HIST 109: Latin American History
The Conquest and Colonization of Spanish America
Fall 2004
Mr. Volk
Rice 309
Office Phone: 58522
Email: Steven.Volk@oberlin.edu
Office Hours: Monday 10:00-11:00 AM;
Tuesday 1:30-2:30 PM; Wednesday 11:00 AM - Noon
ACCESSING THE COURSE: Course materials can be found on the Blackboard system. This electronic bulletin board will post all the outlines for the course lectures, the syllabus, exams and paper assignments, and other materials useful for the course. You must register to get into the system, and I will provide information on how to do this and how to use the system in the first week of classes. In the meantime, check out the on-line information on accessing Blackboard]. Once you are registered, you enter via a password, and then can locate daily outlines, assignments or other useful information. It is important that everyone registers for the CourseInfo Blackboard system as it provides me with an easy way to email the class.
Mictlantecuhtli, c.1480, Aztec. Fired clay, stucco and paint, 176 x 80 x 50 cm. Museo del Templo Mayor, Mexico City, CONACULTA-INAH. Photo Michel Zabe
The purpose of History 109 is to introduce students to the major forces and events which have shaped current-day Latin America and the Caribbean. This semester's course will concentrate on the pre-Columbian background of the Americas, the conquest period, and the three centuries of Spanish and (to a much more limited extent) Portuguese colonial rule. The lectures will follow both chronological and topical paths. The two key areas of examination will be central Mexico, the location of a number of highly structured pre-Columbian societies and later the seat of Spanish power in northern Latin America (the Viceroyalty of New Spain), and the central Andes, home of the Incas (among others), and locus of Spanish power in southern Latin America (the Viceroyalty of Peru). Our most general concern will be to understand that while the concept of “conquest” may have intimations of political permanence and social stability, in many respects the colonial space remained a highly contested territory. By focusing on various controversies in the historiography of the Americas, we will attempt to gain an historical perspective on the complex question of colonialism: how societies and cultures are shaped because of and despite the power inequalities of various actors involved.
In general (although not always: check your syllabus!), Mondays and Wednesdays of each week will be devoted to lectures. On Fridays we will usually divide into smaller discussion groups each of which will meet for one hour. Even though Fridays often will be dedicated to small-group discussions, students are encouraged to participate actively during other class sessions as well.
You can access the course texts in a variety of ways: (1) Required texts are on sale at the bookstore (or can be purchased on-line); (2) you can find all the texts plus the xeroxed articles on reserve in the library; the texts can also be obtained through OHIO LINK; (3) you can access all the Xeroxed articles on Electronic Reserve. Finally, some articles are available in full-text editions via JSTOR, an impressive electronic collection of major history journals. To access materials via Electronic Reserve (ERes), once you access the ERes home page (via the URL above), go to History 109 and click on it. When it asks for a password, enter: HIST109 (all upper case). Then just click on the article you want and wait for it to open. To access JSTOR and on-line articles, you will need to go the the electronic version of the syllabus and click on the appropriate link. Please let me know if you are having any difficulties accessing any materials.
Oberlin College is on the Honor Code. Information on what this means (e.g. cheating, plagiarism, fabrication) and your responsibilities as students can be found at the Honor Code site. You must sign the honor code on all written assignments.
Your final grade will be determined as follows:
Papers: 20% each
Mid-term Exam: 30%
Final Exam: 30%
PLEASE NOTE: If you are having problems with the readings, the lectures, or just want to discuss further any aspect of the course (from content to class dynamics), I strongly encourage you to see me during office hours (Monday 10:00-11:00 AM; Tuesday 1:30-2:30 PM; Wednesday 11:00 AM - Noon) or to make an appointment. Please don’t wait until late in the semester to express these concerns.
I
have compiled a great number of internet sources and resources on Latin America
at Sources and Resources
on Latin America. This resource includes a variety of materials from the
history of Latin America to organizations and publications of interest to activists
working on Latin American issues. Books Recommended for Purchase:
Kenneth Mills, William B. Taylor and Sandra Lauderdale Graham, eds., Colonial Latin America: A Documentary History (Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources), 2002.
Mark A. Burkholder & Lyman Johnson, Colonial Latin America, 4th ed. (New York: Oxford), 2000.
Inga Clendinnen, Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniard in the Yucatán, 1517-1570, 2nd ed. (New York: Cambridge), 2003.
Stuart Schwartz, Victors and Vanquished (Bedford/St. Martins), 2000.
The Water God, Tlaloc in Codex Ixtlilxochitl;
Mexican,16th century; European paper, polychrome and metal leaf; 12 1/4 x 8 1/4 in.
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris
SYLLABUS
Sept. 3 [Friday, first class], Sept. [Monday, Labor Day, no class], 8, 10: European Background
Seymour Phillips, "The Outer World of the European Middle Ages," in Stuart B. Schwartz, ed., Implicit Understandings (NY and Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1994), pp. 23-63. [ERes and regular reserve]
John Thornton, "The Birth of an Atlantic World," in Benjamin, Hall and Rutherford, eds., The Atlantic World in the Age of Empire, pp. 18-29. [ERes and regular reserve]
Patricia Seed, "'A New Sky and New Stars:' Arabic and Hebrew Science, Portuguese Seamanship and the Discovery of America," in Ceremonies of Possession in Europe's Conquest of the New World, 1492-1640 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp. 100-148. [ERes and regular reserve]
Siete Partidas: Laws on Jews, 1265.
The Expulsion from Spain, 1492.
Kenneth Mills, William B. Taylor, and Sandra Lauderdale Graham, eds., Colonial Latin America: A Documentary History (Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources), 2002 [Hereafter: CLA-DH]:
* Coexistence in the Medieval Spanish Kingdoms, (pp. 27-33).
* A Pope Rewards "So Salutary and Laudable a Work" [1455], (pp. 34-42).
Sept. 13, 15, 17: Andean Background
Gordon Brotherston, "Tahauantinsuyu," Book of the Fourth World. Reading the Native Americans Through Their Literature (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992), pp. 193-211. [ERes and regular reserve]
Steve Stern, "Introduction," and "Pre-Columbian Landscapes," from Peru's Indian Peoples and the Challenge of Spanish Conquest. Huamanga to 1640 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1982), (xii-26). [ERes and regular reserve]
R. Tom Zuidema, Inca Civilization in Cuzco, trans. Jean-Jacques Decoster (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1990), pp. 1-13. [ERes and regular reserve]
Pedro de Cieza de Léon, Chronicles of the Incas, 1540
From Mills, Taylor, and Lauderdale Graham, eds., CLA-DH:
* The Ancestors of the People Called Indians, (pp. 3-13).
* The Inka's Tunics, (pp. 14-18).Images from Guaman Poma Inca de Ayala - to be posted on line.
Stirrup-spout jar, Mochica style
(northern Peru). Height 27 cm. Circa 600-400 B.C.E.
Museo Arquelogico, Lima, Peru.
First Paper
due on September 20
Sept. 20, 22, 24: Mesoamerican Background
Inga Clendinnen, Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniard in the Yucatán, 1517-1570, 2nd ed. (New York: Cambridge, 2003), Part II (131-207).
Stuart Schwartz, ed., Victors and Vanquished: Spanish and Nahua Views of the Conquest of Mexico (Bedford/St. Martins, 2000), 10-28.
Sept. 27, 29, Oct. 1: The Early Encounter: European Intellectual Orientation to the "New World"
Christopher Columbus Log (1492): Excerpts in English. Focus on period from October 11 to end.
Papal Bulls and the New World.
Treaty between Spain and Portugal concluded at Tordesillas, June 7, 1494.
Privileges and Prerogatives Granted by Their Catholic Majesties to Christopher Columbus : 1492.
Antonio Montesinos, "Advent Sermon" (excerpts in Course Documents).
The Relación of Fray Ramón Pane (c. 1494-1496 in Hispaniola), 14 pgs.
Peter Hulme, "Caribs and Arawaks," in Colonial Encounters: Europe and the Native Caribbean 1492-1797 (London and New York: Routledge, 1986), pp. 45-87. [ERes and regular reserve]
Palacios Rubios, "The Requirement," (Requerimiento).
From Mills, Taylor, and Lauderdale Graham, eds., CLA-DH:
* "There Can Easily Be Stamped Upon Them Whatever Belief We Wish to Give Them" - The First Letter from Brazil [1500], (pp. 43-58).
Spanish fight their way out of
headquarters in Tenochtitlán, from El Lienza de Tlaxcala (Tlaxcalan)
(Notice "La Malinche" and Cortes' Tlaxcalan allies in the center)
Oct. 4, 6, 8: Encounter II: The Conquest of the Native Empires (Mexico, Peru)
Schwartz, Victors and Vanquished, pp. 29-213.
October 11, 13, 15: Setting up for the "Long Haul"
Clendinnen, Ambivalent Conquests, Part I: pp. 3-128.
From Mills, Taylor, and Lauderdale Graham, eds., CLA-DH:
* The Lords and Holy Men of Tenochtitlan Reply to the Franciscans [1524], (pp. 19-22).
* Orders Given to "the Twelve" [1523], (pp. 59-64).
* Francisco de Vitoria, "On the Evangelization of Unbelievers," Salamanca, Spain [1534-35], (pp. 65-77).
* Fray Pedro de Gante's Letter to Charles V, Mexico City [1552], (pp. 104-112).
* Alonso Ortiz's Letter to His Wife, Mexico City [1574?], (pp. 124-126).
* José de Acosta on the Salvation of the Indians [1588], (pp. 134-143).Royal Instructions for the Viceroy Mendoza, (Instructions given by the Emperor Charles V to Don Antonio de Mendoza, first Viceroy of New Spain (Mexico) in 1535.)
Midterm Due on October 13
Oct. 16-24: FALL BREAK
Oct. 25, 27, 29: The Imposition of Colonialism
NOTE: I will be in Peru during the week of Oct. 25-29, but class will meet as scheduled.
Oct. 25: Guest lecture by Laszlo Scholz on Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala
Oct. 27 & 29: Film: tba (NOTE: We will begin the film on Wednesday, and finish on Friday, with class discussion after the film ends on Friday. Friday's class will only meet at 9:00-9:50.)
Mark A. Burkholder & Lyman Johnson, Colonial Latin America, 4th ed. (New York: Oxford, 2000) (hereafter: CLA), Chs. 3-4 (pp. 83-143).
From Mills, Taylor, and Lauderdale Graham, eds., CLA-DH:
* Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala's Appeal Concerning the Priests, Peru [ca. 1615], (pp. 172-184).
* Pedro de León Portocarrero's Description of Lima, Peru [early 17th cent.], (pp. 185-195).Letter from Lope de Aguirre, rebel, to King Philip of Spain, 1561
Richard Boyer and Geoffrey Spurling, eds., Colonial Lives (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), pp. 11-17 ("Land Concentration and Environmental Degradation: Town Council Records on Deforestation"). [ERes and regular reserve].
Suzanne Austin Alchon, "New World Epidemics and European Colonialism," and "Appendix: The Demographic Debate," in A Pest in the Land: New World Epidemics in a Global Perspective (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2003), pp. 109-177. [ERes and regular reserve].
Nov. 1, 3, 5: Labor and the Colonial System
The New Laws of the Indies (1542)
Steve J. Stern, "The Political Economy of Colonialism," and "The Political Economy of Dependence," in Peru's Indian Peoples and the Challenge of Spanish Conquest. Huamanga to 1640 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1982), pp. 80-113 and 138-157. [ERes and regular reserve].
Boyer and Spurling, eds., Colonial Lives: "Felipe Edimboro Sues for Manumission, Don Francisco Xavier Sanchez Contests (Florida, 1794)," pp. 249-268. [ERes and regular reserve].
Burkholder and Johnson, CLA: Chapter 5 (pp. 144-181).
Guaman Poma de Ayala, "The Punishments Delivered by the Corregidor de Minas" (1615)
Nov. 8, 10, 12: The Church and the Ideological Systems of the Spanish System
Boyer and Spurling, eds., Colonial Lives: "In the Service of God, I order These Temples of Idolatrous Worship Razed to the Ground," Extirpation of Idolatry and the Search for the Santuario Grande of Iguaque (Colombia, 1595)," pp. 39-53. [ERes and regular reserve].
From Mills, Taylor, and Lauderdale Graham, eds., CLA-DH:
* Santa Rosa of Lima According to a Pious Accountant [1617], (pp. 198-206).
* Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz's Letter to Sor Filotea, [1691], (pp. 207-214).
* Portraits of Santa Rosa and Sor Juana, (pp. 215-217).
* Two Slaveries - The Sermons of Padre Antônio Vieira, Salvador, Bahia (ca. 1633), and São Luís do Maranhão (1653), (pp. 218-233).
* Francisco de Avila's Christmas Eve Sermon [1646], (pp. 246-254).
* The Witness Francisco Poma y Altas Caldeas of San Pedro de Acas, Cajatambo, Peru [1657], (pp. 255-268).
Third Assignment Due: Nov. 15
Nov. 15, 17, 19, 22, 24: Social Basis of Organization: Gender, Race, Caste, Class
Burkholder and Johnson, CLA: Chapter 6-7 (pp. 182-234).
Boyer and Spurling, eds., Colonial Lives, Chapter 6: "Affairs of the Courtroom: Fernando de Medina Confesses to Killing His Wife (Charcas, 1595)," pp. 54-76. [ERes and regular reserve].
Boyer and Spurling, eds., Colonial Lives, Chapter 10: "Wife of My Soul and Heart, and all My Solace: Annulment Suit Between Diego Andrés de Arenas and Ysabel Allay Suyo (Huanuco, Peru, 1618)," pp. 130-140. [ERes and regular reserve].
Boyer and Spurling, eds., Colonial Lives, Chapter 19: "Permission to Marry: 18th Century Matrimonial Files (Montevideo 1786)," pp. 236-248. [ERes and regular reserve].
Comments by Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa on castas in Spanish South America, c.1749
"Casta" Painting - Mexico, 18th Century ("A Spaniard and Indian Create a Mestizo")
Nov. 29, Dec. 1, Dec. 3: Late Colonial Changes: Bourbon Reorganization
From Mills, Taylor, and Lauderdale Graham, eds., CLA-DH:
* "As for the Spaniards, their time is up," Jauja, Peru [1742, 1752], (pp. 299-308).
* Nicolás Ñenguirú's Letter to the Governor of Buenos Aires [1753], (pp. 309-313).
* José de Gálvez's Decrees for the King's Subjects in Mexico [1769, 1778], (pp. 316-319).
* The Foundation of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de los Morenos de Ampara, Mexico [1769], (pp. 320-327).Burkholder and Johnson, CLA: Chapter 9 (pp. 280-337).
Dec. 6, 8, 10: Late Colonial Rebellions
The Plan of Tupac Amaru: Revolt in Peru [Documentos históricos del Peru (1781)].
Dec. 13: The Coming of Independence
Burkholder and Johnson, CLA: Chapter 10 (pp. 338-390).
Reading period, Dec. 15-17
Final Examination: Saturday, December 18: 7:00-9:00 PM