- Chasteen states that contours in Latin American ethnicities had been established primarily because of sexual relationships between the Spaniards. African and indigenous American people due to less number of women where “within a few years, indigenous women and Spanish men became the parents of a legion of mestizo children” (2005, 45). These interracial and intercultural relationships gave rise to a new ethnic group that was not European or African. Thus, there was an establishment of another ethnic group that formed the current contours in Latin America. The Mestizo was the second class citizen because they were sons and daughters of powerful Spanish men and thus bared English names, but their culture and traditions were more African. The Spanish women’s arrival in the American and marriages with the indigenous men gave rise to a new ethnic group called mestizos.
- The complexity of life and society in Mesoamerican was characterized by three stages, which include non-sedentary, forest dwellers and semi-sedentary, and lastly, Classic—Golden Age of Mesoamerica. The fist life involved a society of hunter and gathered who were formed into small groups, and they were found in “places such as northern deserts of
Mexico and open plains—such as the interior of South America, Northeastern Brazilian area, and the Pampas people in Argentina” (Class Lecture). The second stage involved semi-sedentary, which were mainly made of organized tribes and proportionally allocated gender roles. Empires such as Aztec came in this society which was more informed in agricultural activities than sedentary society. The third society which came into existence in AD 200-900 is referred to as pre-classic period where farming intensified, string societies, “highly stratified, the emergence of nobility and religious hierarchy” (Class Lecture). Postclassic was the final society in the Mesoamerica, which had cities and empires, more advanced in agriculture, and around A.D 1000 there were big cities and irrigation systems.
- The historical experiences of Latin-American had been influenced by religion and the colonizers who took over the Americas. The transculturation like, “Brazilian fringes resembled Spanish American fringes” (Casteen, 2005, 78). This is evident of the transculturation due to colonization and thus in America it is critical to look at Mestizos from their original place and not generalize their histories. The “mixed racing” is evident today, and this can be attributed to the cohabitation of Portuguese in a place like Sao Paulo with Tupi women and Spaniard intermarriage with the indigenous women.
- Sanchez means that the history of American and development is attributed to the fact that there were numerous social interactions among the Europeans, the indigenous people, and African slaves. This means that there was a change in the original boundary as colonizers shared the America, which led to a relationship, thus resulting in identity remixing because of the rise of mestizos as a new ethnic group. Sanchez argues that the historical development has “a long legacy of subordination in the U.S. socioeconomic structure, one that favored whites over nonwhites, ensured that very few Mexicans joined the land-owning elites of the Pacific Northwest” (Sanchez, 2005)The Mestizo children born in these ethnic divers relationship lead to hybridity which change the developmental structures of the Northwest.
- Gonzalez explores the different directions of developments by examining factors such as religion, race and land, and politics. The colonies of Latin America were more concerned about faith, such as Catholic, which influenced there colonization agenda, which influenced the number of free blacks to rise while in British colonies restricted manumission. The race was another factor the distinguishes the development of British colonies and colonies of Latin America because there was a significant number of free slaves in Spain and Dutch colonies while in British “color and status so deeply demarcated the English colonies” (Gustavo, 2000. 31). The British colonies, such as the United States, benefitted from the land where nobles individuals were given colonies to run as a joint business venture with the government. At the same time, Spaniards suffered huge loans in trying to manage its Americas colonies, which shows the difference in developments between Latin America and the United States.