Tenochtitlán was a site of encounter because. as the capital of the Aztec Empire, it was a center of political and military power. The Aztecs required conquered city-states to pay tribute periodically to Tenochtitlán. Receipt of this tribute enriched the Aztec state and stimulated markets in Tenochtitlán.

This set explores slavery on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century, with a focus on the changing concepts of what made a person a slave and what kinds of people could be enslaved. In the medieval Mediterranean, slavery was not based on race but on religion. Slavery became associated with race and skin color in the early modern Caribbean and Atlantic colonies.

The Virgin of Guadalupe is an image and a religious practice that shows the synthesis of Nahua/Mesoamerican and European Catholic religions in colonial Mexico City and the Spanish colony of New Spain.

This inquiry set features primary sources that demonstrate two main characteristics of the Mongol Empire: violent conquest and expansion of international trade and cultural exchange.

As the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, Baghdad was a site of encounter that attracted people, products, and ideas from all over Afroeurasia. People from many ethnic groups and religions coexisted in the caliphate.

This set examines the city of Rome, as the center of the Roman Empire, from 100 BCE through 200 CE, as a site of encounter, where people from multiple cultures met, interacted, and exchanged products, ideas and technologies. To spark student interest, most of the sources in the set are related to gladiatorial games and other public entertainments such as chariot racing and theatre.

Majorca was ruled by the MuslimAlmohads until its conquest byJames I, King of the Crownof Aragon,in 1229. Its greatest importance was as a trading and shipping center for thewestern Mediterraneanand the Maghribi ports, which controlled the gold trade from Mali and West Africa. Once the Majorcan base was established, Catalan merchants and shippers not only gained access to those markets, but also helped develop the maps, ships, and navigational technology which gave Mediterranean shippers access to the Atlantic Ocean.