Influence Of Dbq On Latin American Culture

In 1519 Spanish arrived in Mexico and further fought in the Spanish American war in 1898. Latinos were racially considered contaminated, cowardly, and outlawed. The conquest of New Mexico started when the king declared that land was now open for settlement. The first official Spanish colony created violence utilized to colonize native development. The colonization of the native known as Pueblo Indians reacted. They traveled to New Mexico killing enslaved perceived leaders, destroying tribal’s sacred locations, burning villages, and demolishing their culture by tearing down work routines, gender roles, and catholic practices. Mexico was too strong to face alone that allowed success in the Pueblo revolt 1598, creating a force of multiple democracies against Mexico. The process of colonization began.

Between the 1500s and 1800s the Spanish controlled vast amounts of lands in the Americas. Their sovereignty extended from the southern tip of South America all the way up to the coast of California, along with various Islands in the Caribbean. Throughout the reign of the Spanish, racial diversity among the population impacted social stability. The elite’s determination to maintain power and lower classes’ aim for upward social mobility were constant struggles during Spanish rule. Since class was determined based on ethnicity, social stability was directly correlated with racial diversity.

In New Spain, the Bourbon monarchies in 1808-1810 encouraged some creoles leaders to strike for total independence under the cover of Ferdinand. On July 1808, Napoleon’s capture of Charles the VI and Ferdinand the VII, and capture of Spain reached Mexico causing intense debate between Mexican elites. Creoles and Peninsulars prepared to take power and ensure their group would have power over the other; New Spain, like other Spanish colonies, went through the crisis of the Bourbon monarchy from 1808- 1810. Yet, in Mexico what pushed for independence from Spain would be the elite’s race for power.

Convinced of the superiority of Catholicism to all other religions, Spain insisted that the primary goal of colonization was to save the Indians from heathenism and prevent them from falling under the sway of Protestantism. The aim was neither to exterminate nor to remove the Indians, but to transform them into obedient Christian subjects of the crown. To the Spanish colonizers, the large native populations of the Americas were not only souls to be saved but also a labor force to be organized to extract gold and silver that would enrich their mother country. Las Casas’ writings and the abuses they exposed contributed to the spread of the Black Legend-the image of Spain as a uniquely brutal and exploitative colonizer. This would provide of a potent justification for other European powers to challenge Spain’s predominance in the New World.

One of the primary aspects of colonial Spanish life that is depicted in many Casta paintings, and represents signifiant racial tensions at the time, is the depiction of mixed race, or mixed nationality people, who are present, or the subjects of many Casta paintings. Although the Casta system, and the Casta paintings that depict this system encompass a wide and deeply complex racial hierarchy, there are some significant racial distinctions that are prominent in many Casta paintings. Some of the main racial and national distinctions seen in many Casta paintings are, Criollos (Mainly Spanish, or other Europeans who were born in America), Mestizos (A person with one Native American parents and one European parent), Mulatos (A person with one African parent and one European parent), and Negros (African). Although these terms would often be considered to be highly offensive in modern day America, they are culturally relevant, as they were commonly used at the time of the Casta system. This essay will explore the depictions of these four groups of people in Casta paintings, and how these paintings help to illuminate the racial tensions, hierarchies, and cultural changes occurring in Hispanic America during the 17th century.

Myths of Harmony by Marixa Lasso is a harrowing account of racial tension and deceit in the Age of Revolution in Colombia. The main theme of the book is that racial harmony is a myth that was cultivated during Colombia’s fight for independence (9). The author states that the lower classes were not any better off after the Revolution than before (4). The culture was known for caciquismo (patron-client relations) and fraudulent elections. These claimed racial equality, but in reality discriminated against certain races (4). Lasso discusses the role of the pardos - free Africans - community as a whole and their role in the political landscape. Racial identities were formed during the Age of Revolution by the struggles of the time period (152). The colonial wars during the Age of Revolution shaped the racial identities of numerous nations. Through racial visionaries, these nations chose a racial identity.

The very thought of peasants devising an insurgence terrified the Creoles. Leslie Bethell, the author of The Independence of Latin America wrote about the Napoleon Bonaparte and the invasion of Spain. “The Creoles had one eye on their masters, they kept the other on their servants.”(Doc F) Implying that the Creoles were very aware of the social classes due to the fact that the higher class was outnumbered. Living in terror of the uprising of their slaves. “They had to move quickly to anticipate popular rebellion, convinced that if they did not seize the opportunity, more dangerous forces would do so.”(Doc F) Creoles had to promptly protect themselves and prepare to defend due to the fall of the Monarchy in 1808, leaving their lives and property

From Reséndez’s foundation of European enslavement and its far-reaching impact on Native American populations, Reséndez examined racial components in the southwest. It is impossible to separate racial tension from the study of Indian slavery. Christopher Columbus’s journals as contemporary letters show the Spanish perception of

In documents E & F, both explain how the Creoles had led the fight socially. Stated in Document E, “Father Hidalgo, a Mexican revolutionary priest, declared himself in open revolt against Spain. He led about 600 followers, mostly Indians and mestizos, to fight against the injustices of the Spanish colonial system.” Father Hidalgo had been a Creole and he wanted to encourage lower class citizens to revolt, and other Creoles did not support him. He had led people to fight against the injustices of the Spanish. Socially, the Creoles had been on the top and they had wishes to stay there. Additionally written in Document F, “The Creoles were intensely aware if social pressure from below, and they strove to keep the coloured people at a distance.” “...when the monarchy collapsed in 1808, the Creoles could not allow the political vacuum to remain unfilled, their lives are property unprotected.” The Creoles had truly felt the heat from the other social classes. They had believed that if they did not seize the opportunity, then other danger would come. The Creoles had anticipated a rebellion that had been popular among all the other classes. To conclude, the Creoles had to secure their spot on the social pyramid and make sure that the lower classes did not overthrow them and revolt against them. The Creoles had been successful and what they had wanted to

While addressing his men, Hernan Cortez made grand promises of honor, greatness, and riches to those who did not abandon him on his mission to conquer the natives. He vowed that the war would “bring [them] fame” and “make [them]… the richest of all men who have crossed the seas” (Document 3). In this speech alone, the main, overarching reasons behind the Spanish conquest of the New World are unveiled. Cortez’s promises of gold, glory, and God spread through the masses, creating the major objectives for the conquistadors. These three motives influenced the Spaniards’ attitudes and shaped them into ones of bigotry and disrespect, that were later morphed into the protection of the native Indians.

Throughout chapter six, seven, and eight of Knaut’s book The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, he sets up the scene and leads up to the events that caused The Pueblo Revolt. While the tail end of chapter eight describes the actual revolt, most of the writing we read by Knaut describes the history leading up to 1680. In chapter 6, Knaut starts describing Spanish and Pueblo relation history in New Mexico beginning around 1609. The colony of New Mexico was isolated from the rest of New Spain in Mexico and this made it difficult for the colony. The six month journey from Mexico City to Santa Fe was dangerous due to the climate, length, and indigenous people in the region.

Where as Mexico and Mexicans are described in another light with references to a holocaust and “violent and traumatic.” Spaniards were “brutal and callous,” and Spanish law a “chaotic jumble” (7, 10, 13).

Latin Americas desire to emulate European culture and race caused many hardships for people of color. Even before Latin America gained its independence, Natives and Africans were treated as inferior. During the neo-colonial period, the elites made it a point to imitate European culture and any

The film “Black in Latin America" is an accurate source of information in which the foundation of two countries triggers the questioning and exploration of the citizen’s race and ethnicity. The setting of the film goes back to the 14th century in which the establishment of “Isla of Hispaniola” (today know as Haiti and Dominican Republic) initiated the importation of African slaves leaded by Christopher Columbus. Therefore, the rapid colonization of the land increased the formation of racial African heritage among the population. However, in present time the documentary takes relevance when Professor Henry Louis Gates explores the different racial justifications among the citizens when asked about their skin color, heritage and ancestry.

The Creole elite of Colombia were the first among the Andean republics to associate economic retardation with the concept of racial weakness (Larson p.75). The convergence of postcolonial concepts of class and race were used to blame poverty and misery on the victim, through fault of their inferior race (Larson p.81). In Colombia, the liberal elite's plan to transform society into a more progressive state was to gradually blend any kind of indigenous or African race with white European immigrants, therefore whitening the population as a whole. The main source of the whitening population was to come from European immigrants brought in to fill the gap left by the