Pirates, Maroons, Bandits, and Smugglers:

The Caribbean as Legal and Moral Frontier

IDH 3931 Section 8764

Honors Program

University of Florida

Fall 2004

February 26, 2004

First Exam

(Weeks One through Eight)

Answer the following question. You should rely on the assigned readings and the materials covered in class to write your response and should not have to draw on other sources. In fact, I discourage you from doing so. Answers will be graded using the following criteria: range and coherence of the argument, effective and sufficient use of evidence, and clarity of expression. Follow one of the standard academic formats for citing sources and use it consistently. Write roughly 1000 words.

The exam should be typed and is due on Thursday, March 4, 2004. Please leave your exam in the In Box outside of my office (202 Keene-Flint Hall) or drop it off at the History Department’s main office (025 Keene-Flint Hall). Exams submitted after this date will be considered late, and 10 points will be deducted for each day passed the deadline. I will not accept electronic submissions.

The question asks you to reflect on the history of the Caribbean and Caribbean peoples from roughly 1500 to 1900. Craft your argument and select your examples accordingly.

Exam Question:

In his article entitled “War Making and State Making as Organized Crime,” Charles Tilly argues that both states and organized crime groups are protection rackets and that legitimacy distinguishes the former from the latter. Central to the process of state making in Western Europe, according to Tilly, was the monopolization of substantial force in a delimited territory. Assess the utility of Tilly’s thesis in the context of the Caribbean, a region that has been profoundly shaped by colonialism, slavery and other forced labor regimes.

Return to the IDH 3931 main page