born in blood and fire - chapter 2
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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
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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
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‣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.
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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
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Chapter 2: Vocabulary Activity