I. From medieval to modern colonization -- The continuing tradition of reconquest / Claudio Sanchez-Albornoz -- Italian influences in Iberian colonization / Charles Verlinden -- II. Elements of conquest and settlement -- The Madeiran sugar cane plantations / Virginia Rau -- Slavery in Seville at the time of Columbus / Ruth Pike -- The inheritance of the Plansman / Charles Julian Bishko -- The roots of lordship : the encomienda in medieval Castile / Robert S. Chamberlain -- The urban heritage / John Preston Moore -- The Mendicant contribution / Georg Kubler -- III. The ethos of medieval Iberia -- The Spanish sense of nobility / Américo Castro -- The Portuguese imprint upon Brazil / Jaime Cortesao.