Hilary 2016, weeks 1-8. Tuesdays 11:00 - 12:00

Lecture Theatre, History Faculty, University of Oxford

 

I. Medieval Spain: from fragmentation to “unity” (1230 - 1492)

• The end of the Reconquista and the downfall of al-Andalus

• The unification of the peninsular Christian kingdoms

• The preamble of the discoveries: the exploration of the African coast and the conquest of the Canary Islands

 

II. The Discovery of America: the Encounter between two Worlds (1492 - 1522)

• Christopher Columbus’ arrival to the New World

•  The colonization of the Antilles and the firsts expeditions to the Continent

•  Magellan-Elcano’s epic voyage: the first circumnavigation of the world 

   

 

III. Charles I: Emperor of Europe (1516 - 1556)

• How an empire was constructed

•  The wars of France and the fight against the Turks

• Catholicism versus Protestantism

   

   

 

IV. The Conquest of Mexico (1518 - 1549)

• Hernán Cortés and the Conquistador archetype

• The fall of the Aztec Empire

• The creation of New Spain

   

   

 

V. The Conquest of Peru (1531 - 1555)

• Francisco Pizarro: the pig farmer who defeated a god

• The fall of the Inca Empire

• The creation of the Viceroyalty of Peru

   

   

 

VI. Philip II: the Empire on which the Sun never sets (1556 - 1598)

• The victory over France and the Turks and the consolidation of Spanish hegemony in Europe

• The accession of Portugal and Brazil

• The beginning of the decline: The Dutch War of Independence, the war against England and the defeat of the Spanish Armada

   

 

VII. The Construction of a Global Empire (1573 - 1621)

• The end of the Conquest and the beginning of the Colonization

• Political and legal structures for the government of the Empire

• The destruction of indigenous societies, the miscegenation (mestizaje) and the defence of the Indian

VIII. Philip III: the Decline of the Empire (1598 - 1621)

• The end of the Spanish hegemony in Europe

• The inner crisis

•  Why did the Spanish Empire fall?