1

BORN IN BLOOD AND FIRE:a concise history of Latin America

by John Charles Chasten

Chapter 2© 2011 The Granger Collection.

http://www.granger.com

2

Chapter 2: Colonial crucible

• Central themes from Chapter 2

1. Latin America experienced three long centuries of colonial rule.

2. The extraction of resources for king determined economic and political structure of new colonies.

3. Europeans exercised hegemonic power over Latin America.

4. Transculturation characterized emergence of new Latin American identity.

PD-US

Chapter 2: Colonial economics

Spanish ColoniesSilver extraction concentrates economic activity in Potosí and Zacatecas.

Economics:• Primary economic

activity centers around mines• Importance of ports

and transportation routes (Lima, Veracruz)• Secondary

economies• Taxes

Essential question: How did wealth extraction change the economic and political structures of the Americas?

Politics:• New political

centers - viceroyalties• Tax

structures

Politics and Economics:

?

Portuguese ColonySugar plantations and sugar mills center economic activity in Brazil.

Classical Numismatic Group, Inc.http://www.cngcoins.com PD-US

Chapter 2: Power called “hegemony”

Chapter 2: Process called transculturation

1. Diego Rivera depicts birth of mestizo (child of Gonzalez Guerrero).

2. Dark colored Jesus in Mexico City Cathedral

3. Depiction of “Last Supper” in the Cuzco Cathedral (in Peru); Jesus and his disciples eat “cuey” (guinea pig) -- the local delicacy

1 2

‣Intermarriage: birth of the mestizo race

‣Religious mixing: Cathedrals/churches built on indigenous holy sites; “patron saints” similar to indigenous deities

‣Latin American culture: a culture distinct from European heritage emerges in L.A.

3

Chapter 2: Fringes of colonization

Urban centers:•Urban institutions ➔ hegemony•Strong influence of European culture•Mixing of European/indigenous races and cultures - transculturation

Semi-rural:•Secondary economies•Less European control•Strong presence of settlers

Fringes:•Subsistence farming•Few slaves/cash

crops•Little colonial

presence•Racial mixing among

poorer classes•Native languages•Escaped slave

enclaves

Chapter 2: Racial mixing

Characteristics of mixing:

• Often not consensual

• Facilitated by prostitution

• New mixed races proved challenging for caste hierarchy

“Pure” castes

European

AfricanIndigenou

s

“Mixed” castes

European-AfricanIndigenous-African

European-Indigenous

Caste system

• Created by Iberian crowns

• Enforced hierarchy, recorded at baptism

• Mixing banned, but continued

• “Gracias al sacar” - buying whiteness

10

Chapter 2: Vocabulary Activity