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Peoples and Empires in Latin America, 1492-1820s

Module description

1492 marked the beginning of what is known today as Latin America. The European arrival, conquest and colonisation of the Americas caused the decimation of indigenous peoples and the forced transportation of millions of Africans. While Europeans named and redefined the American continent, diverse people of Amerindian, African and mixed descent also had a role in this process. This module introduces you to the peoples and empires that shaped early modern Latin America: those who were imperial subjects, those who resisted, and those who lived beyond the colonies. Emphasis will be placed on connections and exchanges across current national boundaries.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to allow you to:  

• Gain an understanding of the place of early modern Latin America within the Atlantic world
• Discuss the different ways in which the Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch and British people and states settled in and administered their Latin American colonies, and the connections brought together Europe, African and Latin America during the early modern period
• Display a factual and historiographical understanding of the history of people of African, European and indigenous origin and descent in Latin America, and their role in the establishment, development and shaping of the continent
• Create independent arguments through critical engagement with primary sources (written and visual) and secondary sources including archaeological, ethnographic and linguistic material
• Explore a new area of history, and develop the depth of understanding you will require to study more specialised modern and contemporary history of Latin America

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the political, economic, social and cultural developments in the history of Latin America between 1492 and the 1820s
• 2. Summarise and evaluate different historical perspectives relating to the history European colonisation of Latin America, of indigenous history and of Afro-Latin America, and their interconnections, during the early modern period
• 3. Identify and evaluate the key developments in the history of early modern Latin America, especially in relation to empires, frontiers, race and ethnicity

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Analyse the key developments in a defined historical subject.
• 5. Demonstrate an ability to understand and deploy complex historical terminology correctly.
• 6. Demonstrate an ability to handle different approaches to history in a contested area of historical study

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Select, organise and analyse material for written work and oral presentations of different prescribed lengths and formats.
• 8. Present complex arguments orally.
• 9. Present an argument in a written form in a clear and organised manner, with appropriate use of correct English
• 10. Through essay development process, demonstrate ability to reflect critically on your own work, to respond constructively to feedback, and to implement suggestions and improve work on this basis

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• European exploration
• Encounters between Indigenous, African and Europeans
• Transatlantic connections
• Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch and British colonial projects in Central and South American and the Caribbean
• Imperial policies and imperial reforms
• Inter-imperial relations, frontiers and borderlands
• Colonial societies
• Indigenous communities
• Maroon communities

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

The re-assessment consists of a 2500 word essay, as in the original assessment, but replaces participation in the presentation with a 750 word written script that could be delivered in such a presentation.

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Andrews, G. R., Afro-Latin America (OUP, 2004).
• Canny, N., Morgan, Ph. (ed), The Oxford Handbook of the Atlantic World, 1450-1850 (OUP, 2011).
• Elliott, J., Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America, 1492-1830 (New Haven, 2006).
• Greene, J. P., and Morgan, P.D. (eds.), Atlantic History: A Critical Appraisal (OUP, 2008).
• Heuman, G., Brief Histories: The Caribbean (Hodder Arnold, 2005).
• Langfur, H. (ed.), Native Brazil: Beyond the Convert and the Cannibal, 1500-1900 (University of New Mexico Press, 2014).
• Moore, J. D., A Prehistory of South America. Ancient Cultural Diversity on the Least Known Continent (University Press of Colorado, 2014).
• Restall, M. (ed.), Beyond Black and Red. African-Native Relations in Colonial Latin America (University of New Mexico Press, 2005).
• Thornton, J. K., A Cultural History of the Atlantic World, 1250–1820 (CUP, 2012).

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11601 
• Colonial Latin America http://legacy.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/modsbook08.asp   
• Slave Voyages Database: http://www.slavevoyages.org
• John Carter Brown Library: http://jcb.lunaimaging.com/luna/servlet

Key words search

Latin America; Atlantic; early modern; Race; Ethnicity; Frontiers; Empires; colonialism; African-Americans; Indigenous; Spanish America; Brazil; Cuba