4 Worlds of History
Government, laws, and political power belong to which world?
Political
Who created it? When? For whom? Why?
Sourcing
This concept asks why something happened and what resulted from it.
Cause & consequence
An argument that a historian tries to support with evidence.
Claim
Indigenous people Columbus encountered in the Caribbean.
Taíno
Trade, labor, wealth, and resources belong to which world?
Economic
Carefully examining an author's words, claims, and language.
Close reading
This concept examines what stayed the same and what transformed over time.
Continuity & change
The circumstances surrounding a historical event or source.
Context
The Spanish monarchs who sponsored Columbus's voyage.
Ferdinand & Isabella
Religion, beliefs, customs, and traditions belong to which world?
Cultural
Comparing sources to see where they agree and disagree.
Corroboration
This concept asks why an event, person, or development mattered.
Significance
An established or commonly accepted interpretation of the past.
Traditional / Orthodox
The centuries-long Christian conquest of Muslim-controlled territory in Iberia.
Reconquista
Social class, gender roles, and relationships between groups belong to which world?
Social
Using what was happening at the time to better understand a source.
Contextualization
Two groups experience the same event differently. Which concept helps a historian investigate this?
Perspectives
An interpretation that revisits an established view using new questions, evidence, or perspectives.
Revisionist
This idea was used by Europeans to justify claiming non-Christian lands.
Doctrine of Discovery
Spanish missionaries attempt to convert the Taíno while colonists force them to mine gold. Name the two worlds most directly represented.
Cultural & Economic
Las Casas says Spanish colonists committed terrible abuses. A historian compares his account with other evidence before deciding how much of his account to accept. Which skill?
Corroboration
A historian studies whether Spanish colonization produced immediate effects, long-term effects, and unintended results. Which concept?
Cause & consequence
The study of how historians have interpreted the past.
Historiography
Spanish priest who became a critic of Spanish abuses against Indigenous peoples.
Bartolomé de las Casas