04-30-2004, 09:45 AM
(This post was last modified: 04-30-2004, 10:25 AM by [wcip]Angel.)
Thanks for your help so far. It's good to know that what I've been writing are the same things you've been suggesting. It convinces me that I'm on the right track.
I'm a bit lost now though.
I've given a minor overview of the Portugese expansion eastwards to Asia via Africa. The point of the essay is not to re-write history or to present history in a superficial "this is what happened"- kind of way. Any pupil could pick up a book and write an essay on what happened. What *I* have to do is talk about why it happened - the reasons behind it - and the consequences of it. That being said, my short, sketchy presentation of the history of Portugese naval engagements in the 15th and 16th century only serve as background material for the "real" questions, namely what the consequences were, and what effect it had on the Portugese and the native African and Asian populations.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I've done the "Portugese goes East"-thing, and now I'm going to do the same with Spain. I've visited several web-sites that deal with the history of Spain, and they all seem to say the same thing:
"In 1492 the muslim and jewish population were driven out of Spain. The same year, Christopher Columbus discovered America. Everyone lived happily ever after. The end."
Whereas the historybooks and websites went into some detail concerning the adventures of the Portugese, they are severely lacking any real descriptive knowledge of the Spanish expansion in this time period. Like I said, I will not go into great detail, as a superficial presentation of the past will drag my grade down. I merely want a small piece of descriptive history telling what happened, so I can write about the consequences, and the impact it had both on the Spanish as well as the Native Americans.
PS: I got Guns, Germs, and Steel at the local library, and used its chapter on the Chinese in my essay. Thanks a bunch!
edit - Update!
I wanted to compare the two expansions - Portugese and Spanish - the former being a more "benign" than the latter. Portugese establishment of trading companies vs Spanish conquest and colonisation, etc. (I'm not going to paint the picture that black and white, the Portugese *did* in fact establish colonies of their own and conduct slave trade, it's just that the sources I've read so far leads me to believe that the Spanish in a stronger degree than the Portugese sought to take control over the areas they explored rather than cooperating with the people who lived there.
In one of the books I'm using it says that Columbus originally intended to do trade with the natives in the Americas, but because communications failed, he turned to conquest instead.
I'm a bit lost now though.
I've given a minor overview of the Portugese expansion eastwards to Asia via Africa. The point of the essay is not to re-write history or to present history in a superficial "this is what happened"- kind of way. Any pupil could pick up a book and write an essay on what happened. What *I* have to do is talk about why it happened - the reasons behind it - and the consequences of it. That being said, my short, sketchy presentation of the history of Portugese naval engagements in the 15th and 16th century only serve as background material for the "real" questions, namely what the consequences were, and what effect it had on the Portugese and the native African and Asian populations.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I've done the "Portugese goes East"-thing, and now I'm going to do the same with Spain. I've visited several web-sites that deal with the history of Spain, and they all seem to say the same thing:
"In 1492 the muslim and jewish population were driven out of Spain. The same year, Christopher Columbus discovered America. Everyone lived happily ever after. The end."
Whereas the historybooks and websites went into some detail concerning the adventures of the Portugese, they are severely lacking any real descriptive knowledge of the Spanish expansion in this time period. Like I said, I will not go into great detail, as a superficial presentation of the past will drag my grade down. I merely want a small piece of descriptive history telling what happened, so I can write about the consequences, and the impact it had both on the Spanish as well as the Native Americans.
PS: I got Guns, Germs, and Steel at the local library, and used its chapter on the Chinese in my essay. Thanks a bunch!
edit - Update!
I wanted to compare the two expansions - Portugese and Spanish - the former being a more "benign" than the latter. Portugese establishment of trading companies vs Spanish conquest and colonisation, etc. (I'm not going to paint the picture that black and white, the Portugese *did* in fact establish colonies of their own and conduct slave trade, it's just that the sources I've read so far leads me to believe that the Spanish in a stronger degree than the Portugese sought to take control over the areas they explored rather than cooperating with the people who lived there.
In one of the books I'm using it says that Columbus originally intended to do trade with the natives in the Americas, but because communications failed, he turned to conquest instead.
