History 250
Colonial Latin America
Fall 1998
Professor Sousa

Office: 319 South Swan
Extension: 2753
E-mail: lsousa@oxy.edu
Office hours: Mondays and Fridays, 10:30-11:30; Wednesdays, 2:30-3:30; or by appt.
 

     This course examines the history of Latin America from 1492 to 1820.  The course begins with an overview of the indigenous, Iberian, and African backgrounds and ends with national movements that achieved independence from Spain and Portugal. The course analyzes the nature and process of the Iberian conquest and colonial rule and the formation of dominant social, cultural, and economic patterns in various regions of the Americas. Particular attention is given to the nature of colonial institutions and socioeconomic relations, issues of culture, ethnicity, and gender, and the contributions of Europeans, Africans, and Indians to Latin America's diverse regional societies and cultures. A major theme of History 250 is that the study of the colonial period is indispensable for understanding modern Latin America.
      There are several books and a reader required for the course, which are listed below.  Colonial Latin America by Burkholder and Johnson is the general text for the course. In addition, there are four collections of primary sources that will be discussed in class and that will be the basis of writing assignments. First, Letters and People of the Spanish Indies contains translations of letters written by Spaniards and sent across the Atlantic in the sixteenth century. Second, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, written in 1542 by the Spanish friar Bartolomé de las Casas, criticizes Spanish colonialism in the Americas.  Third, Children of God's Fire presents a broad selection of documents on the topic of slavery in Brazil.  And fourth, the History 250 Primary Source Reader includes: excerpts from the letters of Columbus and Cortés; histories written by indigenous and mestizo authors of Peru; a description of the Mexico City riot in 1692; native-language documents from Mexico in translation; a letter by sor Juana Inés de la Cruz; and travel accounts.  Spanish Peru examines the transference of Spanish society and culture to the Americas and represents a classic social history of Colonial Latin America.
      Attendance and participation are essential to master the course material. Lectures will contextualize, interpret, elaborate, and qualify the readings, and students will analyze documents in class discussions.  Reading assignments should be completed before our first meeting of the week. I encourage students to participate and to raise questions in class. Please feel welcome to see me to discuss the course material and assignments during my office hours or by appointment.
 
 

Required Texts and Readers
1) Mark Burkholder and Lyman Johnson. Colonial Latin America.*
2) James Lockhart and Enrique Otte.  Letters and People of the Spanish Indies.*
3) Bartolomé de las Casas.  A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies.
4) Robert Conrad.  Children of God's Fire.*
5) James Lockhart. Spanish Peru.*
6) History 250 Primary Source Reader.*

*Available on reserve at the library.
 

Course Requirements and Grading
1) Attendance and class participation.  Students are required to attend all classes and to participate in discussions.
2) Reading.  Assigned readings should be completed before our first meeting of the week.
3) Written assignments.  Students will write three 4-5 page essays based on the primary sources, each worth 20% of the final grade.
4) Exams.  The course will have a midterm, worth 15% of the grade, and a cumulative final exam, worth 25% of the grade.

Course Schedule

Week: Date: Lecture Number and Topic; Reading Assignments:

I   8/31  1) Introduction to Themes of Course

   9/2  2) The Indigenous Background

   9/4  3) Indigenous Peoples of Mexico and Peru

      Reading:  Colonial Latin America, pp. 1-22
 

II   9/7  4) HOLIDAY

   9/9  5) The Iberian Background

   9/11  6) The African Background

      Reading:  Colonial Latin America, pp. 23-32
         Children of God's Fire, Preface
         Letters and People, Preface
 

III  9/14  7) Early European Exploration and Trade

   9/16  8) The Caribbean Experience

   9/18  9) The Conquest of Mexico

      Reading:  Colonial Latin America, pp. 32-78
         Reader, items 1 & 2
 

IV  9/21  10) The Conquest of Peru

   9/23  11) Spanish and Native Views of the Other

   9/25  12) Exploration and Colonization of Brazil

      Reading:  Reader, items 3, 4, 5, & 6
         Letters and People, pp. 1-61
 

V   9/28  13) Colonial Government and Economy

   9/30  14) Labor Institutions: Slavery; Encomienda; Repartimiento

   10/02  15) Church and Religion

      Reading:  Colonial Latin America, pp. 79-106, 116-70
         Children of God's Fire, pp. 3-52, 289-92
         Letters and People, pp. 185-210, 247-55
 

VI  10/05  16) The Las Casas Argument

   10/07  17) Immigration and Settlement

   10/9  18) The Spanish Family Network
       ESSAY #1 DUE IN CLASS, FRIDAY, 10/09

      Reading:  Destruction of the Indies, entire book
         Colonial Latin America, pp. 107-116
         Letters and People, pp. 128-31, 143-55, 211-46
 

VII  10/12  19) HOLIDAY

   10/14  20) Colonial Society

   10/16  21) Social Relations

 
      Reading:  Spanish Peru, pp. 3-168
         Colonial Latin America, pp. 171-83
         Letters and People, pp. 63-119
 

VIII  10/19   22) Women in Spanish American Society

   10/21  23) Africans in the Americas

   10/23  24) Mestizaje

      Reading:  Spanish Peru, pp. 169-224
         Colonial Latin America, pp. 209-18
         Reader, item 13
         Letters and People, pp. 119-27, 131-43, 173-85
 

IX   10/26  25) Spanish American Cities and Culture

   10/28  26) Indigenous and Mestizo Views of Colonial Society

   10/30  27) The Indigenous Countryside
       ESSAY #2 DUE IN CLASS, FRIDAY, 10/30

      Reading:  Colonial Latin America, pp. 183-209, 218-47
         Reader, items 7, 8, & 9
 

X   11/02  28) Changes and Continuities in Native Communities

   11/04  29) Native Gender Relations

   11/06  30) Native Responses to Colonial Rule

      Reading:  Spanish Peru, pp. 225-65
         Reader, items 11 &12
         Letters and People, pp. 155-72
 

XI   11/09  31) MIDTERM

   11/11  32) Developments on the Periphery: Rio de la Plata & S. Brazil

   11/13  33) Developments on the Frontier: N. Mexico and California

      Reading:  Colonial Latin America, pp. 248-58, 271-303
         Reader, item 10
 

XII  11/16  34) The Brazilian Economy

   11/18  35) African Slavery in Brazil

   11/20  36) Brazilian Society

      Reading:  Colonial Latin America, pp. 258-71
         Children of God's Fire, pp. 53-185, 245-67, 273-81,
         285-316
 

XIII  11/23  37) Afro-Brazilian Culture

   11/25  38) African Responses to Slavery
       ESSAY #3 DUE IN CLASS, WEDNESDAY, 11/25

   11/27  39) HOLIDAY

      Reading:  Children of God's Fire, pp. 178-80, 185-99, 359-413,          415-81
 

XIV  11/30  40) Late Colonial Social Relations

   12/02  41) Late Colonial Changes

   12/04  42) Independence Movements

      Reading:  Colonial Latin America, pp. 304-49
         Reader, items 14 & 15
         Children of God's Fire, pp. 201-33, 317-57
 

XV  12/07  43) Modern Latin America's Colonial Legacy

   12/09  READING DAY
 

 
      DATE OF FINAL EXAM TO BE ANNOUNCED