Midterm Exam

Note date change: The Midterm exam has been rescheduled from February 13 to Monday, February 16. We will have a review session for the exam during the previous class period (Friday, February 13).

The exam will cover the history of Mexico from the beginning of human settlement until Independence from Spain. This includes the first three parts of the textbook (The Course of Mexican History), the first five chapters of Bonfil Batalla, México Profundo, lectures, discussions, and films we have viewed in class.

The exam will include 25 multiple-choice questions worth 2 points each (for a total of 50 points) and 5 identification questions worth 10 points each (also for a total of 50 points). Bring a pencil to fill out your answers for the multiple-choice section on an opscan sheet. I will give you 10 terms based on the list below, and you will have to identify 5 of them. The questions at the end of the list are designed to help you think broader about issues on the exam.

If you have granted me permission, I will post your grade to the Grade Page, hopefully by the day after the exam. Please make use of the Netforum class discussion group to discuss material you do not understand. If you have any questions about the exam, please feel free to contact me at mbecker@ilstu.edu.

Terms

Mesoamerica
Mestizaje
Syncretism
Archaic period
Pre-classic or Formative period
Classic period
Post-classic period
Olmec
Maya
Popol Vuh
Tikal
Chichén Itzá
Teotihuacán
Quetzalcóatl
Huitzilopochtli
Tlaloc
chinampa
Toltec
Aztecs
Flowery Wars
Tenochtitlán
Moctezuma
Nahuatl
Diego Velázquez
Cuauhtémoc
Hernán Cortés
Malinche
Juan Diego
Virgin of Guadalupe
Council of the Indies
Viceroy
Antonio de Mendoza
Audiencias
Cabildo
Residencia
Visitador
Vecinos
Gente de razón
Gente sin razón
Mestizo
Mulatto
Zambo
Encomienda
Encomendero
Peninsular
Creole
Corregidor de indios
Repartimiento
Obraje
Manila Galleon
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

Questions

• Describe the distinctive cultural achievements of early civilizations of Ancient Mexico.
• Describe the dynamics of Aztec expansion and the pent-up tensions within the empire.
• Describe the conditions in Europe that led to the "discovery" and conquest of America.
• Explain the relative ease with which a small number of Spaniards conquered great and populous Indian empires.
• Trace the evolution of colonial labor systems from encomienda, to repartimiento to theoretically free labor (debt peonage).
• Describe the major features of the colonial political system and institutions.
  Describe the structure of class and caste and the real or supposed place of each ethnic group within that structure.