Americas

//Tignor, Robert. __Worlds Together, Worlds Apart__. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2011, 2008, 2002.// LATIN AMERICA BY JACK SKINNER

Economic Backdrop
The white authorities who would eventually be successful in establishing economic control of Latin America were originally embodied (right after America's discovery by Columbus) by Cortés (Conqueror of Aztecs; 1519-1522), and Pizarro (Conqueror of Incas; 1533), who shook the worlds of the Incans and the Aztecs when they, along with their Spanish and Portuguese men, brought with them guns, swords, and disease (the ultimate reason for their victory) along with their never ending quest for Gold, God, and Glory. After killing off a staggering portion of the Native population, the Portuguese and Spanish proceeded to establish an economy stimulated primarily by the Columbian exchange and the four "S"'s it involved: Silver, Sugar, Slaves, and Spices. They simplified mercantilism in the most efficient way possible by exporting gold and Silver from their location in the New world and then reaped the benefits of the material goods from the Old World (Partners in Europe; ex. Portugal/Spain) as well as the vast amount of slaves from Africa. Slaves/Sugar would later take over as the largest industry because of the Colonization of the Americas, the labor shortages, and the Birth of the Sugar industry after rum and mollasses entered into the trade race.

//Sources:// Tignor, Robert. __Worlds Together, Worlds Apart__. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2011, 2008, 2002. 480-481

European mercantilism as well as colonialism allowed the new white authorities to politically infiltrate Latin American America through both the Spanish Tributary empire (exploitation of other goods in the region to generate profits in the New World as others began to join Spain and Portugal in this huge cash cow)and all the trading colonies spreading through the region like wildfire. Of course, peninsulars (men/women born in Portugal/Spain) had the ultimate authority in the region seeing as they imposed the most change in the region of Latin America (enslavement/slaughter/colonization/trade w/ natives), and they then answered to the Monarch(s) that currently resided in their "home" in the Old World. Ethnic and Cultural mixing in "hybrid cultures" led to further development in this system over time when elitists known as the Creoles (American-Born descendants of the Creoles) began to resent the rule of these Peninsulars.
 * POLITICAL BACKDROP**

//Sources:// Tignor, Robert. __Worlds Together, Worlds Apart__. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2011, 2008, 2002.489-491, 550

Timeline
media type="custom" key="11331116"

Sources:

The Encyclopedia of World History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. s.v. "LATIN AMERICA, 1500-1800,"http://www.credoreference.com/entry/hmencyclwh/latin_america_1500_1800 (accessed November 14, 2011).

Propaganda and Mass Persuasion: A Historical Encyclopedia, 1500 to the Present. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2003. s.v. "Latin America,"http://www.credoreference.com/entry/abcprop/latin_america (accessed November 14, 2011).

Tignor, Robert. __Worlds Together, Worlds Apart__. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2011, 2008, 2002. // World History: The Modern Era //, s.v. "17th-Century Latin America," Map, accessed November 14, 2011. http://worldhistory.abc-clio.com/. //The Encyclopedia of World History//. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. s.v. " [|THE RÍO DE LA PLATA] ," http://www.credoreference.com/entry/hmencyclwh/the_r%C3%ADo_de_la_plata (accessed November 14, 2011). Aspects of Culture

Social Backdrop
After settling in post- conquest, The Portuguese and Spanish were joined in their mass colonization project by England, Holland, and France as the leading Colonial powers in Latin/Ctrl. America. White males were still the dominant gender, but a white woman still has authority over Native Americans/African Slaves, whether they be male OR female. PENINSULARS, or the European-Born white men and women who were living in Latin America, had supreme authority over any non- Europeans living in the area, which was an issue when it came to the point where their descendants, the creoles, questioned their authority. Their own age/gender hierarchichal system, as aforementioned, was still applicable. The French and English would later take over economically (and therefore politically; $=power) by taking the reigns of the Slave trade/ Sugar industry.

Sources: Tignor, Robert. __Worlds Together, Worlds Apart__. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2011, 2008, 2002

Figure 2 Contemporary mano and metate for grinding corn from the Petén, Guatemala. Courtesy of Anabel Ford. Figure 5 Stela and altar of Twin Pyramid complex at Tikal. Figure 8 Obsidian prismatic blade core and blades. Courtesy of BRASS/El Pilar Program. //SOURCE:// //Encyclopedia of Archaeology//. Oxford: Elsevier Science & Technology, 2008. s.v. "[|Classic Period of Mesoamerica, the Maya]," http://www.credoreference.com/entry/estarch/classic_period_of_mesoamerica_the_maya (accessed November 16, 2011).

Classic literary texts
1.)Columbus's Famous letter of 1493 to Luis De Santangel 2.) Vaz De Camina's Equally Famous letter of 1500 3.) One of the sacred books of the Mayas/Aztecs which dealt with their ritual Calendar; //Cantares Mexicanos// //4.)Historia General y natural de las Indias (1526) by Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés// //5.)Naufragios (1542) by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca.//

Source: [|//Colección Támesis: Monografías//] [|//Volume 243 of Monografías A Series//] ||
 * < Title ||< A companion to Latin American literature
 * < Author ||< [|Stephen M. Hart] ||
 * < Publisher ||< Tamesis Books, 2007 ||

Religion
In the initial landing of the Portuguese and Spanish conquistadors, priests accompanied them to spread the word of God to the Natives residing in the area. Christian Peninsulars wished to have their beliefs impressed upon the Natives, and they had the strong opinion that violence was a solid way to impress such beliefs. Catholics, Protestants, and many other members of European religions attempted to impress their Beliefs upon the Native Americans.

Source: //Encyclopedia of Nationalism: Fundamental Themes//. Oxford: Elsevier Science & Technology, 2000. s.v. " [|Further Reading] ," http://www.credoreference.com/entry/estnationala/further_reading/37 (accessed November 14, 2011).

Architecture
This section should provide examples of monumental architecture of the region. You can also look for examples of urban culture. There should be at least three pictures or diagram included in this section. Each should be explained (by you.)

Observations about what we have learned.
I believe that while it may be impersonal to go about doing secondhand research as opposed to firsthand when one is on the internet as opposed to in a museum or at an archaeological digging site, the resources provided to us were very informative and fascinating as well as efficient and user-friendly. The ARTSTOR site was particularly helpful in that I was able to see any/all cultural developments over this time period through architectural design/sculptures; if any. I would highly recommend the CredoReference website for it's highly useful/informative/authentic primary sources.

Resources to try:
[|Hayden Library Portal] You can also find this link by going to Podium and finding the Hayden Library Link on the right side of the page. ARTSTOR - a GIANT repository of examples of art: searchable by time, location, and type. Note that most of them have descriptions which are helpful for composing summaries. It is found in the DATABASES tab.

[|360 virtual tours] This link takes you to the Ottoman Empire. By searching for 360 tour and the name of a specific site you can often find an online tour. Some can be embedded.

[|Saudi Aramco World] a great source for cultural resources for the Islamic World and parts of Africa.

[|Internet Source Books] At the top there is a directory that will move you to other regions. Helpful for finding primary source accounts. [|Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History at the Met] Provides samples, essays that explain the periods and production techniques. Note the thematic categories in the bottom right of the introductory page.

[|British Museum World History Timeline] Set to open in Asia, you can move about the globe.

[|British Museum Cultures] Gives an overview. The top right of each page gives a selection of items from the museum.

[|British Library] contains descriptions of and digitized images of cultural artifacts and texts.

[|Louvre - in English]

[|Asia for Educators] Great for East Asia resources

Search of PBS.org will also yield a number of resources on Japan, India, etc.

You can also use Google Books, Google Scholar, Google WonderWheel and Google Timeline to get the specific information you need. DO NOT perform a general search....

Grading:
F: Follows directions but steals material. Both footnotes (or endnotes) and a bibliography (in Chicago Manual of Style format) are expected. You can change text using the T button to create superscript numbers.1 In short, treat the project like writing a research paper. There should be a caption under each picture that gives the name, originator, date, and source. Paragraphs and descriptions should be your writing, not another author's work pasted in with a few key words changed using the thesaurus function in Word. D: Follows directions, cites sources, doesn't complete the project, is riddled with errors. It is evident that the team failed to use its time well. C: Follows directions. Pastes the correct items into the correct places but takes no care in explaining the choices made. Uses less than six sources. Text is SLOPPY - no proofing! B: Follows directions. Describes the choices made using complete sentences and clear language. Labels items correctly. Cites sources. Organizes the visuals. The paragraphs are clearly written, but general in nature. A: Does B - but, shows some extra care, thought and research. An A has a "Wow" factor. This does not mean more color or flying moneys. It means that the content selected does a great job TEACHING about the culture of the in that region __in that time period__.