Author:
Connecticut Department of Education
Subject:
Arts and Humanities, U.S. History, World History
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Level:
High School
Grade:
9, 10, 11, 12
Provider:
CT State Department of Education
Tags:
Language:
English
Media Formats:
Text/HTML

Lesson 3.1-1: The arrival of the “Conquistadores” (transition to identity) and the Legacy of Colonialism (1400s)

Lesson 3.1-1: The arrival of the “Conquistadores” (transition to identity) and the Legacy of Colonialism (1400s)

Overview

Big Ideas/Topics to be Addressed, including Key Concepts and Terms 

  • Consequences and impact of the arrival of colonizers 

  • Encomienda System  

  • Inequality vs. Inequity 

  • Women’s roles 

Vocabulary: Conquistadores, Encomienda System, Inequality, Inequity, Single Story 

Materials/Resources/Speakers

Spanish colonization | Period 1: 1491-1607 | AP US History | Khan Academy 

Puerto Rico: Five Centuries of History by Francisco A. Scarano 

Chronology of Puerto Rico in the Spanish-American War - The World of 1898: The Spanish-American War (Hispanic Division 

Hispanic Exploration | Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress 

Yeager, T. (1995). Encomienda or Slavery? The Spanish Crown's Choice of Labor Organization in Sixteenth-Century Spanish America. The Journal of Economic History, 55(4), 842-859.

The encomienda system from Khan Academy 

Puerto Rico, Colonialism and Neocolonialism 

On Indigenous Peoples' Day, meet the survivors of a 'paper genocide' 

The Individualist Legacy in Latin America

Gender and Race in Colonial Latin America. Women in World History: Case Studies  

Hanger, Kimberly S. “‘The Most Vile Atrocities’: Accusations of Slander Against María Cofignie, Parda Libre (Louisiana, 1795),” in Richard Boyer and Geoffrey Spurling, eds., Colonial Lives: Documents in Latin American History, 1550-1850, (Oxford University Press, 2000), 269-278. 

Historia de Puerto Rico: Trayectoria de un pueblo. Author: Blanca Silvestrini 

History of Puerto Rico. Author:  Fernando Pico 

Recommended Learning Activities, including UDL Principles/Scaffolded Supports and Asynchronous and Synchronous Learning Opportunities

Day 1 

Initiation: Teacher introduces the purpose and the objectives of the unit with a pre-assessment.  Students list all of the countries and the capitals that they know of Latin America and then write a sentence or bullets about what they know of each of the countries. 

Teacher writes the word “Colonization” on the board and have students brainstorm ideas about what they know about colonization.   Teacher conducts mini-lesson about the arrival of the colonizers. 

Introduce the concept of multiple perspectives as it relates to the unit (e.g., how hard people of Latin America countries worked while continuing to be taken advantage of and oppressed.  Stories of individual and collective perseverance eventually led to a new evolution of identity and resiliency.) Remind students that the history that they are going to learn about is not about one perspective, rather from multiple ways of knowing and sharing history. 

Activity: Teacher provides context of how Spaniard arrival changed the labor system (e.g., The Birth of Spanish America). Then, students choose one of the four women from the reading to research answering the following: 

  • The most surprising part of this introductory reading. Explain. 

  • Name of person chosen 

  • Source 

  • 5 NEW facts 

Day 2 

Activity: Teacher starts by providing a mini-lecture ”on the organization of labor for the purpose of God, Gold, and Glory” and introduces the first form of economic system called the Encomienda System.  Students read, annotate, and discuss questions in pairs or as a class The Encomienda ACTIVITY The Encomienda ANSWER SHEET

Day 3 

Initiation: Watch and discuss Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story

Activity: In small groups, students research the varying viewpoints and perspectives on the Encomienda System of the enslaved Africans, enslaved Indigenous, and Spaniards/Colonizers. Students then prepare for debate from the perspectives that they researched answering the following questions: 

  • How was the Encomienda System similar to or different from slavery? 

  • How did/didn’t the Encomienda System create/contribute to racial hierarchies?  

  • How do/don’t we think about “the other”? Who gets to tell the history of Puerto Ricans and Latinos? 

Closing: Students discuss understanding of how issues of inequality and desire for freedom influence culture and/or new cultural patterns in different countries of Puerto Rico and Latin America. 

Home Links/Reflections to Affirm Identity

Options for Content Continuity Across History Courses and Interdisciplinary Integration

Economics 

English (Please see resources for titles) 

Music 

Extensions/Experiential Opportunities

Before and After the Conquest: 

  • Indigenous Music  

  • “Mestizo” Music 

  • African-derived Music