1 History 161: Latin American History Final exam: study questions Friday, December 13, 10:15-12:15 Format of the exam: bring at least one blue book. You are allowed to bring an outline for the long essay. Each outline for each question should be no longer than one page: one side only and one outline per page. During the exam, only the outline of the question chosen will be allowed so make sure you prepare them in separate sheets. Read the instructions carefully and make sure to ask all the pertinent questions before the day of the exam. Feel free to email me any questions about the exam. I am happy to look at drafts of the outlines. Your deadline to submit a draft is Thursday, December 12 at noon. The final exam will consist of three main parts: Section A: long essay, worth 40 points Section B: short essay, worth 25 points Section C: multiple choice, worth 35 points Section A: long essay, worth 40 points. Two of the following six questions will appear on the exam. You will have to choose only ONE. Plan to allocate around 45/60 minutes to respond to this question. Write the outline at home, read it several times to make sure it discusses all the relevant material and become very familiar with it. Try to use examples from the sources discussed in class, the readings, and the lectures. 1- “The course of events in the Western Hemisphere over the centuries following contact demonstrates that the Iberian factor in early Latin America was uniform and the result of long term processes. The native peoples and the resources of their lands were the primary determinants of differentiation.” In an integrated essay, discuss this statement with special emphasis on the long term processes, “uniformity” of the Iberian experience, the “diversity” of native peoples, the reasons for the conquest success and its consequences. In order to prepare for this essay you may want to consider at least (but not only) the following questions: Why did the Iberians come to Latin America? What did they find in Latin America? How did the Latin American circumstances shape the conquest? How and where did the Iberians develop a “conquest strategy?” What explains the conquest success? What were the consequences of the conquest? 2- “After the conquest epoch, the Spanish Indies experienced a long time of relative stability and slow evolution. During this period, the conditions created by the conquest had entered into certain equilibrium with some rather uniform hallmarks such as a centralized political and economic administration and a distinctive and hierarchical social structure. The eighteenth century altered this pattern profoundly.” Critically analyze the statement focusing on the stability of political and economic institutions, the ethnic hierarchy, and the changes that resulted from the Bourbon reforms. In order to prepare for this essay you may want to consider at least (but not only) the ...

1. 1
History 161: Latin American History
Final exam: study questions
Friday, December 13, 10:15-12:15
Format of the exam: bring at least one blue book. You are
allowed to bring an outline for the long essay.
Each outline for each question should be no longer than one
page: one side only and one outline per
page. During the exam, only the outline of the question chosen
will be allowed so make sure you
prepare them in separate sheets. Read the instructions carefully
and make sure to ask all the pertinent
questions before the day of the exam. Feel free to email me any
questions about the exam. I am happy to look
at drafts of the outlines. Your deadline to submit a draft is
Thursday, December 12 at noon.
The final exam will consist of three main parts:
Section A: long essay, worth 40 points

2. Section B: short essay, worth 25 points
Section C: multiple choice, worth 35 points
Section A: long essay, worth 40 points. Two of the following
six questions will appear on the exam. You will
have to choose only ONE. Plan to allocate around 45/60 minutes
to respond to this question. Write the
outline at home, read it several times to make sure it discusses
all the relevant material and become very
familiar with it. Try to use examples from the sources discussed
in class, the readings, and the lectures.
1- “The course of events in the Western Hemisphere over the
centuries following contact demonstrates
that the Iberian factor in early Latin America was uniform and
the result of long term processes. The
native peoples and the resources of their lands were the primary
determinants of differentiation.”
In an integrated essay, discuss this statement with special
emphasis on the long term processes, “uniformity”
of the Iberian experience, the “diversity” of native peoples, the
reasons for the conquest success and its
consequences. In order to prepare for this essay you may want
to consider at least (but not only) the

3. following questions: Why did the Iberians come to Latin
America? What did they find in Latin America?
How did the Latin American circumstances shape the conquest?
How and where did the Iberians develop a
“conquest strategy?” What explains the conquest success? What
were the consequences of the conquest?
2- “After the conquest epoch, the Spanish Indies experienced a
long time of relative stability and slow
evolution. During this period, the conditions created by the
conquest had entered into certain
equilibrium with some rather uniform hallmarks such as a
centralized political and economic
administration and a distinctive and hierarchical social
structure. The eighteenth century altered this
pattern profoundly.”
Critically analyze the statement focusing on the stability of
political and economic institutions, the ethnic
hierarchy, and the changes that resulted from the Bourbon
reforms. In order to prepare for this essay you may
want to consider at least (but not only) the following questions:
How did the Spanish authorities guarantee
control over such a large Empire? How effective was that rule?

4. How was the Spanish economic rule in Latin
America organized? How did the Spanish authorities manage to
extract profits from the colonies? How was
society organized? What determined a person’s position in
society? How did the Bourbon reforms change the
system? What were the consequences?
3- “If we are to understand neocolonial Latin America (ca 1850-
1930), it must be placed in the context
of the liberal/positivist formula “order and progress” and the
distinctions between “growth and
development.”
2
After examining the most important aspects of the neocolonial
model, choose one country and explain how
the model was applied. In order to prepare for this essay you
may want to consider at least (but not only) the
following questions: What were the most important features of
the neocolonial model? What was the role of
the world economy in shaping this model? How was order
implemented? What did progress mean? How did

5. Latin American countries become integrated into the world
economy? What were the main consequences of
the neocolonial model? How did those changes influence the
future development of Latin America? What
were the limitations of the model?
4- “Nationalism and populism impelled change in 20
th
century Latin America. Both forces have been in
the vanguard of those encouraging the development of Latin
America, and thus have served as eager
agents of change.”
After examining the most important aspects of nationalism and
populism, choose one populist government
and explain its administration. In order to prepare for this essay
you may want to consider at least (but not
only) the following questions: What is nationalism? What is
populism? Why did populist/nationalist leaders
come to power? What are the goals of populist/nationalist
leaders? How are populist leaders supporting the
nationalist agenda? How did populists governments come to
power? What groups provided the largest

6. support for those governments? What changes did populist
leaders implement in Latin American societies?
5- “The Porfiriato resulted in dramatic growth and extreme
inequality for the Mexican population.
The 1910 Revolution was an attempt to change that, in
particular with the Constitution of 1917 and
the administration of Lázaro Cárdenas.”
Briefly explain the neocolonial model in Mexico and then
examine how the revolution changed it. In order to
prepare for this essay you may want to consider at least (but not
only) the following questions: What were
the most important characteristics of the Porfiriato? How did
the neocolonial order affect Mexican politics,
economy, and society? When and why did the Mexican
revolution take place? Who participated in the
Revolution? Was the Mexican Revolution a political or a social
revolution, or both? What are the most
significant aspects of the 1917 Constitution? Who was Lázaro
Cárdenas? What style of leadership did he
follow? How did his administration revive the ideals of the
Mexican revolution?
6- “The early 1960s resulted in political and social unrest that,

7. in conjunction with the Cuban
revolution, led to the military dictatorships of the late 1960s
and 1970s. Military governments took the
helms of most Latin American countries, claiming that
democracy fostered dissent.”
Discuss this statement with emphasis on the main features of
military dictatorships in Latin American
politics, economies, and societies. You could choose to respond
to this question by focusing on one country
specifically or by examining general aspects of dictatorships. In
order to prepare for this essay you may want
to consider at least (but not only) the following questions: Why
did military dictatorships take over
democratic governments in Latin America? What measures did
they employ to remain in power? What was
the Doctrine of National Security? What were the most
significant political, economic and social changes
that characterized the military regimes? Once in power, were
the regimes popular, prosperous or productive
in any way?

8. 3
Section B: primary source interpretation, worth 25 points. In
this section you will be presented with TWO
different primary sources. You are expected to examine only
ONE addressing its most significant historical
aspects (at least three). Plan to allocate 20/30 minutes to
respond to this question. The primary sources could
consist of an image, a section of the books discussed in class, or
any of the sources discussed during lectures.
They could be one sentence or one paragraph long. In any case,
they will be very illustrative of the ideas you
have to discuss so you should not have a problem identifying
and analyzing them.
For example: “Following the light of the sun, we left the Old
World.” Christopher Columbus.
In this quote you could refer to Spain’s approach to the spice
trade, to the arrival of Columbus to the
Americas as part of a longer process, to the Reconquista

9. mentality, to commercial expansion, to Portugal’s
different approach to reach the East, etc.
Or
In this case you should discuss the castas system, the reasons
for its creation, the importance that colonial
authorities gave to people’s race, the position of people in
colonial society, the possibilities that existed to
“negotiate” race through the “gracias al sacar.”
Section C: multiple choice and true or false, worth 35 points.
The questions and statements included in this
section are intended to demonstrate clear understanding of the
most important concepts discussed in class.
Please refer to the terms listed on your syllabus as a reference
to prepare for this section.