The interactions between the Hispanic and the Indians who had lived in America for many years shaped the Latin American colonial society. The Indians migrated from Asia twenty thousand years ago ( Buffington & Caimari, 2009 ). These people with time, spread through North and South America developing a wide range of cultural forms. These cultures ranged from the nomadic groups of hunters and food gatherers to the Inca and Aztecs, the elaborate empires, and the culturally advanced Mayan states. The common features among the three civilizations were intensive farming, which supported the considerable division of labor and large sedentary populations. The Inca played the greatest role in building the ancient America empire, in which they made serious and successful efforts of unifying the extensive South American institutions and language. The Mayan culture in Central America and Southern Mexico was characterized by their achievements in calendrical science, writing, architecture, and mathematics. The Aztec society was characterized by warfare, in which the priests and warriors were highly influential and honored. On the development of craftsmanship and the division of labor, Aztecs achieved the highest level compatible with the upper stone-age technology.
The future of Latin America was shaped by the traditions, institutions, and values that were brought by the Hispanic invaders more decisively than the vanquished Indians culture. Reconquista, a struggle against the Muslims, had concentrated land in the hands of the church and the Christian nobility, as well as created a large class of fighting men who regarded commerce and manual labor with contempt. Despite the inexistence of serfdom in Castile, a case different from Aragon, many peasants were suffering due to taxes, rents, tithes, and the seigneurial dues ( Buffington & Caimari, 2009 ). The economic activity in Castile was the export of wool to Italy and Flanders, which enriched the noble. The Portuguese economy was displaying similar disparities. On the eve of the conquest, the societies and economies of Portugal and Spain presented a feudal aspect, in which the turning point occurred in 1469, with the heirs of Castile and Aragon, Isabella and Ferdinand married. Their marriage broke the great nobility's power although, they allowed it to retain the economic and social privileges. Crowning domestic achievement of Isabella and Ferdinand’s reign was the surrender of the kingdom of Granada and the Muslim city in 1492, after a siege of ten years. Therefore, religiously and politically unified, Spain was ready to launch the great enterprise of the Indies.
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The “ Conquest ” chapter is detailed on the discovery of America, especially by Christopher Columbus, who discovered the area during his search for a water route to the East. Columbus' search was aided by Spain and Portugal's monarchs, who were determined to break the European trade monopoly with the East. The Spanish conquest of the Americas broke into the great Antilles, such as Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Cuba ( Buffington & Caimari, 2009 ). Exploration and slave-hunting acts mapped Mexico and Central America, revealing Indian societies that were wealthier compared to those in the West. The discovery of these cities resulted in the invasion of Mexico in 1519 by Hernan Cortes. Superstitious fears of chief Moctezuma enabled Cortes to enter the Indian capital without any form of opposition. The last Aztec ruler surrendered to Cortes in 1521, after the starving or death of native defenders ( Buffington & Caimari, 2009 ). With the conquest advancing and consolidating it gains lawyers, clergy, merchants, and merchants joined.
Portugal and Spain were experiencing problems in devising settlement policies as the American colonies. Columbus required the natives to bring gold dust as the daily tribute, with the revolting groups sent to Spain as slaves. Columbus in the West Indies developed a hideous form of slavery, which Dominican Friars, through Father Antonio Montesinos, spoke against. The chapter details the processes of the Indies fight for their freedom, in which Dominicans raised a legality question of Spain's claim to the Indies. As a way of satisfying royal conscience, Palacious Rubious, jurist doctor, developed a document which the conquerors were to read to the Indians before they began the war on them. The document required the Indians to submit to the Pope’s and Church's supremacy and the Spanish monarch's sovereignty over their lands, which they had donated in 1493, in which they were threatened by enslavement and war if they refused to acknowledge.
The fifth chapter, " The Colonial Economy ," elaborates on the economic life of the Portuguese and Spanish colonies. Subsistence economy was present among the Indians, while commercial agriculture was evident among the Hispanics. In this chapter, it is indicated that Indians made a lot of contributions to the world and colonial agriculture. In the colonial era, there was an exchange of agricultural gifts between the new and old worlds. The Spanish leadership was concerned about the development of the Indies, in which he paid attention to the plants, trees, and seeds shipping. Internal markets were served by this agriculture, such as in the mining areas of Mexico and Peru (Potosi), with its exports to the European exports being more pronounced ( Buffington & Caimari, 2009 ). Animal rearing made part of the economy, with mining being the main source of the royal revenue, thus well protected. A handicraft industry was available in the advanced culture in Peru, Central America, and Mexico. Factory establishments witnessed remarkable growth for the period up to 1700.
The sixth chapter is concerned with leadership during the colonial period. The Council of the Indies was the head of the Spanish imperial administration as the colonial period almost came to an end. The colonial government's judicial, executive, and legislature were governed by the king of the council of the Indies. The colonies' principal royal agents included the captains' generals, viceroys, and the audiences. The royal officials governed the Indies provincial administration, who governed districts of different sizes and importance. The provincial governor occupied a great position in the political hierarchy of the Indies. The Spanish colonial rule was not well followed, in which corruption in the seventeenth century was a structural element of the Indies ( Buffington & Caimari, 2009 ) . The Catholic Church's influence, on matters of religion, had its basis on the Spanish past. The Spanish kings nominated all the church officials, found churches and monasteries in America, as well as collected ecclesiastical tithes. Portuguese Brazil was similar to the Spanish Indies in the vices, structure, and spirit. For example, in the power aspect, Portuguese Brazil is characterized by corruption and discrimination.
Reference
Buffington, R., & Caimari, L. (2009). Keen's Latin American Civilization: History and Society, 1492 to the Present (9th ed.). Westview Press.
