Important features of the online course

• Student participation in course discussion boards and both online and live field trips

• Documentary and feature films on various topics from colonial Latin America

• The evolution of the major pre-Columbian empires of North and South America

• The history of the Iberian Peninsula, including the influence of Mediterranean history and cultures

• The medieval Iberian Convivencia of Christian, Islamic, and Jewish traditions

• The expansion of Europe overseas from the Middle Ages through the voyages to Africa, Asia, and the Americas

• The Christian Reconquest of Spain from the Islamic kingdoms, the contributions of Castile and Aragon, and the unification of the Spanish monarchy

• The state of the world economy in 1492

• The early stages of Spanish exploration in the Caribbean

• The Spanish conquest of the great mainland empires of the Aztecs and Incas

• Portuguese overseas expansion and the colonization of Brazil

• The establishment of Spanish and Portuguese colonial institutions

• The relations of Church and State in Spanish and Portuguese America

• Mestizaje in Latin America: The new hybrid cultures composed of Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans

• Frontier societies of Spanish and Portuguese America

• Iberian mercantilism and the colonial economies

• Imperial rivalry and colonial reform in the 18th century

• The emergence of Latin American nationalism and Independence

Course Assignments

• Short essays and book reports; no online testing

• Discussion boards for all videos and readings