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Long Teaching Module: Inca Society

In South America in the centuries before 1500, the Peruvian coast and Andean highlands were home to a series of cultures that cultivated cotton as well as food crops. Of these, the largest empire was created by the Incas, who began as a small militaristic group and conquered surrounding groups.

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Extract from Garcilaso de la Vega, Royal Commentaries of the Incas and General History of Peru

This is an extract from the chronicles of Garcilaso de la Vega (1539–1616), the son of a Spanish conquistador and an Inca noble woman, who grew up in Peru but left there as a young man and spent the rest of his life in Spain.

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Extract from Garcilaso de la Vega, Royal Commentaries of the Incas and General History of Peru

This is an extract from the chronicles of Garcilaso de la Vega (1539–1616), the son of a Spanish conquistador and an Inca noble woman, who grew up in Peru but left there as a young man and spent the rest of his life in Spain.

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Pedro de Cieza de León, Crónicas

This is an extract from the chronicles of Pedro de Cieza de León (1520–1554), a Spanish soldier and writer who compiled a history of Peru during his seventeen years there.

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Report from the General Inspection of the Chupaychu

This is a report from a Spanish inspector dating from 1549, written by a European scribe, based on an Andean’s reading of a khipu, the collections of cords on which Incas recorded information.

A series of long, multi-colored strings hanging from another string. The hanging strings have knots at varying places along each string.
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Inca Khipu

Andean peoples, including the Incas, recorded information on khipus (also spelled quipu), collections of colored and knotted cords such as this one.

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Juan de Betanzos, Narrative of the Incas

This extract comes from Juan de Betanzos’ Narrative of the Incas, which was written in the sixteenth century but not published until 1880. Betanzos (1510-1576) was among the early conquistadors, and served as a military leader and official.

Teaching

Short Teaching Module: Sick Men in Mid-Nineteenth-Century International Relations

I use political cartoons, newspaper stories, and excerpts from government documents to show different perspectives of a country’s power and foreign relations. I have several aims in using the texts.

Mexico Constitution 1857
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Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857

The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857 was a liberal constitution.

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The Obelisk of Buenos Aires

Built 1936 to commemorate the anniversary of the founding of the city, the Obelisk stands in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina. It stands 67.5 meters tall, made of concrete and stone. The nation of Argentina celebrates its independence day on July 9th.