http://www.history.umd.edu/Faculty/DWilliams/courses/Spring11/HIST251/paper1.html
In March 1823, Angela Batallas, a young enslaved woman residing in Guayaquil, sought out Simón Bolívar, the President of Gran Colombia and leader of the Army of the North. Batallas came to the war-weary patriot general after a protracted freedom suit with her owner, a local merchant named Idelfonso Coronel.
The precise details of the conversation between the afroguayaquileña and the Liberator have been lost to history, but we know that Batallas must been persuasive, as Bolívar recommended to the local judge that justice be done for "this unhappy slave," even if it meant a loss of property for a member of local creole elite and the public rebuke of the honor of a loyal patriot.
Part I [60% of paper grade]
In a four-page argument, analyze the historical significance of the meeting between Batallas and Bolívar.
This part should draw heavily on assigned readings (i.e., Chasteen, Townsend, and various texts from El Libertador) about the political mindset and historical experiences of a slave woman and a creole patriot in the age of independence.
Part II [40% of paper grade]
In a two-to-three page dialogue, reconstruct a historically plausible conversation between Batallas and Bolívar. Imagine the two in the military encampment outside Guayaquil, speaking to one another in their own words.
Pointers:
In Part I, your thesis paragraph should briefly introduce the circumstances in which Batallas and Bolívar met and then assert a hypothesis about the historical meaning of the meeting between our two protagonists. Tell your reader the main points that you intend to argue in the paper.
The body of Part I should critically situate the Batallas-Bolívar meeting in the period of independence. Consider carefully how the burden of enslavement, the promise of freedom, and the maintenance of honor were shared concerns for Batallas and Bolívar as the wars of independence began to draw to a close and the residents of Spanish America began to imagine themselves to be one people liberated from tyranny.
In Part II, start from the premise that we cannot know precisely what Batallas and Bolívar said to one another. But, we can speculate based upon what we know of the language used by Batallas (who is quoted extensively in the Townsend article) and Bolívar (whose prose is well known to us from the Jamaica Letter and the Angostura Address, among other texts).
Do not simply repeat the words of Bolívar or Batallas.
You may quote freely from the assigned readings, but quotes should be used to illustrate, develop, and substantiate your argument.
A sample passage lacking an argument:
Both Bolívar and Batallas talked about Spanish colonialism and slavery. In the Jamaica Letter (1815), Bolívar described the wars of independence from Spain in the following term: "our chains have been broken and we have been freed; yet our enemies seek to enslave us again." In her legal case against Idelfonso, Batallas questioned how she could remain in servitude as the Republic struggled to "liberate us from the Spanish Yoke."
A sample passage that makes an argument:
Both Bolivar and Batallas saw a relationship between Spanish colonialism and slavery. In the Jamaica Letter (1815), for example, Bolívar argued that in the independence movement "our chains have been broken and we have been freed," fearing "yet our enemies seek to enslave us again." In her legal case against Idelfonso, seven years later, the enslaved Batallas questioned how she could remain in servitude as the Republic struggled to "liberate us from the Spanish Yoke." Although Bolívar was a free man born into the privileged slaveholding class of colonial Venezuela and Batallas was a slave woman bought and sold among the slaveholding class of colonial Guayaquil, the two shared a common language of freedom and anti-colonialism.
The first writing assignment is due at the beginning of lecture on Thursday, February 24, 2011.
Follow conventional formatting guidelines (i.e. typed; double-spaced; reasonable margins and fonts; stapled; numbered pages).
Feel free to seek out Prof. Williams or Daniel for guidance in writing a well-organized and engaging paper. Outlines and/or rough drafts are always welcome. Or, consider making a visit to the Writing Center, 0125 Taliaferro Hall, Tel: (301) 405-3785.