Latin America, 1450-1750
Chapter 19
Spanish & Portuguese Context
Iberia shaped by frontier experience
Dominated by lawyer bureaucracy & Catholic Church
Introduction to Americas
Treaty of Tordesillas
Unlike others, New World conquered - forming new culture
Conquest: 1492-1570
Caribbean Test Ground
From initial efforts at government & wealth
Spanish legalism Encomienda
To colonial backwater
Brazil
Portugal slow to colonize Brazil
Spanish American mainland
Conquest eased by weapons, disease, & Aztec/Inca political problems
Conquest forged by greed of humble men in search of nobility
Spanish American mainland (cont)
Aztecs & Cortes = New Spain
Incas & Pizarro = Peru
Destruction & Transformation
Disease decimated native societies
Spain exploited indigenous people Adopting customs when useful Using encomienda labor Mixing racially
Debate about nature of natives Bartolome de Las Casas
Colonization: 1570-1700
Brazil
1st great plantation colonySugar labor was difficult - fulfilled by African slavesDependent on Portugal
Brazil integrated w/ Portuguese government Hierarchy based on race
Spanish America
Colonization meant influx of women, priests, & government
Agriculture
Agrarian society increasingly based on mita, wage labor, & land-ownership
Spanish Caribbean
Adopted much of Brazil’s plantation system
Mining
Massive silver mines heart of colonial econ Labor system evolved with colonial
development
Supported gov’t & all other industries
Used fleet system to trade silver to China
State & Church
1 of 2
King
Council of Indies
Viceroy of New Spain
Viceroy of Peru
Provincial court administrators
Local Bureaucrats
State & Church
Church dominated social service functions of gov’t Education & intellectual life Frontiers largely governed by Jesuit
missions
Christianity blended w/ Amerindian & African traditions in Latin America
2 of 2
Society of Racial Castes
Whites: Peninsulares Creoles
Mixed Heritage: Mestizos Mulattos
American Indians:
Africans:
Reform: 1700-1800
Spain & Portugal weakened by debt & war began losing American monopoly Caribbean mirrored Brazil under Dutch &
English
Enlightenment ideas & Iberian decline force change
Brazil & Reforms
Gold rush made Portugal dependent on England
Reforms disrupted Jesuits’ patterns of influence
Diversified Brazil’s economy laying seed of independence
Spanish America & Reforms
Reforms centered on restoring royal control & economic efficiency
Politically disrupted patterns of influence: Jesuits
Creoles
Economically developed new areas
Impact of Reforms
Population growth & activist gov created social unrest
Ethnic divisions undercut revolution
North America
Colonies largely ignored due to low profitability Resulting loose control led to:
Independent assemblies Emerging commerce & manufacturing
Settlers attempt to recreate European society Less impacted by native & African culture
End of Slave Trade Resistance to slavery grew more common
Slaves & maroon societies
Abolition of slave trade motivated by Enlightenment & Christian revival
1807: slave trade abolished
1888: world slavery abolished
Global Connections
Americas emerge as globally significant
Colonies more diverse & complex than seem
Question
What are the similarities and differences between Spanish America and Brazil?