This article questions the disengagement that exists between European history and American history in a large part of the Chilean university system. Specifically, we emphasize on Early Modern and Colonial history which are taught in a disconnected way that ignores the importance the comprehension of one has for the comprehension of the other. To show the importance of the previous teaching of Middle Age history and the parallel one of Early Modern history for the subject of colonial history, we turn to three thematic fields. First, the legitimation of the Castilian dominance in America, which is based on a couple of peninsular precedents on the control of Africa and the Atlantic. Second, the order of society and the relationship between the dominant and the dominated. We show the importance of the medieval experiences the Castilian crown had on treating non-Christian parts of the population within its territory. Third, the institutions of government where we evidence that the American government was no particular phenomenon.