1. That England did not end up on a labor-intensive path "was the result of important and sharp discontinuities, based on both fossil fuels and access to New World resources" (Pomeranz, p 13). Why were fossil fuels and access to New World resources important for the development of Britain? What other factors enabled it to "take off" and launch the Industrial Revolution? What factors limited China's development in the 18th century? Explain.
2. In Abu-Lughod's polycentric world before 1500 large regions of the world were integrated into a "world system." Discuss this system generally and its workings in at least one major regional circuit - Western European, Middle Eastern, or Asian? (Book: Before European Hegemony-Abu Lughod)
3. Between 1750 and 1914, European imperialism extended across much of the world. Explain the sources and processes of imperialism in the long nineteenth century and the ways in which different empires and states responded to it. Your examples should consider any two of the following: China, Japan, Ottoman Empire, India,