Transcript Early Latin America Chapter 19, pgs 404-430

Early Latin America
Chapter 19, pgs 404-430
Spain & Portugal: Conquest
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Iberian peninsula = heart of European frontier,
conflict b/t Christianity & Islam → tradition of
military conquest & rule over diverse beliefs
Iberian Society & Tradition
Tradition
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Urban w/ commoners in towns &
villages
Serfdom & slave labor from
cultural frontier
Professional bureaucracy of
lawyers
Royal nomination of church
officials
Trading posts in Africa
American Adaptations?
Chronology of Conquest

1492 to 1570: administration & economy est
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1570 to 1700: colonial institutions formalized
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1700 to 1800: intensified colonization
through reform
Caribbean Crucible
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Caribbean proved to be a testing ground
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Larger populations of natives served as serfs →
encomienda
Rumors & hopes led to immigration
Devastation of natives led to church leaders
fighting abuses → increased African slavery
↳Sets stage for colonial system in Mexico, Peru,
& Brazil
Paths of Conquest
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Conquests by individuals followed by civil society
(women, missionaries, administrators)
Two pronged conquest:
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Mexico
Peru
↳ Conquest then branched out, facing stiff resistance
The Conquerors
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Men of humble origins conquered for greed & desire
to convert
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Greed always spurred new conquest
Created new nobility w/ rights over new peasantry
Conquest & Morality
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Violence of conquest raises questions of
morality
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Some argue natives are not fully human
Others argue natives should be treated fairly &
converted peacefully
↳Results are mixed – only worst abuses
moderated
Destruction & Transformation
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Disease created demographic catastrophe
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Seizure of native communal lands
Exploitation of the Indians
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Outright enslavement was prohibited, but
encomiendas acted as sources of labor
Colonists increasingly sought land as a source
of wealth & governments extract labor
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Mita
Spanish & natives selectively accept aspects
of each others culture
Colonial Econ & Gov
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Although Spanish America was an Ag society,
mining (silver) was essential
Silver Heart of an Empire
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Major discoveries made in Zacatecas, Mexico
& Potosí, Peru
Mining labor evolves: from native slaves to
encomienda workers to mita to wage wokers
One-fifth of all silver belongs to royal gov
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Stimulates Ag & economy
Haciendas & Villages
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Hacienda = rural estate owned by Spanish families
& worked by natives → base of local aristocracy
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Source of competition w/ native Ag villages
Industry & Commerce
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America becomes self-sufficient except for luxuries
American silver key to Spanish commerce
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Heavily regulated, Fleet system developed
Spanish silver envied, but much goes to wars,
Chinese luxuries, & debts
1 of 2
Ruling an Empire: State
King
Council of Indies
Viceroy of
New Spain
Viceroy
of Peru
Audiencias
Local Bureaucrats
2 of 2
Ruling an Empire: Church
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Acted as a ruling force in colonies
Church & missionaries established ideological
& intellectual framework
Brazil: First Plantation Colony
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1st only thought to be useful for its timber
(land of trade outposts & merchants)
Later nobles & capitaincies w/ feudal & econ
power
Sugar & Slavery
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Plantation colony & model for sugar-based
Caribbean (now a backwaters)
Social hierarchy reflected plantation slavery
Bureaucracy mirrored Spanish America
(although w/ strong connection to crown)
Intellectually dependent on Portugal
Brazil’s Age of Gold
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Establishment of plantation colonies in
Caribbean hurts Brazil & leads to
economically diverse set of colonies
Discovery of gold, rejuvenates Brazil as
economy & colony
Discovery of gold = mixed blessing
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Positively (growth of cultural life)
Negatively (continued lack of industry in Portugal)
Multiracial Societies
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Multiple ethnicities in Americas (all under varying
conditions) created relations of power
Sociedad de Castas
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Society of races
 Europeans: Peninsulares, Creoles
 Castas: mestizos, mulattos (↑ in # & importance)
 Africans & Indians
Traditional distinctions b/t gender, age, class persist
Question Slide
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Considering the relative decline of serfdom in
Western Europe, what forces do you think
led creation of coerced labor systems in
colonies around the world?
th
18
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Century Reforms
Expansion of economy & population in Europe led to
progressive ideas in colonies
Shifting Balance
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Spain weakened by debt & war began losing
American monopoly
Death of Charles II & War of Spanish Succession led
to legal concessions to French & English
Bourbon Reforms
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Reforms in Spain & Americas centered on restoring
gov & econ efficiency
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Disrupted patterns of influence
Economically developed new areas & adopted more liberal
trade policies
Pombal & Brazil
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Reforms in Portugal & Brazil mirror Spanish efforts
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Advocated mercantilism
Monopoly companies & slaves used to expand Ag,
introduce crops, revitalize plantations
Reforms, Reactions, & Revolts
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Experienced rapid population growth
Social unrest increased as a result of new
activist gov & growing economic prosperity
Success of revolts undermined by social
division
Global Connections
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Created European societies
 Basis for power & econ of Europe
 But more complex b/c of econ,
environments, indigenous cultures
New empires
 Compare to Russia
 Importance of coerced labor & gunpowder
in early modern period
Question Slide
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What are the similarities and differences
between the Iberian empires and Russian
empire?