course material

1. Latin American
Task: Choose one of the two prompts below to develop Essay 1. The essay should be 3-4
pages in length, double spaced, and in Times New Roman, size 12 font. A good paper will
have a clear thesis statement in the introduction, and body paragraphs with clear topic
sentences and supporting evidence based on primary and secondary sources. This
assignment requires that you cite a combination of at least 3 sources, with a minimum of 1
primary source. You may ONLY use the textbook, and primary and secondary sources
provided on CANVAS in your weekly Discussions as sources for your paper. Absolutely no
outside internet sources should be used for this assignment. 1. Spanish colonization
imposed a new administrative system, religion, cultural values, and exploitative labor and
tribute practices upon indigenous peoples across the Americas; however, the new order did
not annihilate pre-Columbian ways of life. Consider how native social, cultural and/or
political structures conditioned or influenced patterns of conquest and the process of
colonization. What was the most resilient social, cultural, and/or political element of pre-
Columbian life that survived during the process of colonization (even if in a hybridized or
transcultured form)? 2. Despite not having a large standing army nor ever sending a large
contingent of settlers to the New World, Spain managed to maintain political control of most
of its American colonies for 300 years. The concept of hegemony, a type of domination that
implies a measure of consent from those at the bottom, helps explain the process by which
indigenous Americans, slaves, mestizos, and women were taught to accept the principle of
their racial and/or gender inferiority. Consider the various institutions of the Church and
State that exerted hegemonic influence on Spain’s American subjects. What were the most
important cultural, religious, political, and/or Page 1 of 2#Latin #American