HIST 457: Comparative Empires
Notes Organized by Class Date
1-15-13
Sources of Legitimacy
*fear of external aggression (Turks for the Spanish)
*opportunity for personal profit (raise individual status)
*divine right of kingship
*sense of nationalism perhaps
--war making played extensive part in empire building because of opportunity to increase
landholdings for profit of individuals and empire; need for expansion always existed because
opportunity for increased profit would disappear
--patterns of behavior in New World were already set with way that conquests were run within
Spain and Canary Islands; way of allotting land was established with encomienda (grant of
authority over group of Indians who were to be protected and Christianized in return for labor
services and tribute) and repartimiento (forced labor draft that allocated an Indian chieftain and
his people to a Spaniard)
--Ferdinand and Isabella could not be said to control a state; force of decree depended upon
willingness of local leaders to follow; Ferdinand and Isabella were nominal figureheads for
operating as symbolic leaders with some control over what happened through negotiations
--monarch was leader of each of the places under rule, but not the monarch of all of those places;
may have been at the top in each area, but level of control and degree of unity differed from one
area to another area
--Castile retained high level of importance for Columbus claiming newfound lands in the name
of Castile rather than Spain; newfound lands fell under ownership of Castile rather than jointly
under Castile and Aragon as one power
--Columbus was typical for the people of his culture; saw greater power than other people as
reasoning for takeover and enslavement; portrayed as hero and orchestrator of everything that
preceded and followed discovery of new lands
--exploration and colonization of new lands was a gamble and lottery of sorts; eastward passage
was only remaining option; passage around Africa was set aside for use of Portugal in exchange
for ownership of Canary Islands
1-17-13
--technology mattered great deal; technological marvel for just being able to arrive in the new
lands; weapons mattered for shock value and were particularly useful in certain circumstances
for power advantage over the other group
, --luck played great factor in being able to have successful conquest; intentions were
misunderstood by rulers and conquerors were able to understand situation enough without having
extensive knowledge of place
--Aztec Empire was about having ruler with tributary relationship where leaders paying tribute
have power on their own; Spanish Empire was about having ruler with tributary relationship
where leaders paying tribute have power that is given to them by the ruler; indirect rule was
description of Aztec control over lands in the empire; direct rule was description of Spanish
control over lands in the empire
--separation of powers was created at the local level; way to establish greater level of control and
make sure that any one person does not become too powerful; hold on power is aided by close
alignment between church and state; great influence is given to Spanish rulers for how church is
run within territories
--officials had to consider the consequences of their decisions for having an audit performed on
their service upon leaving; audit done afterward could allow bad decisions to be made during
service, but officials would come to face aftermath
1-22-13
--bias developed through occurrence of omitted variables; produces bias when omitted variable is
correlated with causal variable; no bias is produced when the omitted variable is uncorrelated to
the result; does not mean that variable is unimportant, but could be valuable for other reasons
--mercantilism involves alliance between the state, merchants, and producers; purpose is making
merchants and producers more profitable; purpose completed through strict control and direction
of money through the process
--liberalism involves state taking a step back; monopolies are eliminated under idea that less
barriers to trade will increase profit and money that can fall under taxation; expanding the pot
will produce more wealth and income for the state
--greater effort of colonization when pre-colonial institutions are of higher complexity; higher
complexity allows for colonial power to build upon established patterns of behavior that already
have rules and relationships that will last; provides more opportunity for success
--level of colonialism and type of colonizer institutions affect development of colonies upon
independence; can be predicted what countries will be rich and what countries will be poor today
by looking at how they were colonized in the past
--complex indigenous society is absolutely necessary for becoming colonial center, but also must
be combined with sufficient condition of mineral wealth or close proximity to other center; the
sufficient condition is one that is enough to facilitate outcome, but does not have to exist
--ability to use existing state institutions for subjugation and having something for people to do
mattered for what happened to indigenous people; lower level of complexity and not having task
for people meant difficulty in bringing situation under control
Notes Organized by Class Date
1-15-13
Sources of Legitimacy
*fear of external aggression (Turks for the Spanish)
*opportunity for personal profit (raise individual status)
*divine right of kingship
*sense of nationalism perhaps
--war making played extensive part in empire building because of opportunity to increase
landholdings for profit of individuals and empire; need for expansion always existed because
opportunity for increased profit would disappear
--patterns of behavior in New World were already set with way that conquests were run within
Spain and Canary Islands; way of allotting land was established with encomienda (grant of
authority over group of Indians who were to be protected and Christianized in return for labor
services and tribute) and repartimiento (forced labor draft that allocated an Indian chieftain and
his people to a Spaniard)
--Ferdinand and Isabella could not be said to control a state; force of decree depended upon
willingness of local leaders to follow; Ferdinand and Isabella were nominal figureheads for
operating as symbolic leaders with some control over what happened through negotiations
--monarch was leader of each of the places under rule, but not the monarch of all of those places;
may have been at the top in each area, but level of control and degree of unity differed from one
area to another area
--Castile retained high level of importance for Columbus claiming newfound lands in the name
of Castile rather than Spain; newfound lands fell under ownership of Castile rather than jointly
under Castile and Aragon as one power
--Columbus was typical for the people of his culture; saw greater power than other people as
reasoning for takeover and enslavement; portrayed as hero and orchestrator of everything that
preceded and followed discovery of new lands
--exploration and colonization of new lands was a gamble and lottery of sorts; eastward passage
was only remaining option; passage around Africa was set aside for use of Portugal in exchange
for ownership of Canary Islands
1-17-13
--technology mattered great deal; technological marvel for just being able to arrive in the new
lands; weapons mattered for shock value and were particularly useful in certain circumstances
for power advantage over the other group
, --luck played great factor in being able to have successful conquest; intentions were
misunderstood by rulers and conquerors were able to understand situation enough without having
extensive knowledge of place
--Aztec Empire was about having ruler with tributary relationship where leaders paying tribute
have power on their own; Spanish Empire was about having ruler with tributary relationship
where leaders paying tribute have power that is given to them by the ruler; indirect rule was
description of Aztec control over lands in the empire; direct rule was description of Spanish
control over lands in the empire
--separation of powers was created at the local level; way to establish greater level of control and
make sure that any one person does not become too powerful; hold on power is aided by close
alignment between church and state; great influence is given to Spanish rulers for how church is
run within territories
--officials had to consider the consequences of their decisions for having an audit performed on
their service upon leaving; audit done afterward could allow bad decisions to be made during
service, but officials would come to face aftermath
1-22-13
--bias developed through occurrence of omitted variables; produces bias when omitted variable is
correlated with causal variable; no bias is produced when the omitted variable is uncorrelated to
the result; does not mean that variable is unimportant, but could be valuable for other reasons
--mercantilism involves alliance between the state, merchants, and producers; purpose is making
merchants and producers more profitable; purpose completed through strict control and direction
of money through the process
--liberalism involves state taking a step back; monopolies are eliminated under idea that less
barriers to trade will increase profit and money that can fall under taxation; expanding the pot
will produce more wealth and income for the state
--greater effort of colonization when pre-colonial institutions are of higher complexity; higher
complexity allows for colonial power to build upon established patterns of behavior that already
have rules and relationships that will last; provides more opportunity for success
--level of colonialism and type of colonizer institutions affect development of colonies upon
independence; can be predicted what countries will be rich and what countries will be poor today
by looking at how they were colonized in the past
--complex indigenous society is absolutely necessary for becoming colonial center, but also must
be combined with sufficient condition of mineral wealth or close proximity to other center; the
sufficient condition is one that is enough to facilitate outcome, but does not have to exist
--ability to use existing state institutions for subjugation and having something for people to do
mattered for what happened to indigenous people; lower level of complexity and not having task
for people meant difficulty in bringing situation under control
