Class Summary:
Today in class, we received a handout titled “Editing Wikipedia articles about History” and spent some time discussing the next step in our Wikipedia assignment. For this Friday, we will have to create an abstract and annotated bibliography of four sources regarding our respective topics. The library website can be very helpful for finding sources. While many successful projects use only English-language sources, documents in French, Spanish, and Portuguese are fair game. If you need help finding sources, you should schedule a research consultation at the library or meet with Professor Holt. However, it is best to meet with Professor Holt BEFORE Thursday, as she will laugh at you otherwise.
The theme for the main part of today’s discussion was bureaucracy in colonial Latin America. This topic signals a switch from the overarching theme of first encounters and military conquest to the consolidation of imperialism. To study this, we learn about the lived experiences of people involved in colonial rule, with a focus on Cortés in Mexico. One of the main questions regarding this theme is how the Spanish (and Portuguese) were able to rule such a large area from so far away. We will examine different factors that contributed to the difficulties and successes the Europeans experienced in attempting to do this. For example, how technologies of the time made communication difficult between Europe and the New World, and how the Spanish used architecture as a way of imposing their will upon the native peoples. The readings for today provide an indigenous perspective, a Spanish perspective, and a Spanish map that relate to this issue.
Readings:
- Latin America & Its People: “The Spiritual Conquest” to “Conclusion” (pages 83-95)
- “Two Images from the Codex Osuna”
- “An encomendero’s advice” and “An encomendero’s opinions”
- Richard Kagan “Projecting Order”
Passage:
The main passage we discussed during class was an excerpt from a letter written by Luís de Velasco, the Viceroy of New Spain to King Charles of Spain. Unfortunately, I was not able to find the letter, and therefore not able to reproduce the excerpt here. When we discussed this document, one of the main things we considered was the tone Velasco uses. Velasco complains about the King’s failure to reply to letters. This was an incredibly bold statement and demonstrates how frustrated inhabitants of the New World were. This separation from their motherland was a large part of what made it difficult for the Spanish and Portuguese to remain in control of Latin America. The tensions that arose because of this included corruption, competition, and prejudice. This became an issue because the Spanish in the New World were not supervised as closely as those in Spain and because they were having troubled controlling such a large area.
Links:
- http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/colonial/colonial-administration.htm
- https://nativeheritageproject.com/2013/06/15/las-castas-spanish-racial-classifications/
- http://0-www.jstor.org.dewey2.library.denison.edu/stable/pdf/10.1086/430679.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A2c4636b4fe87b9ea8b9203c3404f86e7
- http://0-www.jstor.org.dewey2.library.denison.edu/stable/pdf/3875309.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A46a25bb420af6bc4210f35618c4a7854
Terms:
- Viceroy: A person appointed by a monarch to rule an area
- Cabildo: The center of a government (physical building)
- Aldeias: Native villages organized by clergy or colonial governors
- Plaza mayor: a meeting place of merchants or authority figures
Exam Questions:
- What were some tensions present among the colonial rulers of Latin America (e.g. viceroys)?
- What strategies did Europeans use to maintain control of the New World?
- What role did architecture play in the colonization of Spanish America?
- How did the technology of the time period make it difficult for the Spanish to maintain control?