Post on 26-Dec-2015
transcript
Who had power in Latin America?For nearly 300 years, Spain and Portugal held control over many colonies in the Latin America
In the 1800s, that would begin to change as Latin Americans became inspired by the American and
French Revolutions…
What was society like in here?Spain and Portugal had forced a very strict
social order on their Latin American colonies
There were four distinct social classes in Latin American society:
→ PENINSULARES
→ CREOLES
→ MESTIZOS
→ MULATTOS
Who was at the top of society?
PENINSULARES
Colonial leaders
Born in Spain or Portugal (the Iberian Peninsula)
These people were at the top of government and society in Latin America
Who was next in social order?
CREOLES
Descendents of Portuguese or Spanish settlers born in
the colonies
The peninsulares looked down on the creoles, and the creoles resented it
Where did most people fall in class?
MESTIZOS
Largest group of people in most colonies
People of mixed Spanish and Latin American ancestry
These people tended to:
Work as servants and Laborers
Have very few rights and freedoms
Who was at the bottom of society?
MULATTOS
Lowest social class – along with Native Americans and enslaved Africans
People of mixed African and European descent
Number of mulattos varied from colony to colony
Were people okay with this?
All lower classes disliked being ruled by the Peninsulares…
But they had little power to challenge their rulers
How did change come?
However, as Napoleon fought his wars to create a French Empire…
Spain and Portugal were left weakened…
Latin Americans saw their chance to win their independence!