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hepople B Lesson Plans
Justice& Conflict Resolution in Colonial St. Augustine
Prepared by Judy Hoffman
Intended Grade: 9th and 10th
Subject Areas: World History
Intended Grade: 11th and 12th
Subject Areas: History of the Americas (I.B.)
Correlation to National or Florida Sunshine State Standards:
This lesson is intended to help students grasp the intricacies of class, gender and
race in Spanish colonial America. Its overall goal is to explain how the past
shaped subsequent developments in regions of Latin America and the United
Students will apply their understanding of the fluidity of class, race and gender in
Spanish colonial society through examination of real conflicts. They will also
recognize the concept of justice in the Spanish colonial system as it applies to
people of different class, gender and race.
Approximate Time Required: varies
Handouts, if available copies of cases
Landers, Jane G. "Female Conflict and its Resolution in Eighteenth
Century St. Augustine." The Americas Vol. 54, No. 4, 1998, p. 557-574.
Prior to beginning this lesson, students will have a background in class
designations in colonial Spanish society. They will also have discussed the
concept of life at the center versus the periphery. In addition, they will have a
basic understanding of Spanish political, economic and social institutions.
1. Introduce the idea of conflict, especially in social settings.
Through discussion, students will generate examples of interpersonal disputes in
neighborhood, city or school communities.
Discuss whether or not the nature of these conflicts has changed over time and if so, how.
2. Identify ways in which conflicts are resolved in the school, by disciplinary
action by teachers, administrators or through peer mediation or student court,
as well as less formal methods.
If students feel they have been unjustly treated, what recourse do they have in the system?
3. Introduce the process of resolution of conflict in Spanish colonial America.
This can be done through lecture, reading excerpts from texts (if available) or handout prepared
by the teacher.
4. In small groups or class (depending on grade level and time), students
examine one or more case studies as described in article.
(At this point it is up to the teacher to determine how to proceed. One possibility would be to
give each group a different case study and allow them to reenact it for the group. If could be
done without divulging the consequences of the actual case, students can suggest possible
1. Debrief group presentations by asking how race, class, and gender differences
are demonstrated by the nature of the proceedings, as well as how the
concept of justice was illustrated, and what motivations or circumstances might
explain the solution.
2. Have students pretend to be a witness giving testimony and write what they
An alternative is to be the governor hearing the case and ruling on it.
3. Have students pretend to be a person who loses in the judgment petition a
higher authority for review of the case.
4. Have students role play a news reporter, reporting on the conflict or
interviewing the participants.