History 287: Colonial Latin America

The quincentenary of the conquest of the “New World” has focused new interest on Spain and Brazil’s actions in what is now Latin America. The focus of this class will be to put the conquest in perspective and to place the indigenous people within this history, not merely as victims, but as actors in a 300-year process of cross-culturation that created a new society, forged in the language, culture, and structures of both the conqueror and conquered. The course will include primary and secondary readings.