• Consider another point of view.
Examine the story of the settlement
and discovery of America from the Native American’s point
of view. What were the controversies
over Columbus’s role in the discovery and the actions of
subse-quent Spanish conquistadores.
• Compare the history of the Spanish
in Mexico with that of the English in North America.
Consider
the impact of the “mestizo factor” in Mexican
history. "Mestizo" is a sSpanish word and refers
to the intermarriage between the Spanish and Indians.
In some countries, the term "mestizo" has social
and cultural connotations; a pure-blooded Indian who has adopted
European dress and customs is called a mestizo (or cholo).
Compare this pattern of intermarriage to the quite different
pattern of English
relations
with the Native Americans in North America. What was the
long term significance for Latin America of the “immortality”
achieved
by the conquistadores
through intermarriage
with Indian women? How did the development of a large
mestizo population make Latin American history different
from that
of English North America?
• Consider geography
Examine the role of the Spanish borderlands
of Florida,
New Mexico, and California as part of the history of
colonial America as distinct from examining only the later
English
settlements along the Atlantic coast. How does our understanding
of American history alter if we consider developments
in these areas to be of equal importance to the more "traditional"
historical perspectives?
