Latin American Culture

The convergence of African, indigenous and Spanish cultures began in the sixteenth century. Three large colonies in South America, New Spain, New Granada and the Philippines have been under Spanish rule.“La Encomienda”, a system based on feudalism provided another outlet for Spaniards to enforce their culture upon the indigenous. Masters would enslave the indigenous people and teach them Christianity. The Aztec population greatly decreased due to the Spanish mainly abusing their power and inhumane working conditions. Persuaded by Bartolomé de las Casas, the Spanish sought out to find steal from populations of West Africa for new slaves.

The Spanish were able to maintain power through a racially based stratification system, referred to as

Many of them originate from the Aztec and Incan civilizations of South America. Their social status depended upon their wealth. However, they were still abused by Spanish officials. People of native nobility served as a representation of independence and preservation of indigenous culture. Indigenous people suffered with the alteration of their world due to colonization.The last of the castes were the Africans. There was a surge in the African population in Latin America due to enslavement. Many Africans in Latin America were denied satisfactory jobs and weren’t valued enough to take up high positions besides work in the military. In general, heavy taxes were placed upon the lower castes. Ultimately, an individual’s lineage determined their privileges and limitations under the Spanish

The generalization of the character of indigenous and African people in Latin America was inevitable. Spaniards, generally fair-skinned, are still seen as the epitome of beauty and wealth. Some believe that the integration of mixed races couldn’t challenge this concept. It was public thought that an individual would undergo social regression if they married someone of a lower caste; African or indigenous. Colorism was extremely common during and after the time of the usage of “la casta” system. The “la casta” system led to inequality within the socio-economic setting. A prominent example of anti-blackness within Latin America is the social cleansing of the Dominican Republic, where Haitians or any mostly darker-skinned people were deported. There has been a brutal history of the discrimination against darker-skinned people. For example, they are regarded as lower and receive less job