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HIST 350 Study Guide Exam 1
Spring, 2002

SPECIAL NOTE - THERE ARE TWO OPTIONS ON THIS EXAM. OPTION 1 WILL BE TO DO 10 IDENTIFICATIONS, OPTION 2 WILL BE 5 IDENTIFICATIONS AND 1 ESSAY. BOTH ARE DISCUSSED BELOW.

Topic Areas: This exam will cover everything from the beginning of the course through to the end of the nineteenth century, except Porfirio Diaz.

Lectures: The following lectures will be covered on the exam. 

• 1. What is Latin America?  - Names, Identity and Geography
• 2. Pre-Columbian Civilizations - Maya, Aztecs, and Incas, Oh My! 
• 3. The Iberian Heritage
• 4.  Patterns of Conquest and the Structures of Empire
• 5. Labor and Power
• 6. Race, Identity and Gender in the Iberian Empires
• 7. Resistance to Empire - From Tupac Amaru to Simon Bolivar
• 8. Founding Nations - Liberals, Conservatives, and Caudillos
• 9. Modernism and Positivism - From Ordem and Progresso to the Porfiriato (This last lecture is only covered up to section X. The test will not cover Porfirio Diaz.)

Readings: The following readings will be covered on the exam:

• From Peter Winnn, Chapters 1-32, and 8.  

•   Solange Alberro, "Beatriz de Padilla: Mistress and Mother" (Acrobat)

•  John H. Coatsworth, "Patterns of Rural Rebellion in Latin America: Mexico in Comparative Perspective" (Acrobat)

• Asunción Lavrin, "Sexuality in Colonial Mexico: A Church Dilemma" (Acrobat)

Structure of Exam: There will be two options on this exam.

OPTION 1. The exam will consist of identifications. You will have to do ten.

• Doing Indentifications: You will be given a list of 20 or more terms, of which you will have to do ten, for ten points each. These should be substantive identifications, of about three to four sentences. To do an identification well, you must think of the five "W"s:
  • WHO is the person, or who are the people, involved?
  • WHAT is the event or feature?
  • WHEN did it happen or, in the case of a feature of human geography such as a border, when did it assume the position it had?
  • WHERE did it happen?
  • WHY did it happen or come to be the way it was? Why is it important in Latin American and world history? This is the "So what?" factor.
• Doing Substantive Identifications: Do not simply say on the exam "Christopher Columbus - Genoese sailor who discovered, while working for Spain, the route to the New World, 1492." You must go further to discuss the ramifications of the term. So you would have to continue. "His discoveries made possible a permanent link between the Americas and the Old World, which paved the way for the Spanish, Portuguese and other European empires, and the general destruction of Amerindian political systems. It also had the unintended consequence of a massive demographic disaster among the Amerindian people, who lacked immunity to many Old World diseases." While this is not the only possible answer, it is an example of the level of depth I will be looking for.

OPTION 2.  The exam will consist of five identifications (to be done as discussed above) and one essay. You must choose one of the essays listed below. Each identification will be worth 10%, for a total of 50%, and the essay will be worth 50%.

Essay: You will have to do one (1) of these essays.  In grading these essays, I will assume you have done the appropriate readings. In doing an essay, there are certain things you should remember. A good essay will first of all answer the question. Make sure you do address all parts of the question. A good essay is both specific and general: specific in its examples, general in its use of major themes. Finally, a good essay has a definite structure: an introduction, a body with an organization and argument, and a conclusion. So, in doing your essay, you should:

• 1) State you main ideas clearly.
• 2) Give your essay structure. I'd suggest preparing an outline as you study.
• 3) Give specific examples to back up your main ideas.

Essay Questions:

• 1) Discuss the impact of race on individuals in colonial Latin America. Take at least two racial categories from colonial society and discuss how people's lives were shaped by being a member of that racial group (such as Amerindian, mestizo, mulatto, white, black, etc.). You will want to consider such things as employment, political power, and labor issues, among other things.
• 2) Discuss resistance to the Spanish and Portuguese empires. In what ways did different types of people rebel against imperial authority, and why did they rebel? Give at least two specific examples of resistance and/or rebellion.
• 3) How did the Spanish establish their authority in Latin America and control the people of Latin America? Discuss both the political and religious aspects of authority.
• 4) Liberals and Positivists sought to "modernize" Latin America in the later part of the nineteenth century. What was meant by "modernization," and what impact did it have on ordinary people?

REMEMBER - YOU WILL DO ONE OF THESE OPTIONS. BE SURE TO INDICATE AT THE TOP OF YOUR TEST WHICH OPTION YOU WILL BE DOING.

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