OBJECTIVES
The aim of this Course is to provide a broad overview of colonial expansionism in the Atlantic between the initial phase of this same process (the mid-fifteenth century) and the independence of overseas colonies during the final third of the eighteenth century and beginnings of the nineteenth. With this aim in mind, an analysis of the era of the emergence, rise and decline of the great European Atlantic Empires will be carried out, especially that of England, as well as those linked with the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). In this sense, the didactic method to be employed will be based on a comparative study of Spain’s colonization of South America and England’s colonization of North America, thereby enabling an analysis of the historical trajectory affecting these processes, and of the similarities and differences involved, within the context of chronological and geographical frameworks. Thus, a better understanding may be ensured of the genesis of the American states and nations, as well as of their uneven developments up until the present day.
METHODOLOGY
Class sessions will be carried out interactively from both a theoretical and practical perspective, lecturers’ input regarding syllabus units and their subject-matter acting as the point of departure, followed by a closer exploration of such content via the didactic back-up material with which students will be provided: maps, timelines, photographic and digital material, key documents, movies, and documentaries. Within the practical dimension of the Course, visits will be organized to archives, libraries, monuments and relevant culural centers within the city of Sevilla which are linked in some way with the subject-matter (the Archive of the Indies, the Colombine Library, the Arsenal, the Tower of Gold, etc.).
SYLLABUS
1. EUROPEAN EXPANSIONISM I.
The Search for Precious Metals.
Portugal and Geographical Discoveries.
The Spice Route.
2. EUROPEAN EXPANSIONISM II.
Spain between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
The Opening Up of the New World.
The World Economy.
3. THE CONQUEST AND COLONIZATION OF AMERICA.
The Spanish System. The Pacific.
The Presence of England in the Atlantic.
France and Portugal.
4. THE NEW PROSPECT
The Protagonism of the Atlantic.
Portugal’s Decline.
The New Powers: Holland and England.
5. EUROPE AND AMERICA IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.
The Crisis Affecting Intercontinental Traffic.
The Hispanic Monarchy.
Brazil.
6. MERCANTILISM AND THE SECOND COLONIAL ERA.
Commerce and the Colonial Pact.
The Rise of Manufacturing.
North America.
7. THE DEVELOPMENT OF CAPITALISM.
Bankers and Merchants.
The Spanish Indies.
The Decline of Holland and the Hegemony of the English.
8. THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
Innovations.
Imperial Spain.
The Thirteen English Colonies.
9. THE AGE OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT II.
Economic Theory.
Socio-political Thought.
Enlightenments.
10. THE END OF THE ATLANTIC EMPIRES.
The Independence of the Thirteen Colonies.
Spanish America.
Stock-taking and Perspectives.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CÉSPEDES DEL CASTILLO, G. La exploración del Atlántico. Madrid: Mapfre, 1991.
CHAUNU, P. Conquista y explotación de los nuevos mundos. Barcelona: Labor, 1982, 2 vols.
ELLIOTT, J.H. Imperios del mundo atlántico. España y Gran Bretaña en América. Madrid: Taurus, 2006.
MARTÍNEZ SHAW, C. y Marina, A. Europa y los nuevos mundos (siglos XV-XVIII). Madrid: Síntesis, 1999.
MAURO, F. La expansión europea. Barcelona: Labor, 1988.
PERRY, J. Europa y la expansión del mundo (1415-1715). México: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1982.
VAINFAS, R. Brasil colonial. San Pablo: Compañía de las Letras, 2003.
VILAR, P. Oro y moneda en la historia. Barcelona: Ariel, 1982.
ASSESSMENT
Assessment and grading will be linked to the two exams to which reference is made in the regulations corresponding to the Agreement-Based Courses for Students from Abroad, by means of which students will be expected to confirm their effective assimilation of syllabus content as developed during class sessions. Optional practical assignments may also be carried out by students, once agreed upon in consultation with Course lecturers, either of a kind involving bibliographical synthesis or consisting of the preparation of commentaries on monographically-based titles with regard to one or other of the subjects dealt with in class. Such an assignment will count, within the maximum limit of 30%, toward final grading.
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