essay history on The World in 1492 By Victoria Schofield

ESSAY 3 INSTRUCTIONS

Read the article  by Victoria Schofield.

At the end of the article, Schofield makes this statement about the world in 1492: "There is no doubt that Columbus’ incidental landing on the islands of America in 1492 brought tremendous changes for the entire world. But it was clearly not a world waiting to be ‘discovered.’" For this essay, you are going to assess this world before Columbus. Your essay should address this question:

If you were living on Earth at the start of 1492 (before Columbus sailed the ocean blue) and were asked what part of the world would be the most powerful in 500 years, which would you choose? You can choose a single country/empire or a larger region.

To answer this question, you must cite specific information from the textbook and "The World in 1492" There is no right or wrong answer to this question. The key is to make a clear argument and support your argument with evidence from the textbook and article. Remember that the module essay is your chance to prove how much you know, so you do not just discuss the part of the world that you think was the most powerful in 1492. You must also discuss major parts of the world that you did not choose.

Though the question involves a single year, 1492, you’ll want to discuss the broader time period covered in Module 3.

NOTE: Even though you are being asked to imagine you are living in 1492, do not use the first person. Instead, use the third person to make your argument: "Country X was the country that in 1492 showed the most potential to dominate the world."