This course examines the construction of distinctively Latin-American societies from the age of conquest to the independence movements of the early-nineteenth century. The central theme will be the ways in which social conflicts between and among Europeans, Amerindians, and Africans shaped colonial Latin America and the subsequent creation of independent nations in the region. While discussing the interplay of race, class, and gender in these New World societies, the course will analyze the transformation of political and economic structures during the period of Spanish and Portuguese rule in the Americas.