Trade to Conquest, 1441-1905.\

2 British Museum. The Wealth of Africa: The Kingdom of Kongo. Students’ Worksheets. 2010. https://www.britishmuseum.org/pdf/KingdomOfKongo_StudentsWorksheets.pdf

Connection to Thesis (include HTC)

This contextualization of the rationale for Afonso’s close relationship with Portugal comes from multiple sources. Alone, Afonso’s letter does not give the entire picture. Different angles present different historical perspectives. It is difficult for students and historians to analyze Afonso’s letter without understanding Portuguese motives, as seen through the 1512 letter that makes economic motives quite obvious.

3. Point

3. Example

Mini Citation if needed

Connection to Thesis (include HTC)

1. Point

Primary source documents from the western European enlightenment value individualism, rights and tolerance on the surface. However, when examined in conjunction with documents from European colonies they don’t corroborate each other. Instead they reveal the paradox of the enlightenment when it came to non-Europeans.

1. Example

John Locke’s famous phrase - “life, liberty and property” - from his 1689 “Two Treatises on Government” was seen as the foundation of enlightened thought; government’s job, he said, was to protect people’s rights: “Whensoever therefore the legislative shall transgress, this fundamental rule of society, and either by ambition, fear, folly, or corruption, endeavour to grasp themselves, or put into the hands of any other, an absolute power over the lives, liberties, and estates of the people; by this breach of trust they forfeit the power of the people; who have the right to resume original liberty” (1). Despite this rights-oriented stance, just a few years earlier (1685)  the French created their “Code Noir”, the laws imposed upon enslaved people in French colonies such as St. Domingue. The document, which establishes a number of strict rules for enslaved peoples, highlights the paradox of the enlightenment era; at the same time as Voltaire, Diderot and Locke were espousing their enlightened views, the French state solidified its control over enslaved peoples through the code, primarily through reproduction: “All children born from marriages between slaves will become slaves.” (2) This tells us that enlightened principles were only meant to apply to white Europeans.

Mini Citation if needed

1 Quoted in Jim Pedrech (adapted by Risa Gluskin), “John Locke: Two Treatises on Government), CHY4U, Unit 2, 2023.

2 Quoted in Haberman, West and the World:

Connection to Thesis (include HTC)

To be fair, enlightened thinkers such as Locke, Voltaire and Diderot were not government officials. They didn’t speak from a position of power, just cultural influence. However, when considering their widespread views, historians must also attempt to corroborate them, meaning explain if there is other evidence to back up their views. The answer is no when looking at the Code Noir. The same French state that, at least superficially, espoused enlightened cultural views, wrote a strict law code perpetuating slavery. One can definitely say there was no direct causal relationship between enlightened views and slavery. Instead, there’s a massive divergence indicating that position mattered. Those with power could have dalliances with enlightened thought as long as it didn’t touch the monarchy. Those without power, the enslaved colonists of St. Domingue and other French colonies in the Caribbean, were extremely vulnerable and manipulated. Historians and students could not have an accurate and complete portrayal of the times without attempting to corroborate documents.

2. Point

Similarly, the Indigenous people of what became Canada experienced severe mistreatment at the hands of the British crown and its agents in the Hudson Bay Company after 1670.

2. Example

The key document in the establishment of the Hudson’s Bay Company is its Charter of 1670 granted by King Charles II. It sets out to identify the 1.5 million kilometres of land that were being ‘granted’ by the king (much of Canada): “AND WHEREAS the said Undertakers, for their further Encouragement in the said Design, have humbly besought Us to incorporate them, and grant unto them, and their Successors, the sole Trade and Commerce of all those Seas, Streights, Bays, Rivers, Lakes, Creeks, and Sounds, in whatsoever Latitude they shall be, that lie within the entrance of the Streights commonly called Hudson's Streight. (1)” Charles made sure to clarify that he would not take land from ““the Subjects of any other Christian Prince or State.” (2) Other lives and documents do not corroborate that the land was theirs for the taking. In particular, oral history makes it clear that colonizers could not have survived without the assistance of Indigenous peoples. The example of Thanadelthur shows that the governor of York Factory found it very useful to have a translator or go-between to assist him in navigating the relationships between diverse Indigenous groups in the early 1700s. (3) NOT COMPLETE YET.

Mini Citation if needed

1 and 2 Melissa Gismondi, “The Untold Story of the Hudson’s Bay Company,” Canadian Geographic, May 2, 2020, https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/the-untold-story-of-the-hudsons-bay-company/

3 Conn, Heather. "Thanadelthur." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Article published November 14, 2017; Last Edited January 15, 2018.

Connection to Thesis (include HTC)

The relationship between James Knight and Thanadelthur shows that historians must always look at multiple sources from different perspectives to make sure there is corroboration. No document should stand on its own. NOT COMPLETE YET

1. Point

Careful reading of primary source documents can often reveal key information about a source’s bias as seen through the intended audience.

1. Example

For instance, in reading about the Belgian imperial presence in Congo in the late 19th century, it is imperative to examine the writing of King Leopold II in detail. Leopold held sole possession of what he called the Congo Free State. His goal was to enrich himself through the extraction of resources, particularly natural rubber. As such, he sent his agents to find ways to get Congolese to harvest as much as they could through a quota-based plantation system. This included child labour. In a private 1883 letter written to missionaries en route to Congo, Leopold outlined his view of religion as a tool to pacify the masses: “You will go certainly to evangelize, but your priority must be Belgium interests….Your essential role is to facilitate the task of administrators and industrialists, which means you will go to interpret the gospel in the way it will be the best to protect our interests in that part of the world.” (1)His assertion was blunt in saying that “Evangelize the savages so that they stay forever in submission to the white colonialists, so they never revolt against the restraints they are undergoing.” (2) By contrast, publicly Leopold upheld the Belgian presence in Congo as “noble.” He insisted “that European experience, knowledge, resources, and enterprise (skills) have brought to light unimaginable wealth.” (3)

Mini Citation if needed

1 and 2 Letter from King Leopold II of Belgium to Colonial Missionaries, 1883. Illuminate Education. Reading: King Leopold Primary Source Documents. 2016. https://app.activateinstruction.org/playlist/resource-sview/id/51d3386607121c63391309e2/rid/51d420cd07121c582e828d4b/bc0/explore/bc1/playlist (Jan. 27, 2017)

3

Thesis Connection (HTC)

When examining these two letters very closely it can be seen that Leopold tailored his argument to his intended audience. For the public, he wanted to present Belgium as a positive civilizing force. He wanted Belgians and other European countries alike to recognize him as powerful. Having a colony put him in elite imperialist company. Thus his positive word choice was deliberate. On the other hand, when writing only to missionaries - outside of prying, potentially critical eyes - he expressed more negative motives. Without close reading, documents can be taken at face value.  No document, whether an ‘official’ government document or not, should be left without interpretation.

2. Point

A similar situation exists with the reading of treaties.

2. Example

For instance, the Treaty of Nanking, imposed on China in 1842 after its defeat at the hands of Britain, demonstrates the demands of the winners. When Britain wanted to even out its trade imbalance with China, it sought to open up the tightly controlled, centralized system of Chinese trade. All trade emanated from and into the port of Canton. Because Britain had little to offer China legally, it began to smuggle opium from its nearby colony of India. The ever growing importation of opium angered the Chinese emperor who attempted to clamp down and increase control. This in turn garnered the British, with the First Opium War resulting in 1839. (1) Having won the war, Britain came up with the equally damning treaty. It allowed British subjects to reside in certain key areas of China (article 2). It also  forced China to cede Hong Kong (quite proximate to Canton, the city that previously had a monopoly on trade) as a base of trading for Brits (article 3). (3)

Mini Citation if needed

1 Risa Gluskin, “China and Imperialism: Day 1, Part 2 - Perspectives on the Opium Wars.”

2 and 3  Asia for Educators, “Excerpts from the Treaty of Nanjing, August 1842,” Nd., http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/china/nanjing.pdf

Connection to Thesis (include HTC)

Close reading of the treaty makes it obvious that it was meant to shatter the traditional way of trade within China. Having now won the war, the British felt comfortable imposing their ways on a foreign power, never mind one that had been around for thousands and thousands of years. So many questions are left in the historian’s mind as the treaty is read: what say, if any, did the Chinese have in the terms of the treaty? Were there any negotiations at all, or was the wording almost predetermined? What leverage, if any, did China have to change the severity of the treaty?