The purpose of this course is to survey the history of Mexico by examining the encounters between Europeans and the Indigenous peoples of this geographical space over the course of three centuries. The class will consider the reciprocal effects of this contact with respect to European civilization; three hundred years of contact, conflict, and colonialism. We will explore in detail the impact of the conquest on the peoples, landscape, geography, and demography of Mexico; the role of the Catholic Church; colonial and global economies; the formation of "race" and racialized caste systems; and subaltern resistance among other themes. The course will run chronologically but will also take some contemporary liberties when appropriate. Opposing viewpoints and historiographical debates will set the tone for most of our discussions and a number of themes will guide our semester together: the centrality of Indigenous peoples; problems with Spanish colonization and failed efforts to conquer; historiographical interpretations of the past by both insiders and outsiders; and the process and problems of nation-building. Final grades will be composed of a map quiz, midterm, final, review essay, class attendance and active class participation.