Letter to the King

The assignment for the week of Feb. 23 24 YOUR FIRST TEST: the Queen had died. And the year is 1542. We are 41 years deep into the Conquista and King Charles seems unaware of whats going on in his possessions. So, using ALL of the readings from last week, you will write a 700-word letter to properly inform the King about matters in Amrica.

To make this more engaging, I don’t want just a standard letter in a Word document. Get creative and design it to look like an authentic letter from that erawith period-appropriate colors, fonts (keep them legible, though!), and maybe even some subtle decorative elements like seals or aged paper effects. You can use tools like Canva, Google Docs with custom styling, or any design software you’re comfortable with, as long as the final submission is a PDF or shareable file that preserves the formatting.

Backup story & questions to lead your letter: Columbus was setting sail to go to Asia in search of spices and gold. Instead of Asia, he stumbled upon the Caribbean (though he believed until his last breath he had reached India). In that first encounter, NOTHING HAPPENED! He just gathered a few things from the new lands and brought them back to Spain. From that moment on the conquest and colonization story began. However, the Queen sent all the conquistadors with a set of instructions an encomienda. In your opinion, what were the most important parts of these instructions that the conquistadors shouldve followed? Once the Spaniards landed ashore, they were culturally shocked. Immediately, they began talking amongst themselves about the new territory and especially about the humanity of the people living in them. So, using Seplvedas reading, what were three of the Spaniards main thoughts regarding the natives? (make sure you compare & contrast the Encomienda by Queen Isabela with Seplvedas thoughts about natives). Not everyone agreed, though. Using Montesinos sermon, can you provide some counterarguments to Seplvedas thoughts? Unfortunately, these words fell in deaf ears and gradually there was a repurpose for the land and its people. Some of them were being slaved and others killed. Can you provide examples using Guaman Pomas and de las Casass readings? Lastly, the actions taken against the natives served as the foundation of our modern world. Once the Spaniards determined the inferiority of the natives, then and only then, they created an economic and political system. If you thought your letter had the chance to change the course of history, what would you have done differently?

NOTE: you’ll have from TODAY until Tuesday, FEB. 24th at the end of the day!

NOTE II: I WILL NOT accept late submissions. NO MAKE UPS! NO INCOMPLETES!