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Forces: Encounters and Cataclysm in the Western Hemisphere: Research

Research Guide for Forces That Shaped the Modern World, Fall Term '22 Major Assessment

Getting Started

Discuss the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the West Indies and the relationship created between the Europeans and the Natives throughout the first voyages of famous conquistadors such as Hernan Cortes or Francisco Pizarro. Evaluate the factors that allowed for a few hundred European soldiers to conquer huge native populations. In your thesis statement make sure that you are articulating which factors you think are most important and which ones may be secondary.


This is a purposefully broad question that will require you to make some choices in developing your answer.  Your essay should be 3-4 pages in length, doubled spaced and in Times New Roman. 
 Quick Links:
  • Bunn Library Online Resources: Display of all online resources available through the library. 
  • Noodletools: Bunn Library's recommended citation management tool. Create citations and bibliographies is multiple citation styles, collaborate with teachers and classmates, and use the interactive notecards feature to organize your evidence. 
To get started, Look at your topic from a wide lens. As you gather research, narrow down your focus based on the amount of evidence that you find. Make a list of keywords as you read! Check out this research organizer for more help organizing your focus.
To access databases and other library services from home, you will be prompted to sign-in through Lawrenceville's EZproxy. When you click link for a Bunn database or service, the log-in screen (pictured below) will appear.
  • Username: first part of your email address (before the @lawrenceville.org). Example: asinai
  • Password: your email password
Having trouble with access? Email dgeary@lawrenceville.org and include a description or screenshot of your issue. 

Reference sources are a great place to start your research. These resources provide a broad overview of your topic (the who, what, where, when, and why). Types of material include encyclopedias, almanacs, and dictionaries.
As you learn more, continue to gather keywords you can use to search for more complex sources. 

Background Reading

In addition to your textbook readings, the following source collections and suggested articles are a good starting point to gain understanding:
Encyclopedia Britannica Online: Includes the complete encyclopedia, as well as a Merriam-Webster dictionary and thesaurus. The Internet Guide provides links to recommended web sites.
Facts on File: Modern World History: Select the Modern World History database. Thousands of subject entries, biographies, images, videos and slideshows, maps and graphs, primary sources, and timelines combine to provide a detailed and comparative view of the people, places, events, and ideas that have defined modern world history. Export source citations directly into Noodletools. 
Gale in Context: World History: Filter results to focus on reference sources only. Browse the topics list for links to topical overviews and related sources, like Aztecs, Hernán Cortés, Christopher Columbus, and Francisco Pizzaro. Export source citations directly into Noodletools
Gale eBooks: search for broad keywords, like “Spanish conquistadors” AND Aztecs, and narrow your focus as you understand more about your topic. Use quotation marks “” around multiple words to search for key phrases. Export source citations directly into Noodletools
Secondary sources are a bridge between background reading and historical evidence. These sources take a particular position, and contain an analysis of documents and material in order to support an argument. Secondary sources can be written by scholars via books and peer-reviewed journals, or published in newspapers and magazines written by experienced journalists.

Secondary Source Collections

Suggested source collections are listed below. If you're feeling stuck, reach out to your teacher or Ms. Sinai for help.
Gale in Context: World History: Filter results to focus on academic journal articles, or magazines. Browse the topics list for links to topical overviews and then select related secondary sources, like Aztecs, Hernán Cortés, Christopher Columbus, and Francisco Pizzaro.
JSTOR: A highly selective digital library of academic content in many formats and disciplines. Use the Advanced Search and limit to Articles and Books.
ProQuest: A vast library of periodicals (newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals) covering a wide range of subjects. To search, select the Full Text checkbox so that your results yield only material that you can access, and use filters to limit results to scholarly articles.
Tips for searching for scholarly journal articles:
  • Be intentional about your keywords - who are the important figures, or events? How could you distill your topic into the most crucial words or phrases?
  • Use the Advanced Search option whenever possible to join together keywords and key phrases. Use quotation marks around phrases to ensure all words appear together in order, such as "Spanish conquistadors"  
  • Add search filters - limit to scholarly journal articles, book chapters (avoid book reviews!) 
Primary sources the historical evidence. Types of primary sources include documents (newspaper articles, interviews, diary entries), artifacts, or images that are of the time period you are studying. These require more advanced knowledge of the subject area to understand context and why the artifact is important. 

Primary Source Collections

Recommended Primary Documents (specific sources):
Welcoming Hernán Cortés to Mexico: An account includes excerpts from Moctezuma's speech from Florentine Codex and Moctezuma's speech from the Letters of Cortés.
Second Letter of Cortés to Charles V. Chapter 4 Excerpt
Second Letter of Cortés to Charles V. Chapter 5 Excerpt
"Dona Marina" from The True History of the Conquest of Mexico: Most of what we know about Malinche’s life is based on the account given by the chronicler Bernal Díaz del Castillo. In the following excerpt from his True History of the Conquest of Mexico he introduces Malinche, or Doña Marina, to the reader. 
La Malinche original documents: A collection of documents compiled in a class handout.
Excerpt from The Conquest of New Spain: An account by Bernal Díaz.
Recommended Collections for Primary Sources: 
Facts on File: Modern World History: Select the Modern World History database. Thousands of subject entries, biographies, images, videos and slideshows, maps and graphs, primary sources, and timelines combine to provide a detailed and comparative view of the people, places, events, and ideas that have defined modern world history. Export source citations directly into Noodletools
Gale in Context: World History: Filter results to focus on primary sources only. Browse the topics list for links to topical overviews and related sources, like Aztecs, Hernán Cortés, Christopher Columbus, and Francisco Pizzaro. Export source citations directly into Noodletools.