The Rise of British Overseas Trade in the 18th Century

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

To provide students with an understanding of how Britain became a trading superpower during the long eighteenth century.

Course objectives:

To learn about the growth of British global trade on a regional basis.

To consider the importance of state support in fostering trade growth.

To examine how merchants adapted their commercial strategies in different markets.

Students will be provided with a reading list and key issues to be addressed will be identified for each class.  Where possible, free online resources will be used to access primary material and relevant websites will be indicated for each class.

Each class will consist of a combination of tutor presentations, class discussions and student input the key issues for the week.  Where students elect to make a presentation, such presentations will be scheduled in the appropriate class (where possible) based on the topic of the presentation.

By the end of the course students will be expected to:

learn about the character and timing of British commercial expansion in the eighteenth century;

gain an understanding of the importance of developments in the eighteenth century in shaping British identity and Britain's relationships with the rest of the world;

be able to better articulate their own viewpoints on economic issues, both informally through discussion and formally through written work.

Students will be given the option of a 15 minute presentation with accompanying presentation notes or a 1500 word essay.  An interim piece of up to 500 words can be used to outline ideas and gain feedback mid-way through the course. 

Coursework is an integral part of all weekly classes and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework in order to benefit fully from the course. Only those who have registered for credit will be awarded CATS points for completing work the required standard.

Students must submit a completed Declaration of Authorship form at the end of term when submitting your final piece of work. CATS points cannot be awarded without the aforementioned form - Declaration of Authorship form

The Department's Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, i.e. first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.

Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS)

To earn credit (CATS points) you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. Students who register for CATS points will receive a Record of CATS points on successful completion of their course assessment.

Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process can either register for CATS points prior to the start of their course or retrospectively from the January 1st after the current full academic year has been completed. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.