Fall 2026

Colonial Latin America: Invasion to Independence

An introductory survey of colonial Latin American history from the late fifteenth to the early nineteenth century, examining expansion, contact, and colonization.

offering recorded3–4 credits

Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Marcella Hayes4.0/5

Summary

1 / 6

Historical reviews of Francisco Scarano: The class is described as a bit hard, requiring responsibility and interest to get help.

Grade history

↗

average GPA
letter grades

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Course details

Credits3–4 credits

Typically offeredNot Applicable

Subjects

History, Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies

About this course

An introductory survey of colonial Latin American history, from the late fifteenth to the early nineteenth century. Examines developments in Spanish and Portuguese America by reading both secondary and primary sources. Beginning with fifteenth-century Europe, the Americas and West Africa, discusses European expansion and invasion, first contacts between the so-called Old and the so-called New Worlds, as well as the role of religion, sexuality, gender, labor and production, trade and exchange, and politics. Each week, a central question will address the topic for that week. Become familiar with and contextualize key processes and events in colonial Latin American history and learn about the nature of colonization. Identify and evaluate historical arguments. Practice interpreting primary sources and building historical arguments about them.

Prerequisites

Course map

None

None

HISTORY/LACIS 243

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

None

Professors

Fall 2026

Marcella Hayes

/5Adjusted rating

/5RMP difficulty

captured reviews

About this rating

Raw average: 4.78/5 from 9 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2022: 3.64 GPA, 72.2% A/AB (n=18 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.50 GPA, 80.6% A/AB (n=36 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.57 GPA, 77.3% A/AB (n=22 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews for Francisco Scarano describe him as funny and engaging, though the class is somewhat difficult. He uses outlines but can be disorganized. He is willing to help students who show interest and responsibility.

FRANCISCO SCARANO is recorded teaching in Spring 2009, Spring 2011, Spring 2012. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MARCELLA HAYES is recorded teaching in Fall 2022, Fall 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

Section	Mode	Enrolled / capacity	Waitlist
LEC 001	Classroom Instruction	21 / 45	0
LEC 001	Classroom Instruction	11 / 45	0

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records

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Student experience

the class

Historical reviews of Francisco Scarano: Francisco Scarano makes the class fun and interesting, though the material is hard and he can be disorganized.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2022: 3.64 GPA, 72.2% A/AB (n=18 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.50 GPA, 80.6% A/AB (n=36 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.57 GPA, 77.3% A/AB (n=22 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Historical reviews of Francisco Scarano: The class is described as a bit hard, requiring responsibility and interest to get help.

Historical reviews of Francisco Scarano: Scarano is funny and helpful if students show interest, but his organization can be lacking.

Topics

European expansion and first contacts
Religion, sexuality, gender, labor, trade, and politics
Spanish and Portuguese America
Fifteenth-century Europe, the Americas, and West Africa

Skills

Identify and evaluate historical arguments
Interpret primary sources and build historical arguments
Contextualize key processes and events in colonial Latin American history

Grades

Latest available · Fall 2025— not enough history to project Fall 2026.

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

Grades over time

Through Fall 2025

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Not enough comparable courses for Fall 2026 in UW–Madison.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records

HISTORY/LACIS 243 · Fall 2026

Colonial Latin America: Invasion to Independence

Recorded 2026-09-07

HISTORY/LACIS 243 · Fall 2026

Colonial Latin America: Invasion to Independence

Recorded 2026-09-07

Raw records

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    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "026332",
    "source_subject_id": "448",
    "title": "Colonial Latin America: Invasion to Independence",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Not Applicable"
  },
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    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:525:026332",
    "course_id": "HISTORY/LACIS 243",
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    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "026332",
    "source_subject_id": "525",
    "title": "Colonial Latin America: Invasion to Independence",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Not Applicable"
  }
]

Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

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Model outputs & technical records

nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4

LLM outputs across runs

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Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

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Model & dataset provenance

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  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "e0d0208eba609d2aa5b79f523bb60b89607dbfc974a7e5596923f6fcdaa06238",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}