How Did Latin America Change From 1500 To 1750

Starting in the years immediately preceding 1500, Latin America became connected with the rest of the world. Some aspects of this land, including the dependence on agriculture to support itself and epidemic diseases—like smallpox—killing scores of natives, remained the same. However, between the years 1500 and 1750, changes, like the rearranging of social hierarchies/ social classes brought on by an influx of European and African peoples, dramatically reshaped the course of Latin American history. Latin America continued to depend on agriculture to support itself between 1500 and 1750. Large-scale agriculture supported urbanization in Latin America. A steady food supply led to larger cities, and in turn, complex societies arose. Manioc,

This was primarily caused by the Europeans. Before this change, the social structure was somewhat standard: rulers were atop and the general population far below them. After having arrived and colonized, the Europeans almost single-handedly changed the social structure of Latin America. They immediately took control of the areas they discovered, viewing themselves at the top and natives (and obviously slaves) as inferior. The new structure was based mostly on race and/or origin. The European-born peoples were still atop, followed by creoles, Europeans born in the new colonies. Following them were several métis, or “mixed” races. Generally speaking, those with some European heritage were always higher than those who were descendants of Africans and/or natives, both of whom continued to fulfill the bottom ranks of society. The change evident in this period is due to the Europeans colonization of Latin America. These foreigners had an air of superiority, largely based on their advanced technology (which included the guns and cannons that helped them takeover these lands in the first place). As the Europeans and African began to comingle with natives, new races (mulattos for example) arose that led to new social divisions. One’s class was a status, one that was hard to maneuver from. Racism and discrimination often resulted from these divisions. This mixed population in Latin America was relatively unique, as most places globally, such as the Qing dynasty in China, did the exact opposite and strictly forbid any sort of relations between different peoples (the Qing forced native Chinese to cut or braid their hair in certain patterns to tell them apart from Qing subjects). The arrival of the Europeans in Latin America resulted in many drastic changes between 1500-1750, not the least of which was a new social