Latin-American History to 1820

Catalog description

This course examines the history of Latin America from c. 1450 to 1820, a period encompassing Iberia and the New World before and after the conquest; the course is a survey of three centuries, from the initial encounter on New World soil of Iberian, African, and native cultures and races, to the birth of independent culturally- and racially-mixed nations. Historical topics include the conquest of the New World, the development of colonial institutions and their impact on indigenous cultures, the maintenance of slavery and forced labor systems, the development of multi-ethnic communities, and the origins of independence movements. We will also study colonial-era documents produced by or about the people who lived in colonial Latin America (what historians call primary sources), including Spaniards and Portuguese; African slaves and free blacks; Mayas, Nahuas/Aztecs, and Incas; mixed race peoples called castas; wealthy and poor; and women, men, and children. Particular emphases of the course focus on various patterns of conquest and cultural encounters, the processes of colonial rule, the nature of interaction between social groups, and the cultural impact of the colonial experience upon all colonial Latin America's peoples.