The Negative Legacy in Latin America Latin America is known and has always been known to consist of Central America, South America, and Mexico. During the late 15th century through the 18th century, all of Latin America dealt with the colonization of the Europeans. The country also dealt with a collective independence from the Europeans during the 19th century. Once the Europeans invaded Latin America, the indigenous population underwent several changes in the social and cultural aspects of their society. Many historians argue that the indigenous population was blessed with the interactions of the Europeans because it led to several advancements in the countries. Although they were exposed to innovation and the modern world, the indigenous …show more content…
Things quickly began changing in favor of the Europeans, leading to indigenous oppression as they placed themselves in a higher power over the indigenous people. The “Spanish enforced their customs and beliefs when the colonized. Upper-class customs and attitudes were relatively unchanged in America but lower-class customs changed since lower-class Spaniards who went to the New World were able to raise their status.” (121, Mabry). With the domination of the European culture, the Spaniards were able to boost their status due to the fact that they were already accustomed to the culture. This forced the indigenous people into the lower class, where there they had no rights. This abolished the system of equality the indigenous people had, due to the fact that the only thing higher than them was their god. With the change in the social class system, also came the change of beliefs that the indigenous people were supposed to follow. “Immigrants took things. They fought, fornicated, and settled. They imposed their food, ideas, clothing, political practices, and such on others. This was the technique of the Toltec, Aztecs and Incas. Wealth was transported from Latin America to finance things. The indigenous people supported Europe’s commercial and industrial revolution” (3, Mabry). Before colonization, the indigenous people merely created things based off of their need to survive. They produced food, clothing, and simple goods for their own benefits. After colonial times, the indigenous people were exploited for manual labor and the products they had, such as tobacco. Their priorities shifted from survival to a desire for money, which is derived from the Spaniards. The Europeans decided to take the final step in converting the indigenous population by completely changing the environment of