Announcements
- Midterm is next Wednesday, October 4th
- Remember to include the “So what?” and “Why is this term important?” in answers
- Context and interpretation are important
- Be able to identify primary sources
Professor Holt showed the class a Digital History of the people and city of Teotihuacan. It was created by the de Young Museum. Teotihuacan was an ancient Mesoamerican indigenous city located in present-day New Mexico. The digital history shows us how a museum created an interactive exhibit online to share their latest exhibit. It is a way to share history and expand it to more people who cannot visit the exhibit in person. This provides us with more exposure as we think about our final project for this class and how history is shared in alternative formats.
Latin America in the news
Tristan did his news about Brazil backtracking mining in the Amazon. The class discussed the various powers of authority involved such as the President, his cabinet, Congress, private corporations, and even the Catholic Church. There are several arguments for the mining in the Amazon. One side is that it will help industry and has economic advantages. The other argument is that it is deforestation and disturbs indigenous groups. Our class also discussed international law versus national sovereignty. While organizations such as the United Nations can enact international laws, it can often come in conflict with the country’s sovereignty and their right to rule their own country.
Key term:
Columbian Exchange– the interaction between New and Old-World plants, animals, and disease. Defined in “The Columbian Exchange” by Alfred Crosby as the “Artificial re-establishment of connections through the commingling of Old and New World plants, animals, and bacteria.”[1]
Discussion
The first half of class was a discussion looking over The Conquest of Mexico Paintings, asking ourselves how painters use the past to present an argument in their works. In the conquest paintings, they portray the Spaniards as brave, gallant and sophisticated during war. Instead of painting the harsh realities of war, these paintings serve as a historical fantasy that glamourizes war. The color dominant color red can be interpreted as meaning power and pride. The mobility, large size, and mobility of the Spanish accomplishment are presented in the paintings. These paintings serve as propaganda for the Spanish.
Mural by Diego Rivera
The class then looked at a mural by Diego Rivera. It was painted after the Mexican Revolution and is considered a piece of monumental artwork. It shows the diversity of the indigenous. The style is modern and the vibrant color represents a lively and active society. There is a lot going on in the painting. The bottom shows carvings of agriculture scenes. It shows a harmonious society with certain degrees of hierarchy. The painting depicts how sophisticated the society was before the Spanish arrived at the height of civilization. It can be seen as a celebration of the indigenous people and their contributions to Mexico. The mural was created years after the conquest. Diego plays with how the past should be interpreted. He uses the past to make an argument about the indigenous people’s contribution. His mural shows how artists use the past to tell a story in their artwork.
The class then discussed the Alfred Crosby reading, “The Columbian Exchange”. While we have looked at many political and cultural factors, this article helps to examine the environmental factors and effects of the Spanish coming over to the New World. We talked about how food and crops traveled among the New and Old Worlds and how one staple crop can stimulate a population. For example, the potato in Ireland. However, there are also problems with a monoculture system such as when famine occurs.
Finally, the Historia Naturae by Johann Nieremberg was discussed. We went over several articles people chose from a variety of animals and plants. We can look at this source as a production of knowledge. It is a study of the history of science. He makes many comparisons to European plants or animals to better understand the new. He uses knowledge from the Old World to make sense of the New World. For example, when looking at animals he solely looks for utility. For Europeans, animals were only viewed as either bringing in wealth or making life easier. Some believed that God created animals for people to use. Another aspect to think about when examining a source like this is to think about how it was created. How would an outside European scientist collect this information? To some degree, he used information from the indigenous people. For example, for the Mournful tree, he says that the native used the flowers from the tree to dye their food. Further, some of the names are indigenous while others are names he made up. Like other primary resources, we must look at the point of view it was created and why it was created. This is a European scientist. Did he really want to understand the ecology and environment of the New World or not? Was this information used only to help facilitate European knowledge and to see what they could gain? These are just several questions that can be analyzed to better understand not only the primary source but also about the what is going on at the time in general. This source is a production of knowledge of the interaction with indigenous informants. It is constructed from aspects of both the Old and New World.
Up next…
These sources can serve as a transition from encounter and conquest to colonial rule. First, we must understand societies and how they come into contact. Then, we can look at how they set up colonial rule. The colonies were to be of service to the empire. This drives many of the sources written and actions of people during the time.
Think about …
- How to use historical biographies of everyday people to better understand the process of colonialization?
- How key are these people in the colonialization of the New World?
- Looking at the biographies, did these people have a choice between submitting to Spanish rule or remaining loyal to their indigenous communities?
Links to:
Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies
[1] Alfred Crosby, “The Columbian Exchange,” History Now, (June 2007), https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/american-indians/essays/columbian-exchange.