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MODERN HISTORY OF THE AMERICAS Single discipline educational activity
Course Sheet Academic Year of enrolment:
Professor and Collaborators:
Hours of classroom activity:
Prerequisites:
Knowledge of the main outlines of the general history of the early modern age based on the textbook indicated for the corresponding exam of the three-year courses is assumed
Objectives Contents Title: The Americas from Discovery to Conquest, 15th-16th Century (6 CFU)
This course aims to provide an overview of the early late 15th- and 16th-century phase of the gradual expansion of Europeans around the world constituted by the acquisition of geographical knowledge and the founding of the Spanish and Portuguese empires. In addition to reconstructing the initial context that allowed this expansion, religious (development of missions and organization of the Spanish-American Church), demographic (effect of the arrival of Europeans on the Indians), cultural (transmission of geographic, cartographic and ethnographic knowledge about the New World to Europe) and economic (effects of the importation of precious metals) factors will also be explored through the reading of travel reports and testimonies of the time
Extended Syllabus The following topics will be covered in the course:
Knowledge in the world in the Middle Ages; the legacy of the classical world and recovery in the Renaissance; Europe at the end of the Middle Ages; Spain and Portugal: Motivations for expansion; the Portuguese along Africa and in Asia; the great discoveries; advances in navigation; navigators and the transmission of geographic knowledge; the role of the Italians; the search for the Northwest Passage; the circumnavigation of the globe; cartography; the Conquest of Mexico and Peru; texts on the Conquest; the Spanish empire; the encomienda; the early evangelization of the Indios; the American church; the demographic collapse of the Indians; Conquista rights; Las Casas and the defense of the Indians; the struggle against idolatry; the resistance of the Indians; the role of the Jesuits (José de Acosta); the reductions of Paraguay; the effects of the importation of precious metals into Europe; Portuguese Brazil; the Jesuits in Brazil; the beginning of the slave trade; descriptions of America in 16th century works
Recommended Bibliography Preparation should be done on THREE volumes according to the following criteria:
Mandatory as a general textbook:
TWO texts of your choice from the following:
Methods of Provision Teaching Methods Lectures and seminar-style lectures with possible participation of experts
Evaluation methods Verification of learning:
The final exam consists of an oral examination on the course content. Knowledge of the content and bibliography provided in the course, quality of oral expression, and critical and methodological skills will be evaluated. The score ranges from 1 to 30 with honors, according to the following: 1-17 insufficient, 18-21 sufficient, 22-24 fair, 25-27 good,
Contacts/More Information The course takes place in the first semestergiovanni.pizzorusso@unich.it
