Empires in the New World
Research Assignment 1:
Empires in the New World
Part I: Analyzing History: The Historian’s Craft
This assignment will ask you to do a few things:
- Read/Analyze a set of primary sources, including art works, first-hand accounts, and letters, related to the historical period of Spanish and Portuguese expansion
- Analyze sources and start thinking how they will support your thesis statement.
*The objective of Part I is to get students to think like a historian, doing many of the same things that people in this profession and field of study do.
Part II: The Write Up
Taking a look at empires and global trading networks during a period of imperial expansion.
How do the sources provide information about empires, and what they pursued in the New World? Please explain if the images and documents provided yield a sufficient account of what the experience was like for both natives and European exploration and conquest.
Formulating a Thesis: Create a thesis statement! Please do not be intimidated by this, just think of a solid statement that will support your argument throughout the write up. Your thesis statement should respond to the sources you will analyze (i.e. slides/docs/etc). This should be in your beginning paragraph.
Part III: Wrapping it up
Thinking Hypothetically: If you feel that you could use or integrate another primary source(s) to get a better understanding of this cultural exchange, what kind of sources would you be looking for? Include this part in the end
Documents to Read/View:
Research Assignment 1 Powerpoint
Columbus Scan A
-A Spanish Account of the First Encounter
-Aztec Account of the First Encounter
Columbus Scan B
-Letter from Christopher Columbus to King Ferdinand of Spain
Your written response should be at least 300-400 words and in short essay format. Please italicize or underline your thesis statement.
***Please reference any of the sources you decide to use to get credit for this assignment (e.g. Columbus Letter to King of Spain, Slide 4, Aztec Account of First Encounter)***
These are the readings required to do the research
file:///Users/gisellemorales/Downloads/Columbus%20Scan%20A%20%20copy%202.pdf
