Gilman Scholarship Personal Statement

Colonial Latin American society in the Seventeenth Century was undergoing a tremendous amount of changes. Society was transforming from a conquering phase into a colonizing phase. New institutions were forming and new people and ideas flooded into the new lands freshly claimed for the Spanish Empire. Two remarkable women, radically different from each other, who lived during this period of change are a lenses through which many of the new institutions and changes can be viewed. Sor Juana and Catalina de Erauso are exceptional women who in no way represent the norm but through their extraordinary tales and by discovering what makes them so extraordinary we can deduce what was the norm and how society functioned during this era of Colonial

Loewen continues his article by describing how little the Hispanic culture is exposed in history textbooks, and that “the Spanish are seen as intruders, while the British are seen as settlers” (Loewen 72). The author continues describing his chapter describing that the Pilgrims are rarely elaborated

Matthew Restall, a Professor of Latin American History, Women’s Studies, and Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University. He also serves the Director of the university’s Latin Studies. Throughout “Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest,” he discusses many false truths that have been passed down through history. For instance, he discusses, “The Myth of Exceptional Men.” “The Myth of Spanish Army,” and “The Myth of Completion.” For the sake of time, I will discuss three myths that correlate with class lectures and serve as the topic of this paper, “The Myth of Exceptional Men,” “The Myth of the King’s Army,” and the “Myth of the White Conquistador.” It should be noted that Restall speaks to his audience assuring us that his “...his purpose is not to degenerate this technique of historical writing completely...Nor do I mean to create a narrative in which individual action is utterly subordinated to the larger structural forces and causes of social change.” (4). He states that his intentions are to react to more than just the works of Columbus, Pizzaro, and Cortez.

The modern world can learn much from past events, whether they be written or orally passed through generations, and de Vaca’s account of his explorations through early America and Mexico is of no exception. Readers see an account of the still ongoing physical and emotional struggles between races, as well as learn important lessons about life and its temptations of greed and pride.

For decades, the history of Latin America has been shrouded in a cover of Spanish glory and myth that misleads and complicates the views of historians everywhere. Myths such as the relationship between natives and conquistadors, and the individuality of the conquistadors themselves stand as only a few examples of how this history may have become broken and distorted. However, in Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest Matthew Restall goes to great lengths to dispel these myths and provide a more accurate history of Latin American, in a readable and enjoyable book.

“Victors and Vanquished,” through excerpts of Bernal Diaz del Castillo The True History of the Conquest of New Spain and indigenous testimonies from the Florentine Codex, represents the clash between European and indigenous cultures and how there was no simple “European” or “indigenous” view. Rather, there were a variety of European and indigenous opinions and interpretations that were influenced by personal interests, social hierarchy and classes, ethnic biases and political considerations.

In the book The Conquest of America by Tzvetan Todorov, Todorov brings about an interesting look into the expeditions of Columbus, based on Columbus’ own writings. Initially, one can see Columbus nearly overwhelmed by the beauty of these lands that he has encountered. He creates vivid pictures that stand out in the imagination, colored by a "marvelous" descriptive style. Todorov gives us an interpretation of Columbus’ discovery of America, and the Spaniards’ subsequent conquest, colonization, and destruction of pre-Columbian cultures in Mexico and the Caribbean. Tzvetan Todorov examines the beliefs and behavior of the Spanish conquistadors and of the Aztecs.

Throughout my upbringing, my mother, an immigrant herself, has always shared he passion of traveling with me. She continuously encouraged me to explore and understand other cultures. As a child, I traveled to her home country, Ecuador, where the culture is extremely different. She took me to all different parts of the country, immersing me in the different cultures of the coast and the mountains, taking me to small villages and local markets. In addition, on my 8th birthday, my family and I explored Europe. We traveled to England, France, Italy, and Switzerland. Even at such a young age, I was eager to try all the different types of cuisine, learn a few words and phrases in each language, and visit local museums and monuments. In addition, to Europe, I also had the opportunity to explore Central America, exploring the pyramids in Mexico and …. Unfortunately, as I grew up, traveling abroad became more difficult as my school schedule and my parents work schedules became more demanding. I have always desired to expand my knowledge on different cultures and countries, especially in my mother’s homeland of South America. I would love to become more in touch with my heritage and learn more about the different cultures and people of South America.

Born in 1460, Juan Ponce de Leon was made to be an explorer. Coming from a poor yet noble family in Santervás de Campos, Spain, Juan Ponce de Leon wanted to explore and obtain more money. He served as a page on the court of Aragon where he learned social skills, military tactics, and religion. He served in the military and fought using the military tactics he had acquired in the previous years. He became a conquistador shortly after his time in the military. As all conquistadors do, Juan Ponce de Leon sought for fame and fortune; he sought to explore and go to the New World. Ponce de Leon was very determined to explore and discover new treasures and riches. In this essay, we will discuss who Juan Ponce de Leon was and what he did, what Florida was like in the 16th century, and why the public should know more about Ponce de

Inga Clendinnen book, Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniard in Yucatan, 1517-1570 is centered on the Spanish incursion of the Yucatan Peninsula, affects on Mayan civilization, and the Spanish struggles in controlling these people. In the beginning, Clendinnen focus here attention on the initial attempts and then eventual success of the Spaniards to solidify themselves within the Yucatan Peninsula. She goes into a detailed backdrop of why many Spaniards were financially forced to look for new lands and peoples to conquer, how they came into the Yucatan, and then eventually their initial disappointment and failure. However, the Mayan victory was short lived as

“I was interested in Spain because I had spent a semester there during my undergraduate studies, and I wanted to go back. I managed to get a kind of professional Fulbright: It lasted only six months, was for working journalists and required the completion of an independent project. I worked on the advent of private television in Spain, and how it changed how news was covered, particularly the Gulf War. I did a lot of reading and spent some time at different Spanish TV stations, watching how they worked. Then, I started freelancing.

The Baroque period of the 1600 and 1750s began in Europe and defined the art of the time (Stechow 111). Spain’s quest for the unity and assimilation to Spanish culture of its subjects in the Americas led to the systematic suppression and destruction of the indigenous cultures of the regions, such as the Aztecs and the Incans. Baroque art was only supposed to be another aspect of Spanish culture for the indigenous population to assimilate to (Gauvin 4, 33-34). However, the Baroque period created an atmosphere in the Americas that led to a blending of the Spanish and indigenous cultures. The subsequent art and architecture that was created was a hybrid formed from the cultures coinhabiting the area. This hybrid form has been characterized as “a hidden inscription of difference within the fictional sameness of official culture, as rebellious graffiti camouflaged in the forest of baroque symbols” (Salgado 317-318). It provided a place for the people of Latin America to subtly celebrate and preserve their heritage that Spain was threatening. To understand the significance of the cultural impact that the hybridization of Baroque art had on culture in the Spanish colonies of the New World, we must first define what hybridization of an art form means. Then we will investigate what constitutes baroque art and why it was so conducive to being hybridized. To further the understanding of the hybridization, we will examine the painting Our Lady of Guapulo and the architecture

To illustrate, in 1520, the Spanish attempted studies to decide the possibility of constructing a canal through Panama as a result of the plains and perils of the Camino Real, which was the main route that Spaniards used to transport treasures from the west coast of South America to the Atlantic coast to wait for their trip back to Spain (Meditz & Hanratty, 1989).

This book “Philip of Spain” by Henry Kamen. Kamen attempts to explain how the people of the Spanish portion of the Liberian Peninsula managed to acquire control of a bizarre world empire. From the 15th century, Spain was inspired by completion from Portugal into mounting a series of ventures to seek commercial ties with the orient, which led first to the discovery and conquest of the islands and then the New World.

I’m a very curious learner. I satisfy this curiosity through listening and analyzing the things I learn. This is a helpful skill to have in this program because the main goal of studying abroad is to take as much as possible from the culture, the people, and your surroundings. By being excited to learn will help me encourage others to ask questions when appropriate, and to pay attention to the different ways that teachers, host families, and peers talk about Tarragona, Spain, or society as a whole. This will help the group to be more open-minded and tolerant to other people’s beliefs and the way they see society. By being a curious learner, and communicating effectively and appropriately with people from other cultures has allowed me to develop