Vistas: Visual Culture in Spanish America, 1520-1820

This bilingual website (Spanish and English) emphasizes the use of visual imagery and architecture for understanding the complex history of Spanish colonization of the Americas—from everyday life, to struggles for political control, to issues surrounding religion and spirituality.

To this end, the site presents 115 images of objects, buildings, sculptures, drawings, paintings, and maps from all over Spanish America. The images are displayed in a gallery, and each image is paired with a 200-word discussion explaining its use, origin, and significance. There are six thematic units: “Making Sense of the Pre-Columbian,” “Reckoning with Mestizaje,” “Political Force of Images,” “Patterns of the Everyday,” “The Mechanics of an Art World,” and “Otherworldly Visions.” Additional resources include a bibliography of relevant secondary sources, a glossary of terms used in the descriptions, and 16 Internet links to museums and online exhibitions related to visual imagery in the Americas.

Read a more in-depth review written by Joan Bristol of George Mason University at http://chnm.gmu.edu/.

Or, explore other website reviews at http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources.