IV. THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD
Hanabusa Itcho, painting, ‘Puppeteers’ (17th century CE)
One of a series of ink paintings by Hanabusa detailing scenes from everyday life in Tokugawa Edo, this one illustrates two puppeteers entertaining children with their care-givers, the komori, in the background
("Puppeteers Painting." In World History Commons, 2021.
https://worldhistorycommons.org/puppeteers-painting.)
IV. THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD
(1585 CE) Bernard Diaz del Castillo, description of Dona Maria, translator to Cortes
Description: Detailed account of the role and person of Dona Maria, the native translator used by the Spanish as they conquered Mexico, written by a soldier who accompanied Cortes.
User notes: Primary document with introduction and accompanying article on ‘Dona Maria, Cortes’ Translator.’
Citation: “Dona Marina, Cortes’ Translator: Personal Account, Bernal Diaz del Castillo.” Women in World History, 2021. https://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/p/163.html.
Origin of source: Del Castillo, Bernal Diaz. The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico, 1517-1521. Chaps. 22-23. Translated by A.P. Maudsley. New York: The Noonday Press, 1965.
(1728 CE) Legal documents, the case of Jose de Alfaro vs. Dona Theresa Bravo, Mexico
Description: This document preserves one side of a legal case initiated by the husband of a woman who was insulted and beaten by the wife of a local official, outside their church, over her caste. It sheds light on the importance of caste, gender roles, and social status in general in colonial Mexico.
User notes: Primary document with introduction and accompanying article on ‘Gender and Race in Colonial Latin America.’
Citation: “Gender and Race in Colonial Latin America: Scandal at the Church.” Women in World History, 2021. https://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/p/232.html.
Origin of source: Rivera, Sonya Lipsett. “Scandal at the Church: Jose de Alfaro Accuses Dona Theresa Bravo and Others of Insulting and Beating His Castiza Wife, Josefa Cadena (Mexico, 1782).” In Colonial Lives: Documents in Latin American History, 1550 – 1850. Edited by Richard Boyer and Geoffrey Spurling. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. 216-223.
Description: Van Riebeeck was the Dutch commander of the trading base established at the Cape of Good Hope. These extracts describe his contact with one of their interpreters, Krotoa, called Eva by the Dutch.
User notes: Primary source with introduction and accompanying article on ‘Cultural Contact in Southern Africa.’
Citation: ‘Cultural Contact in Southern Africa: Journal, Jan van Riebeeck.’ Women in World History, 2021. https://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/p/69.html.
Origin of source: Jan van Riebeeck. Journal of Jan van Riebeeck. Volume II, III, 1656-1662. Edited by H.B. Thom. Translated by J. Smuts. Cape Town: A.A. Balkema, 1954.
(1710 CE) Johanna Maria van Riebeeck, letter extracts on the Dutch Cape colony, South Africa
Description: Johanna Maria was the granddaughter of Jan van Riebeeck who first commanded the Dutch trading post at the Cape of Good Hope. These extracts from two letters to her parents describe her visit to the Cape and her attitudes to those living there, both the Dutch and the native peoples.
User notes: Primary document with introduction and accompanying article on ‘Cultural Contact in Southern Africa.’
Citation: ‘Cultural Contact in Southern Africa: Letters, Johanna Maria van Riebeeck.’ Women in World History, 2021. https://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/lessons/lesson7/lesson7.php%3Fs=0.html
Origin of source: Briewe van Johanna Maria van Riebeeck en ander Riebeeckiana. Edited by D. B. Bosman. Translated by Anne Good. Amsterdam, 1952.
*(1617 CE) Jahangir, letter to James I of England, India
Description: Mughal emperor Jahangir wrote this letter to King James I recognizing the gifts of the English envoy to his court and opening some of India's ports to British merchants. Such access was the beginning of British influence in India, led by the British East India Company.
User notes: Full document with detailed introduction
Citation: "Jahangir: Letter to James I (1617)." In Daily Life through History, ABC-CLIO, 2021. https://dailylife2-abc-clio-com.proxymc.vcccd.edu/Search/Display/1546472.
(c. 1650 CE) Bahina Bai, autobiography extract, India
Description: This extract is from the autobiography of a Hindu poetess who lived from 1628-1700. In it she describes her arranged marriage and relationship with her husband, a priest.
User notes: Primary text with introduction and accompanying article on the ‘Early Modern Period.’
Citation: ‘Early Modern Period: Autobiography, Bahina Bai.’ Women in World History, 2021. https://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/modules/lesson4/lesson4.php?menu=1&s=9.
Origin of source: Bai, Bahina. Bahina Bai: A Translation of Her Autobiography and Verses. Translated by Justine E. Abbot. Poona, India: Scottish Mission Industries Co., 1929.
(1667 CE) Francois Bernier, letter detailing his experience witnessing acts of sati, India
Description: Whilst travelling in India on behalf of Louis XIV of France Bernier claims to have witnessed several acts of sati; here he describes the death of a willing widow and others that were less so.
User notes: Primary document with introduction and accompanying article on ‘Sati.’
Citation: ‘Sati: Letter, Francois Bernier.’ Women in World History, 2021. https://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/p/97.html.
Origin of source: Bernier, Francois. Travels in the Mogul Empire, AD 1656-1668. Translated by Archibald Constable on the basis of Irving Brock’s version. Edited by Vincent A. Smith. 1934. Reprinting, Delhi: Low Price Publications, 1994.
*(17th century CE) Thomas Roe, extract, ‘Leisure time in East India’
Description: In this section narrating his travels in India the English ambassador describes the pastimes and diversions of the wealthier inhabitants.
User notes: Document with introduction
Citation: Morris, Lawrence. "Leisure Time in East India." In Daily Life through History, ABC-CLIO, 2021. https://dailylife2-abc-clio-com.proxymc.vcccd.edu/Search/Display/1437955.
*(c. 1700 CE) Aurangzeb, letter to a friend, India
Description: Towards the end of his rule over most of the Indian sub-continent the Mughal emperor focuses in this letter on his failures, both political and personal, as he approaches old age and death.
User notes: Document with full introduction
Citation: Morris, Lawrence. "Letter from the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb." In Daily Life through History, ABC-CLIO, 2021. https://dailylife2-abc-clio-com.proxymc.vcccd.edu/Search/Display/1438175.
(1566 CE) Chang, petition on behalf of her husband to Emperor Shi Zong, China
Description: Written on behalf of her imprisoned husband Lady Chang pleas for the release of her husband, offering to take his place in prison so that he may be able to see his elderly father.
User notes: Primary text with introduction and accompanying article on the ‘Early Modern Period.’
Citation: ‘Early Modern Period: Petition, Ming China.’ Women in World History, 2021. https://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/p/87.html.
Origin of source: Giles A. Herbert, editor. Gems of Chinese Literature. Vol. I, Prose. Shanghai: Kelly and Walsh, 1923.
(17th century CE) Song Siyol, Instructions to my Daughter, Korea
Description: A father’s instructions to his daughter upon her marriage including sections on how to serve her husband, how to instruct her children, and more.
User notes: PDF file with introduction and questions for discussion; both a short extract and a longer version of the document are provided.
Citation: Song Siyol. ‘Instructions to My Daughter.’ Asia for Educators, 2020. Translated by JaHyun Kim Haboush. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/korea/song_siyol_daughter.pdf.
Origin of source: Sources of Korean Tradition. Edited by Yŏng‐ho Ch’oe, Peter H. Lee, and William Theodore de Bary. Vol. 2. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000. 49-52.
*(1635 CE) Tokugawa Iemitsu, ‘Closed Country Edict,’ Japan
Description: This was the last of five Tokugawa edicts that had as their goal the isolation and hence protection of Japan from outside forces. This one was promulgated in the port of Nagasaki and focuses on the banning of trade and travel both by the Japanese outside of the country and by outsiders within Japan, as well as the banning of Christianity and its missionaries.
User notes: Primary document along with comprehensive explanation and analysis by Lee Butler.
Citation: “Japan’s Closed Country Edict: The Full Text.” Edited by Brian Bonhomme & Cathleen Boivin. Milestone Documents in World History. Salem, 2010. Online.salempress.com.
*(1639 CE) ‘Tale of the Christians,’ excerpts, Japan
Description: Edo-sponsored propaganda against Christian priests and their religion, this was one of several anti-Christian chapbooks produced once their presence was determined to be against the stability of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
User notes: extract introduced with ‘Keep in Mind as you Read’ and suggested questions and topics to consider as well as an ‘Aftermath’ section on the Hidden Christianity that survived in Japan.
Citation: Vaporis, Constantine Nomikos. "Anti-Christian Propaganda." In Voices of Early Modern Japan: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life during the Age of the Shoguns, 201-204. Voices of an Era. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2012. Gale eBook. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2730700058/GVRL?u=moor85003&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=4f2bef84.
Origin of source: Anonymous. “Kirishitan monogatari,” in Deus Destroyed: The Image of Christianity in Early Modern Japan, by George Elison. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1973, 321–56.
*(c. 1700 CE) Tokugawa Hidetada, ‘Laws Governing Military Households,’ Japan
Description: Promulgated by the second Tokugawa shogun, these thirteen articles lay out the rules and practices that were required from the samurai in order to maintain peace in Japan.
User notes: Primary document along with comprehensive explanation and analysis by Lee Butler.
Citation: ‘Laws Governing Military Households: The Full Text.’ Edited by Brian Bonhomme & Cathleen Boivin. Milestone Documents in World History. Salem, 2010. Online.salempress.com.
(17th century CE) Hanabusa Itcho, painting, ‘Puppeteers’
Description: One of a series of ink paintings by Hanabusa detailing scenes from everyday life in Tokugawa Edo, this one illustrates two puppeteers entertaining children with their care-givers, the komori, in the background. (This source can be paired excellently with the Komori Songs from around 1900, found in the Long Nineteenth Century section later in this bibliography.)
User notes: The painting has an ‘Annotation’ introducing it; there is also an ‘Overview’ introducing all the module’s sources on children as well as an ‘Essay’ and ‘Teaching Strategies’ that offer detailed help on how to present them to students (available from the document link).
Citation: "Puppeteers Painting." In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/puppeteers-painting.
Origin of source: Hanabusa Itcho. Puppeteers. Reprinted in Morikage / Itcho: Nihon bijutsu kaiga zenshû, edited by Kobayashi Tadashi and Sakakibara. Vol. 16, p. 88 plate 17. Tokyo: Shûeisha, 1982, p. 88.
(17th century CE) Yamaga Soku, The Way of the Samurai, Japan
Description: Selections from the book that defined the purpose of samurai in an age of peace, emphasizing moral obligation and duty alongside readiness for war.
User notes: PDF file with brief introduction and questions for discussion; both a short extract and a longer version of the document are provided.
Citation: “Excerpts of The Way of the Samurai (Shido) by Yamaga Soku.” Asia for Educators, 2020. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/soko_samurai.pdf.
Origins of source: Japanese Tradition. Edited by Theodore de Bary, Carol Gluck, and Arthur L. Tiedemann. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005. 192-194.
(17th century CE) Kaibara Ekiken, Greater Learning for Women, Japan
Description: This Japanese text details the role of women in the Confucian order and is key to understanding Japanese women of the period.
User notes: Primary text with introduction and accompanying article on the ‘Early Modern Period.’
Citation: “Early Modern Period: Nonfiction, Confucian Doctrine.” Women in World History, 2021. https://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/p/84.html.
Origin of source: Kaibara Ekiken. ‘Greater Learning for Women.’ Women and the Wisdom of Japan. London: John Murray, 1914.
*(1493 CE) Christopher Columbus, ‘Letter to Raphael Sanxis on the Discovery of America,’ Spain
Description: This letter was directly addressed to the treasurer of the kingdom of Aragon, and hence indirectly to King Ferdinand and his consort Isabella, Queen of Castille, who had funded Columbus’ expedition. It is the first widely-publicized account we have of the Americas and their peoples.
User notes: Full text of the document as well as comprehensive explanation and analysis by Michael J. O’Neal.
Citation: Columbus, Christopher. “Christopher Columbus’s Letter To Raphael Sanxis On The Discovery Of America: The Full Text.” Edited by Brian Bonhomme & Cathleen Boivin. Milestone Documents in World History. Salem, 2010. Online.salempress.com.
*(1513 CE) ‘Requerimiento,’ Spain
Description: This “demand” was written by lawyers on behalf of the Spanish monarch to be read aloud by Spanish conquistadors as they arrived at the lands of the Americas. It demanded that all native peoples must accept Spanish rule and the Christian church or else face aggression.
User notes: Full text of the document as well as comprehensive explanation and analysis by Michael J. O’Neal.
Citation: “Requerimiento: The Full Text." Edited by Brian Bonhomme & Cathleen Boivin. Milestone Documents in World History. Salem, 2010. Online.salempress.com.
(1500-1800 CE) ‘Women in the Early Modern World,’ selection of sources
Description: A collection of twelve short sources illustrating both the position of women in Europe during this period as well as the growing cross-influences in the lives of women throughout the world. They include writings and illustrations illuminating the lives of women in the West as well as comparative texts from Japan, China, and India.
User notes: The primary source collection has an ‘Overview’ on its landing page and then each document has an ‘Annotation’ introducing it; there is also a ‘Document-Based Question’ detailing a full assignment that can be used for the collection.
Citation: Lopez, Maritere, Charles Lipp, and J. Nathan Campbell. "Long Teaching Module: Women in the Early Modern World, 1500-1800." In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/long-teaching-module-women-early-modern-world-1500-1800.
(1540 and 1542 CE) Legal papers for the adoption of three orphans, France
Description: These notarial records from two adoption cases for a boy and for two sisters show the standing of both orphans and of their parents and adopted parents during this period when increasing numbers of children were abandoned and left in the state’s charge. (This source pairs excellently with the entry in this bibliography on Manoel Severim de Faria’s suggestions for the handling of state orphans in Portugal.)
User notes: The source has an ‘Annotation’ introducing it; there is also an ‘Overview’ covering all the module’s sources on children as well as a separate ‘Essay’ and ‘Teaching Strategies’ that offer detailed help on how to present them to students (available from the document link).
Citation: "Orphan Records, Early Modern France." In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/orphan-records-early-modern-france.
Origin of sources: Chojnacka, Monica and Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks, eds. Ages of Woman, Ages of Man: Sources in European Social History, 1400–1750. London: Longman, 2002, 31–2, 35.
(1624 CE) Trial of Elizabeth Taylor for infanticide, transcript, England
Description: The short extracts from this trial at the Old Bailey suggest the difficult situation of single women who become pregnant, in this very typical case of a servant in a household; if found guilty the punishment was death.
User notes: The source has an ‘Annotation’ introducing it; there is also a separate ‘Overview’ covering all the module’s sources on children as well as an ‘Essay’ and ‘Teaching Strategies’ that offer detailed help on how to present them to students (available from the document link).
Citation: "Infanticide Trial Transcript from the Old Bailey of Elizabeth Taylor of Clerkenwell." In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/infanticide-trial-transcript-old-bailey-elizabeth-taylor-clerkenwell.
Origin of source: May, Allyson N. "'She at first denied it': Infanticide Trials at the Old Bailey." In Women and History: Voices of Early Modern England, edited by Valerie Frith, 31–2. Concord, Ontario: Irwin Publishing, 1997.
(1655 CE) Manoel Severim de Faria, ‘Suggestions for the Handling of State Orphans,’ Portugal
Description: As a Catholic bishop de Faria wrote this treatise for the treatment of the many children in church orphanages, recommending training for useful futures – for boys as sailors and for girls as mothers.
(This source pairs excellently with the entry in this bibliography on ‘Orphan Records’ from France.)
User notes: The source has an ‘Annotation’ introducing it; there is also a separate ‘Overview’ covering all the module’s sources on children as well as an ‘Essay’ and ‘Teaching Strategies’ that offer detailed help on how to present them to students (available from the document link).
Citation: "Noticias de Portugal." In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/noticias-de-portugal.
Origin of source: Severim de Faria, Manoel. Noticias de Portugal, 3rd ed. Translated by Darlene Abreu-Ferreira. Lisbon: Na Offic. de Antonio Gomes, 1791 [1655], 57–63.
*(1493 CE) Christopher Columbus, ‘Letter to Raphael Sanxis on the Discovery of America’
Description: This letter was directly addressed to the treasurer of the kingdom of Aragon, and hence indirectly to King Ferdinand and his consort Isabella, Queen of Castille, who had funded Columbus’ expedition. It is the first widely-publicized account we have of the Americas and their peoples.
User notes: Full text of the document as well as comprehensive explanation and analysis by Michael J. O’Neal.
Citation: Columbus, Christopher. “Christopher Columbus’s Letter To Raphael Sanxis On The Discovery Of America: The Full Text.” Edited by Brian Bonhomme & Cathleen Boivin. Milestone Documents in World History. Salem, 2010. Online.salempress.com.
*(1513 CE) ‘Requerimiento,’ Latin America
Description: This “demand” was written by lawyers on behalf of the Spanish monarch to be read aloud by Spanish conquistadors as they arrived at the lands of the Americas. It ordered that all native peoples must accept Spanish rule and the Christian church or else face aggression.
User notes: Full text of the document as well as comprehensive explanation and analysis by Michael J. O’Neal.
Citation: “Requerimiento: The Full Text." Edited by Brian Bonhomme & Cathleen Boivin. Milestone Documents in World History. Salem, 2010. Online.salempress.com.
(16th century CE) Illustration, ‘Birth Rituals in the Codex Mendoza,’ Mexico
Description: This drawing from the Codex shows the Aztec rituals that would follow the birth of a boy or a girl under the supervision of the midwife, and ending with their dedication to the gods and their name-giving.
User notes: The source has an ‘Annotation’ introducing it; there is also a separate ‘Overview’ covering all the module’s sources on children as well as an ‘Essay’ and ‘Teaching Strategies’ that offer detailed help on how to present them to students (available from the document link).
Citation: "Birth Rituals in the Codex Mendoza." In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/birth-rituals-codex-mendoza.
Origin of source: Codex Mendoza, prepared on the order of Don Antonio de Mendoza, Viceroy of New Spain, for the Emperor Charles V., Mexico; c. 1535-50. Bodleian Library, MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1, fol. 57r.
(16th century CE) ‘Advice of an Aztec Mother to her Daughter,’ text and illustration
Description: The source contains both a drawing and the text from the Franciscan Bernardino de Sahagun’s recording of the Aztec rituals and customs in mid 16th century New Spain It includes advice on obedience to her father and on her clothing, speaking, and overall deportment.
User notes: The source has an ‘Annotation’ introducing it; there is also a separate ‘Overview’ covering all the module’s sources on children as well as an ‘Essay’ and ‘Teaching Strategies’ that offer detailed help on how to present them to students (available from the document link).
Citation: "Advice of an Aztec Mother to Her Daughter.” In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/advice-aztec-mother-her-daughter.
Origin of source: De Sahagun, Bernardino. Historia de Nueva España, Lib. VI., Cap. XIX. "Advice of an Aztec Mother to Her Daughter." In William Hickling Prescott, Wilfred Harold Munro, William Robertson, and George Ticknor, The Works of William H. Prescott (J. B. Lippincott, 1904), Appendix, Part II. Image from World Digital Library.
(1535-1550 CE) Codex Mendoza, illustration depicting Aztec disciplining of children
Description: The picture shows four scenes of disciplinary methods used by the Aztecs starting with verbal warnings and ending with beatings; the punishments are slightly varied according to the sex of the child.
User notes: The illustration has an ‘Annotation’ introducing it; there is also a separate ‘Overview’ covering all the module’s sources on children as well as an ‘Essay’ and ‘Teaching Strategies’ that offer detailed help on how to present them to students (available from the document link).
Citation: "Disciplining Children in the Codex Mendoza." In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/disciplining-children-codex-mendoza.
Origin of source: Codex Mendoza, prepared on the order of Don Antonio de Mendoza, Viceroy of New Spain, for the Emperor Charles V., Mexico; c. 1535-50. Bodleian Library, MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1, fol. 58v.