Primary sources
Bring an example of material culture that represents the trade networks of the Spanish Empire

Core readings
Buschmann, R. Iberian visions of the Pacific Ocean, 1507-1899 (Palgrave, 2014),Chapter 1. On Shrinking Continents and Expanding Oceans, pp 13–45 (ebook available).
The Global and the Local: Problematic Dynamics of the Triangular Trade in Early Modern Manila, Tremml-Werner, B., Journal of World History, Vol. 23, No. 3 (September 2012), pp. 555-586
Tremml-Werner, Birgit, Spain, China and Japan in Manila, 1571-1644: local comparisons and global connections (Amsterdam, 2015), introduction.

Further Reading
Thomas, Hugh, Rivers of Gold, The Rise of the Spanish Empire (London, 2010).
Grafe, Regina, Distant Tyranny, Markets, Power, and Backwardness in Spain, 1650-1800, Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 2012.

Key Questions
• In what ways did the establishment of Manila in 1571 transform the connections and geometry of the Spanish Empire?
• Give an example of how the history of the Spanish Empire can be told through the history of an object

Historiographical theme: material culture