| LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Describe the key features and significance of the Modern Revolution. 2. Analyze how maritime innovations enabled European exploration and expansion across the Atlantic Ocean. 3. Explain the origins of the plantation complex and evaluate its social, economic, and demographic impacts on Africa. Oxford History Timelines: Western Africa | Europe |
THE MODERN REVOLUTION
The focus of this topic will be Iberian expansion into the Atlantic. My aim is to connect some of the concepts your learned in the previous topic to the Portuguese and Spanish activities in the Atlantic. I would also like to delve into the impact that Africa had in commerce and how this region became a conduit for slave labor. Before we begin looking at the details, I would like to briefly introduce you to the Modern Revolution. What was it and why is it relevant for this topic?
With the closing of the Middle Ages certain regions of the world moved toward what has been referred to as the Modern Revolution, a period that witnessed increasing commercialization and the emergence of capitalistic social and economic structures. One major outcome of this period was the integration of the entire world into a single network of exchange. This created what historians refer to as a true world system of exchange for the first time. In fact, for the first time in human history, economic networks were linked throughout the world. However, this came at a cost as some regions experienced catastrophic demographic collapse due to conquest and colonization or labor exploitation. This is particularly true of the Indigenous cultures of the Americas.
So, what fueled this change? The foundations for the Modern Revolution can be traced to the Middle Ages. Some of the most important stimulants for this movement occurred between 1350-1700. In the case of Europe, it is during this time frame that it witnessed the following:
- The formation of centralized states with commercially minded governments.
- The quest for commerce and the seeds of capitalism
- The expansion of world markets and the creation of global networks
- The Scientific Revolution
- The Enlightenment
Table 1: The Modern Revolution and European Expansion
| Key outcome of the Modern Revolution | What changed? | How it facilitated Atlantic expansion |
|---|---|---|
| Improved navigation & cartography | Better maps, compasses, astronomical navigation, and knowledge of winds and currents | Made repeated transatlantic voyages more practical and predictable |
| Advances in shipbuilding | Ocean-going sailing vessels became better suited to long voyages and carrying cargo | Europeans could transport larger quantities of people, weapons, and commodities across oceans |
| Gunpowder & military technology | Firearms, artillery, and heavily armed ships became increasingly important | Gave European expeditions significant military capabilities and helped states protect overseas trade and colonies |
| Printing & information exchange | Maps, navigational manuals, scientific knowledge, and accounts of voyages circulated more widely | Knowledge from expeditions could be recorded, reproduced, corrected, and used by later travelers |
| Scientific & observational culture | Greater emphasis developed around measurement, observation, mathematics, and systematic knowledge | Improved navigation, mapping, surveying, and Europeans’ ability to gather geographic information |
| Commercial capitalism & finance | Merchants, investors, banks, insurance, credit, and eventually joint-stock companies mobilized capital | Governments and private investors could finance expensive voyages and colonial enterprises |
| Stronger states & imperial competition | Some European states developed greater taxation, administration, naval, and military capacity | States could sponsor voyages, claim colonies, protect merchants, and compete for overseas territory |
| Plantation economies | Large-scale production of commodities such as sugar and tobacco expanded | European demand for profitable commodities encouraged colonization and the expansion of Atlantic commerce |
| Expansion of racialized chattel slavery | European colonial economies increasingly relied on the forced transportation and labor of enslaved Africans | Enslaved labor became fundamental to many plantation and mining economies in the Americas |
| Columbian Exchange | Plants, animals, microorganisms, people, and commodities moved between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres | Connected the Americas more closely to European and African economies and societies |
| Global commodity networks | American silver and Atlantic plantation products entered wider international markets | Atlantic commerce became connected to larger European, African, and Asian trading networks |
EUROPE BEFORE THE MODERN REVOLUTION
For the most part, Europe in the 15th century was predominantly rural in nature. Human population size is believed to have been about 80 million in number and the increase or decrease of this population was primarily impacted by the availability of land and its exposure to epidemic disease.
Table 2: European 15th Century Population Size
| Date | Estimated European population | Context |
|---|---|---|
| c. 1400 | ~50–60 million | Europe was still experiencing the demographic effects of the Black Death and later plague outbreaks |
| c. 1450 | ~55–65 million | Population was beginning a more sustained recovery in many regions |
| c. 1500 | ~75–85 million | Significant demographic recovery was underway as Atlantic expansion began |
For example, the bubonic plague (c. 1347), a disease that new no boundaries, greatly affected the populations of both Europe and China.
Trade routes during this period connected Africa, Asia and Europe. However, the Americas at this point was excluded from this network. In this polycentric trading system, the crossroad for global exchanges (goods, ideas, and technology) was the Indian Ocean. It was in the Indian Ocean where China, India and the Islamic Near and Middle East met. Europe at this time held a peripheral relation to this crossroad, a position that would change in the near future with its ventures into the Indian Ocean, and of course, the conquest of the Americas.
By the 13th century, Europe experienced an economic revival that would eventually facilitate its expansion into the Atlantic world. As already noted in your previous topic, this in part could be attributed to the Crusades and the re-introduction of goods coming from the East and India to Europe. What facilitated Europe’s economic revival were innovations in agriculture, the political stability brought to Europe by the medieval Church and secular rulers, and Europe’s re-establishment of international trade routes such as those reaching the Levant. Because Europe, unlike for example India and China, had little to sell or exchange that was in demand in other parts of the world, the acquisition of resources through conquest and colonization became one driving force behind the creation of European merchant empires.
There was a major cost associated with subsidizing these newly centralized states, warfare. The Military Revolution, which introduced a series of innovations associated with warfare, came with a high cost.
Table 4: The Implications of the Military Revolution
| Major area impacted | What changed after the Middle Ages? | Broader historical impact |
|---|---|---|
| Gunpowder weapons | Cannons, muskets, and other firearms became increasingly effective and widespread | Reduced the importance of many traditional medieval weapons and transformed warfare |
| Infantry | Disciplined formations combining firearms and pikes became increasingly important | Infantry became central to European armies, reducing the battlefield dominance of heavily armored knights |
| Cavalry | Heavy cavalry remained important but had to adapt to firearms and disciplined infantry | Cavalry increasingly performed specialized roles rather than dominating battles |
| Fortifications | Medieval high-walled castles became vulnerable to artillery; new low, thick, angled fortifications developed | Sieges became increasingly complex and expensive |
| Army size & organization | States increasingly maintained larger, more standardized and professional forces | Warfare required greater organization, training, logistics, and government resources |
| Naval warfare | Sailing warships increasingly carried heavy cannon | States could project military power across oceans and protect long-distance commerce |
| Government & taxation | Larger armies and fleets required enormous financial resources | Governments expanded taxation, borrowing, and bureaucratic administration |
| Political power | Rulers increasingly attempted to control organized military force through state institutions | Contributed to the growth of more centralized early-modern states |
| Military engineering | Specialists designed artillery, fortifications, siege works, and defensive systems | Engineering and mathematical knowledge became increasingly important to warfare |
| Atlantic expansion | Armed ocean-going ships combined navigation, commerce, and military force | European states could establish and defend overseas trading posts, colonies, and maritime routes |
As a result of these changes in warfare, many historians believe that the symbiotic relationship between the cost of military sustainment and the pursuit for profitable resources ultimately helped fuel the creation of merchant empires that would come to dominate the Atlantic world.
AN INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTION
Europe also experienced an intellectual revolution that would have profound effects on the move toward overseas exploration and the establishment of a more secular worldview. Recall that through Spain was introduced a large corpus of Arabic and Greek works on science, medicine, geography, mathematics, philosophy, and astronomy. This shift on how to look at the world (from the divine to the human) continued under a cultural/educational movement called the Renaissance. The Renaissance originated in Italy and lasted from about 1350 to 1650 C.E. The focus of this movement would not be God or a life of contemplation in a monastery, but rather a focus on participating in an active life in the secular world.
Preparation for this active life came in the form of the Studia Humanitatis. It was a program of studies similar to your general education requirements that prepared students to lead a participatory life in society as opposed to a life of meditation. The Studia Humanitatis formed the core educational program associated with Renaissance humanism and prepared its students for an active life. t too opened the door for innovation and facilitation for ventures into the Atlantic with this focus.
Table 5: Studia Humanitatis
| Studia Humanitatis | What was studied? | Renaissance purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Grammar | Latin and, increasingly, Greek; vocabulary, syntax, and careful interpretation of classical texts | Develop mastery of language and allow students to read ancient authors accurately |
| Rhetoric | Public speaking, argumentation, persuasion, and effective prose composition | Prepare educated people to communicate persuasively in political and civic life |
| Poetry | Classical literature, poetic composition, literary style, and interpretation | Explore human emotions, values, beauty, and moral questions through literature |
| History | Greek and Roman histories and the writing and interpretation of historical events | Use examples from the past to understand politics, human behavior, virtue, and leadership |
| Moral Philosophy | Ethics, virtue, character, civic responsibility, and the good life | Develop morally responsible individuals capable of participating in public and civic life |
The greatest challenge early mariners had to deal with was understanding the shifts and changes in water and wind currents. In the Atlantic, currents were unidirectional. For example, the Canary Current and the Gulf Stream Current. Thus, getting to certain destinations was as complicated as attempting to return to the point of origin.
Voyages documented by contemporaries, such as the Muslim geographer al-Idrisi (c. 1099-1166), highlight the difficulty of these early ventures. The first accidental contact in the Atlantic came in 1312 when the Genoese merchant Lanzarotto Malocello, sailing towards northern Europe, was blown off course and landed on the Canary Islands.
What forcefully facilitated exploration of the Atlantic was the promotion of new maritime knowledge and innovations in ship technology. For example, Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460) of Portugal established a maritime academy at Sagres Point (Algarve) that promoted the study of geography, cartography, and maritime technology.
Portolan maps, the astrolabe, and the quadrant were also being used by this time. In 1480, Europe’s first manual on navigation, Regimento do astrolabio e do quadrante, was published. Ship technology combined the northern cog with Arab sail technology. This produced a hybrid vessel (3 mast ships that included square sails and the Arab lateen sail) that eventually gave way to the caravel.
Facilitated by this new maritime knowledge and technology, and the quest for resources, Europeans charted two wings of exploration. One wing led southward down the coast of Africa. This was made possible when an understanding of the winds and currents around the Canary islands came about. The second wing led westward into the Atlantic, contacting first the islands of Madeira and the Azores, and later reaching the Caribbean and the Americas.
To recap what you have read so far, European expansion into the Atlantic was a convergence of economic, political, military, intellectual, and technological changes rather than a single cause. As you have learned, this expansion was the product of several developments converging at roughly the same historical moment.
Table 6: The Changes Facilitating European Expansion Summarized
| Key factor | What was changing in Europe? | How it encouraged or enabled Atlantic expansion |
|---|---|---|
| Recovery from the Middle Ages | Europe experienced renewed economic activity and population recovery after the crises of the late medieval period. | A recovering economy and population provided a broader foundation for commerce, governments, and overseas ventures. |
| Revival of long-distance trade | European connections with the Mediterranean and Levant expanded, increasing access to goods originating in Asia and the Islamic world. | Exposure to valuable eastern commodities increased European interest in obtaining greater access to international trade. |
| Desire for resources & trade | Europe had relatively few commodities that were highly demanded in major Asian trading markets. | This encouraged Europeans to seek new sources of wealth and resources through trade, conquest, and colonization. |
| Commercial capitalism | Merchants, investors, credit, banking, and increasingly sophisticated commercial institutions expanded. | Capital could be mobilized to finance expensive voyages and overseas commercial enterprises. |
| Centralized states | Monarchies developed stronger taxation, administration, and political institutions. | Governments such as Portugal and Spain could finance expeditions, support merchants, claim territory, and sustain overseas empires. |
| Competition among states | European states competed for trade, territory, resources, and political power. | Overseas expansion became another arena for competition between European powers. |
| Military Revolution | Gunpowder weapons, artillery, professional armies, fortifications, and military organization expanded. | European states developed greater capacity to seize and defend strategic ports, trade routes, and overseas territories. |
| Naval warfare | Ocean-going vessels increasingly combined sailing technology with heavy cannon. | Ships became both commercial and military instruments, allowing states to protect commerce and project power overseas. |
| High cost of warfare | Larger armies, artillery, fleets, and fortifications placed enormous financial demands on governments. | The search for profitable trade and resources became connected to states’ need for revenue, reinforcing the pursuit of merchant empires. |
| Renaissance & humanism | Renaissance culture placed greater emphasis on human activity, classical learning, observation, and participation in secular society. | Helped create an intellectual environment supportive of geographical inquiry, practical knowledge, exploration, and innovation. |
| Studia Humanitatis | Grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, and moral philosophy trained individuals for active participation in civic society. | Encouraged literacy, communication, historical awareness, and an intellectual culture oriented toward active engagement with the world. |
| Scientific & observational thinking | Mathematics, astronomy, geography, observation, and measurement became increasingly important. | These forms of knowledge contributed to improvements in navigation, cartography, surveying, and geographical understanding. |
| Accumulation of knowledge from other cultures | Europeans encountered and incorporated substantial Greek and Arabic knowledge in mathematics, astronomy, medicine, geography, and philosophy. | This larger body of knowledge contributed to the intellectual and technical resources available to European mariners. |
| Improved cartography | Portolan charts and increasingly detailed geographical information aided sailors. | Mariners could plan routes and navigate coastlines more effectively. |
| Navigational instruments | Instruments such as the astrolabe and quadrant were increasingly employed by mariners. | Sailors became better able to determine their position and undertake voyages farther from familiar coastlines. |
| Understanding Atlantic winds & currents | Mariners gradually learned the patterns of the Canary Current, Gulf Stream, and Atlantic wind systems. | Knowledge of these patterns helped solve one of Atlantic navigation’s greatest problems: not simply sailing outward, but successfully returning home. |
| Improved ship technology | Northern European shipbuilding traditions were combined with Mediterranean and Arab sailing technologies, including the lateen sail. | Hybrid vessels became increasingly capable of maneuvering in Atlantic conditions and undertaking long-distance voyages. |
| Development of the caravel | The Portuguese employed highly maneuverable vessels suitable for exploration. | Caravels were particularly useful for exploring the African coast and Atlantic islands. |
| Portuguese maritime experimentation | Portuguese exploration encouraged sustained study of geography, cartography, navigation, ships, winds, and currents. | Instead of isolated voyages, exploration became an accumulating process in which information from one voyage could facilitate the next. |
| Portugal’s African route | Portuguese mariners gradually moved southward along the western coast of Africa. | This created expanding commercial connections with Africa and ultimately routes toward the Indian Ocean. |
| Atlantic island expansion | Europeans reached and colonized islands including Madeira and the Azores and became involved in the Canary Islands. | The islands became important stepping-stones for further Atlantic navigation and experimentation with colonization and commercial production. |
| Western Atlantic exploration | A second direction of expansion moved westward across the Atlantic. | This ultimately produced sustained European contact with the Caribbean and Americas. |
| Creation of global networks | Atlantic expansion eventually connected the Americas with already existing African, European, and Asian commercial systems. | The previously separate Americas became incorporated into a much larger network of exchange—the emerging world system described in the reading. |
| Conquest and colonization | European commercial expansion became intertwined with territorial conquest. | Colonies provided land, labor, commodities, precious metals, and other resources that fed expanding Atlantic commercial networks. |
| Coerced labor and slavery | Atlantic colonial economies increasingly depended upon coerced labor, including the forced transportation of enslaved Africans. | Enslaved African labor became fundamental to the development of many plantation and mining economies in the Atlantic world. |
| Columbian Exchange | Plants, animals, microorganisms, people, and commodities began moving between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. | Atlantic expansion transformed from exploration into sustained biological, demographic, economic, and cultural interaction—with catastrophic consequences for many Indigenous populations. |
AFRICA AND THE OPENNING OF THE ATLANTIC WORLD
Africa historically has been conduit for trade. In ancient times, the Kingdom of Meroë and the Kingdom of Axum dominated trade in eastern Africa. However, by the Middle Ages the focus of trade in Africa shifted from the east to sub-Sahara Africa. Three principal features influenced the development of Africa between the twelfth through the sixteenth centuries.
Table 7: Principal Developments Behind the Rise of West African Merchant Empires
| Principal development | What developed or changed? | How it facilitated trading empires |
|---|---|---|
| Trans-Saharan trade routes | Regular commercial routes connected West Africa with North Africa and the Mediterranean world. | Mali and Songhay could participate in long-distance commerce and tax goods moving through their territories. |
| Use of the camel | Camels made large-scale transportation across the Sahara considerably more practical. | Caravan merchants could transport valuable commodities across long distances and harsh desert environments. |
| Gold trade | West African gold-producing regions supplied gold to wider commercial networks. | Control over access to the gold trade generated wealth for rulers, merchants, and trading cities. |
| Salt trade | Salt from Saharan deposits was exchanged for gold and other West African products. | The gold-salt trade became one of the foundations of trans-Saharan commercial exchange. |
| Control of trade routes | Powerful rulers extended authority over important caravan routes and commercial centers. | Governments could collect taxes and tribute from merchants and commodities passing through their territories. |
| Niger River | The Niger served as an important transportation and agricultural corridor through West Africa. | It connected settlements and markets while supporting agriculture and internal commerce. |
| Agricultural surplus | Farming and pastoralism supported increasingly large populations. | Agricultural production fed cities, merchants, rulers, soldiers, and other people who were not primarily farmers. |
| Growth of cities | Commercial centers such as Timbuktu, Gao, and Djenné expanded. | Cities became centers where merchants, goods, political authority, scholarship, and religious networks converged. |
| Centralized political authority | Mali and Songhay developed rulers and administrative structures capable of governing large territories. | Political stability helped protect trade routes, regulate commerce, collect taxes, and maintain imperial authority. |
| Military power | Rulers maintained forces capable of conquering territory and protecting strategic locations. | Military strength allowed empires to control commercial cities and important sections of trade networks. |
| Spread of Islam | Islam expanded through contact with Muslim merchants, scholars, and rulers. | A shared religion and elements of a common commercial culture strengthened connections with North African and wider Islamic trading networks. |
| Merchant communities | Long-distance merchants created networks connecting markets across West and North Africa. | Information, commodities, credit, and commercial relationships could move across great distances. |
| Education & scholarship | Cities such as Timbuktu became important centers of Islamic scholarship and manuscript culture. | Commercial wealth supported scholars and institutions, while intellectual and religious connections strengthened links with the broader Islamic world. |
| Strategic geography | Mali and Songhay occupied areas connecting the Sahel, Niger River, Sahara, and West African gold-producing regions. | Their location allowed rulers to act as intermediaries between different ecological and commercial zones. |
One the most important and extensive trading empires to develop in this region was Mali (also see Ghana and Songhay). It was strategically positioned to take advantage of the trans-Saharan trade route. Oral traditions preserved by griots (court retainers) record that Sundiata (r. 1245-1260 C.E.) was the founder of the Empire of Mali (c. 1230-1464 C.E.). However, Mali’s most recognized ruler was Mansa Musa (r. 1312-1337 C.E.) who converted to Islam. Consequently, throughout the Middle Ages, Muslim merchants had a monopoly of trade leaving this region.
Table 8: Key Goods Traded by the West African Merchant Empires
| Key good | Main direction/source | Why it was important |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | West African goldfields → north across the Sahara | One of the most valuable exports; helped generate enormous commercial and tax revenues for West African states |
| Salt | Sahara → south into the Sahel and West Africa | Essential for diet and food preservation; particularly valuable in regions far from major salt deposits |
| Kola nuts | Forest regions → north into the Sahel | Valued as a stimulant and traded extensively within West Africa |
| Ivory | Sub-Saharan Africa → north | Luxury material used for decorative and manufactured goods |
| Enslaved people | Sub-Saharan regions → North Africa and other markets | Enslaved people were part of trans-Saharan commerce well before the later Atlantic slave trade |
| Leather & animal hides | Sahel/West Africa → regional and northern markets | Used for clothing, containers, saddles, and other manufactured products |
| Textiles | Produced within West Africa and imported from North Africa | Cloth was both an important regional commodity and a valuable import |
| Copper | North Africa/Sahara → West Africa | Valued for tools, ornaments, artistic production, and exchange |
| Horses | North Africa → West African states | Particularly important to political elites and armies; cavalry strengthened the military power of some states |
| Weapons & armor | North Africa → Sahel | Helped equip political and military elites |
| Glassware & luxury goods | Mediterranean/North Africa → West Africa | High-status imports associated with wealthy merchants and elites |
| Food & agricultural products | Primarily regional trade | Grain, livestock, and other foods sustained cities and commercial centers |
| Books & manuscripts | North Africa and Islamic world → centers such as Timbuktu | Supported Islamic education, scholarship, law, and religious institutions |
Between the years 1340 through 1470, European expansion proceeded slowly along the African coast and was represented by the Portuguese. The naval encounters between Portuguese and Africans dictated the type of relations that were to be established in this region of world. The 1446 expedition of Nuno Tristão attempting to land an armed force in Senegambia and the 1441 expedition of Valarte on the island of Goree. They both met the same fate as they were defeated by African naval forces. The failure of the Portuguese to effectively dominate these encounters meant that trade relations, and not conquest and colonization, were pursued in this part of the world. These encounters moved the Portuguese to establish trading forts (feitorias) along the west coast of Africa. The Portuguese would use this very same model, trading forts, in the early history of its conquest and occupation of coastal Brazil.
THE PLANTATION COMPLEX
I would like to finish our discussion before we return to the Americas in our next topic by trying to unravel the early history of the plantation complex. The plantation complex is defined as an “economic and political order centering on slave plantations.” It dominated the Caribbean, Brazil, and parts of North America. The origins of the plantation complex can be traced to the Middle Ages. The plantations that evolved from the fledgling sugarcane industry in the Middle Ages served as precedent for plantations established in the Americas. Muslim merchants were the first to introduce sugarcane from Southeast Asia into the Mediterranean world. Attempts to grow sugarcane were made in Palestine in the 12th century, and in Cyprus and in Malaga by the 14th century. However, it was in the Atlantic islands where sugarcane would have its greatest impact before reaching the Americas.
First contact with the Madeira and the Azore islands occurred in 1341 through a Portuguese led expedition. At first, the Atlantic islands seemed to provide little hope of economic worth beyond the tall hardwoods that grew there which were used in shipbuilding. Early settlement of these islands was led by colonists who not only focused on wood extraction, but also gathered wax, honey, and wild dyestuffs. However, the eventual success of wheat farming led to further colonization and settlements. By the 1450s, it was discovered that sugarcane could easily be grown in Madeira because of the favorable soil and climate. A second set of islands administered by the Portuguese served as a testing ground for the union of sugarcane production and African slavery. Keep in mind that sugarcane production was labor intensive. The Portuguese had the land; however, they did not have the labor. Portugal was a small state with a limited population. Tapping into the trading forts of coastal West Africa, African slaves would be the colonist’s source for labor. The island of Sao Tomé located off the coast of West Africa in particular served as testing ground for the union of sugar and African slave labor. In 1516, 4,000 enslaved Africans were brought to Sao Tomé to work on plantations. By 1550, it is estimated that 50,000 enslaved Africans had been brought to this island.
The Portuguese were able to tap into the existing African slave market to secure the labor needed for sugar planting and production in the Atlantic Islands. This move intensified the existing slave trade. With the establishment of the plantation complex in Brazil and in the Caribbean, a new economic demand would further drive the demand for enslaved African labor.
IN CLOSING
By 1492, Europe had gone through some major political, economic, and intellectual transformations. These transformations placed Europe in a position to begin the initiative of expanding into the Atlantic and to begin creating merchant empires. In closing, let us review some critical factors before moving on the early colonizing efforts in the Americas in our next topic.
| Area of change | Key development | How it facilitated European expansion |
|---|---|---|
| Political | Rise of sovereign and increasingly centralized states | Rulers encouraged the search for resources, financed overseas ventures, protected commerce, and helped establish merchant empires. |
| Economic | Commercial Revolution and monetization of the economy | Money, markets, merchants, and long-distance trade became increasingly important. This encouraged the search for new markets, resources, and profitable trade routes. |
| Intellectual | Recovery and expansion of Greek and Arabic knowledge | Knowledge in mathematics, astronomy, geography, and other fields encouraged greater observation and study of the natural world, contributing to the foundations of modern science. |
| Technological | Application of scientific and practical knowledge | Advances in navigation, cartography, maritime instruments, and shipbuilding made long-distance oceanic exploration increasingly possible. |
| Combined result | Political power + commercial incentives + intellectual and technological innovation | Together, these developments provided Europeans with both the motivation and capacity to expand into the Atlantic. |
As always, be sure to contact me or visit me during office hours should you have any questions about the content we have covered or the assignments that you need to complete.
