Contextualization

Contextualizing a topic is key to making an effective historical argument. Choosing the right context for your thesis will help focus our reader's attention and open the door to your main argument. This is why, regardless of the details of a given prompt, or what type of essay prompt you encounter, you should always start your essay by presenting context in direct response to the prompt. Remember, context is an influence that shapes a given situation. Starting off with a meaningful context helps to set up the parameters of your response by illustrating how important background influences helped shape the topic at hand. In other words, it sets the scene for the argument you're about to make. The following essay prompt asks you to draw on what you have learned.

Explain the effects of two developments in England on the New York colony in the period from 1650 to 1700.

You are probably wondering how presenting a contextualization statement will help you craft an effective historical argument about effects. Here, we’ll walk through how to craft an effective one, and how it strengthens a response to this prompt.

Step 1: Break down the prompt and pre-write your response.

The first thing you should do is what you’ve been doing so far in response to essay questions: break down the prompt and prewrite to organize your thoughts on its topic – in this case, the effects of two developments in England on the New York colony between 1650 and 1700, along with the causes that underpin them. One development during this period could be the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, which led King Charles II to pursue the conquest of New Amsterdam. Another could be the overthrow of James II in the Glorious Revolution, which was a factor that spurred Leisler’s Rebellion in 1689.

Step 2: Set the context.

From there, quickly scan your prewriting for events and developments that form an immediate context that helps explain the surrounding background of the topic at hand. For instance, developments in England also affected colonies other than New York during this same time period. Recall James II’s unpopular Dominion of New England and how it was overturned after the Glorious Revolution in 1688. You should keep in mind that sometimes your prewriting observations will not easily lend themselves to picking out details of context from within the prompt’s time range (in this case 1650-1750). When this happens, you should look for a preceding context – that is, an event or development from a time period immediately before the one named in the prompt.

Next, you should think about how to provide that the context your chosen exists – and how you’ll explain why its influence on the topic of the prompt is important. One way to quickly do this is to create a table. The following examples show both an immediate context and a preceding context.

Step 3: Connect the context to your thesis

Now it’s time to write your contextualization statement. A full contextualization statement should be al least three sentences long. Remember, you’re not just stating the context – you are also proving its existence by citing historical evidence and offering an explanation of its influence on the topic of the prompt. In other words, you’re not only asserting its relevance but describing how relevant it is. Here is an example of an immediate context statement for this prompt:

Turmoil in England between 1650 and 1700 affected many British colonies on North America. James II sought to strengthen his rule in England and its colonies. For example, he created the Dominion of New England in 1686 to better control the New England colonies, but it came to an end in 1689, after his overthrow in the Glorious Revolution. English policies during this period sought to determine who would control England and the empire, and in turn, conflicts over these policies determined who had power in the various colonies.

Here is an example of a preceding context statement for this prompt:

Well before the founding of New York in 1664, domestic English policies affected British colonies in North America. For example, persecution of Catholics in England during the 1630s led to the founding of Maryland, and the English Civil War of the 1640s caused English immigration to New England to slow. In this way, English policies affected the British North American colonies well before 1650.

You may be wondering where wither of these context statement fit into your essay as a whole. Since context helps set the stage for the topic, the best strategy is usually to present it early on in your response. You may find it helpful to think of it as a setup for your thesis statement – it’s a bridge between the larger topic of the prompt and the argument you are about to make in response to it. The contextualization statements we just wrote, for instance, could lead into the following thesis statement:

Throughout the mid-to-late seventeenth century two internal English developments – the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and the glorious Revolution in 1688 – determined who controlled the colony of New York.

Notice how each of the contextualization statements sets up the claim that two domestic English developments determined who controlled New York colony; first the restoration of Charles II, and then the overthrow of James II during the Glorious Revolution. In your essay, evidence from your prewriting, such as the establishment of the colony in 1664 and Leisler’s Rebellion after the Glorious Revolution, will help prove these claims.