A. Iberia in the Fifteenth Century
1. The "Reconquest:" Military Technology and Status
2. The Catholic Church and ReligiousWars
3. Expansion: Portugal as Example
4. Contacts with Africans and the Beginnings of the Slave Trade
B. 1492: Who, Why?
1. Columbus in the Caribbean: First Contact
2. The Beginnings of Conquest
C
.On to the Mainland
1. Cortés and Moctezuma
a. Military Victories as a Cause of Conquest
b. The Clash of Worldviews as a Cause of Conquest
2. Atahualpa and Pizzaro
a. Military Victories as a Cause of Conquest
b. The Clash of Worldviews as a Cause of Conquest
Key Terms:
Patronato Real
The Catholic Kings Castile |
Aragon
Converso 700 Years' War |
Moors
Requerimiento |
Vera Cruz
La Noche Triste |
Click on the Ship to Link
to the Wonderful Library of Congress Exhibit: 1492: The Ongoing
Voyage
Reading Assignments:
B & J CLA
pp33-40; 44-80
selections from The Diario of Christopher Columbus's First Voyage to America, 1492-1493
Bartolomé de las Casas A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies (Begin
reading)
Optional Additional Readings:
Steve Stern, "Prologue: Paradigms of Conquest" to Peru's Indian People and the Challenge of Spanish Conquest, (1982)(p.xxi-liii)
Selections from Bernal Díaz, The Conquest of New Spain: "Dona
Marina's Story”
through "The foundation of Verz Cruz" pp. 85-186; "Entrance into
Mexico"
through "Moctezuma's Captivity" 216-244; "Córtes in Difficulties"
through "Collects Fresh Strength," pp. 276-326.
Questions for Consideration:
1. What were the primary "social markers" or differences that determined people's status, in Iberian societies of the fifteenth century? Were they mostly economic, political, regional, cultural/religious?
2. What, in your opinion, explains the defeat of two militarily adept imperial states to a small group of foreign interlopers? Was it some quality that the Spanish possessed, some quality that the native imperial leadership lacked, or something else entirely?