1. European Colonisations in the Americas Major phases of colonisation 16c: Spanish and Portuguese 17c: Dutch, French, English 18c: Russian

2. Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta Genesis: The Search for the Indies Europeans in Asia: the spice routes Travels of Niccolo and Matteo Polo, 1256 Marco Polo, 1275 Closure of land routes in 14c: Black Death; end of Tartar empire; conversion of Ottoman Turks

3. Europeans in Africa Portuguese explorations in 15c: myth of Prester John gold and slaves; conquest in North Africa)

4. Prester John

5. Exploration into the Atlantic Portugal and Castille (Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands) Why Spanish and Portuguese Expansion? Westward route to the Indies: the voyages of Columbus

6. Spain and America Columbus’s ‘Discovery of America’ Columbus’s Aims Columbus’s Ideas about the Indies First Settlements: Hispaniola and Cuba Role of the Spanish Crown Significance of Spanish settlements in Caribbean Impact on ‘Indians’

7. The Nina

8. Cantino map, 1503

9. Explorations and discoveries on the American continents Expeditions in the Caribbean and circum- Caribbean Towards the Pacific and South America Towards Mexico: the Yucatán Peninsula and beyond Impulses behind exploration Conquest of Aztecs, 1519-21 Conquest of Incas, 1533-36

10. Spaniards and settlement Organisation of the conquering bands Social composition: who were the ‘conquistadores’? Motives of conquistadores Role of religion Connections with Reconquista in Spain?

11. Preconquest America

12. Conquest of Mexico Aztec Civilisation: Strengths and Weaknesses. Spanish Encounter with Mexicans, 1519 Victory at Tenochtitlan, 1521 Establishment of Spanish Dominance The conundrum of conquest: explanations

13. Native American responses to European contact Why were the Aztec and Inca empires vulnerable to Spanish conquest? Technology Disease Cultural differences Political divisions among native peoples

14. The Portuguese in America Discovery of the ‘land of the true cross’: Cabral (1500) Portuguese and Indians: brasil wood; Indian enslavement; sugar. Differences between Spanish and Portuguese settlements Why Portuguese neglect of America in first half of 16c?