Colonial Foundations: LACS Midterm Review

Flashcards covering colonial foundations, motivations, systems of conquest, and social hierarchies in Latin America and the Caribbean from the LACS midterm review.

Factors Enabling Colonialism

Key factors including European technological advancements versus indigenous resistance, disease introduced by Europeans, prior European experience with colonization, Catholic Church funding, and a sense of social hierarchy.

Colonial Systems in LACS

Colonial manifestations characterized by systems of violent conquest, culture erasure, and forced labor or slavery implemented through the Encomienda and Atlantic Slave Trade.

Spanish Economic Motivation

Colonial motivation centered on acquiring gold and natural resources.

Portuguese Economic Motivation

Colonial motivation centered on establishing plantation and crop resources.

Religious Motivation for Colonialism

The motivation to spread Catholicism in order to save people.

Political Motivation for Colonialism

Rivalry between the Spanish crown and Portuguese crown to claim overseas territory, aiming to increase regional dominance and national prestige.

Early Portuguese Exploration

Portugal's early navigation of the West African coast and Atlantic islands, which perfected the navigation skills required for trans-Atlantic colonization.

Casta System

The Spanish colonial social hierarchy consisting of Peninsulares, Criollos, Mestizos, Mulattos, Indigenous, and Africans.

Portuguese Social Hierarchy

A colonial structure centered on whitening that was more fluid and less rigid, but brutally enforced.

French Social Hierarchy

A colonial structure governed by Black Codes, consisting of Suit Whites (Grand Whites), Little Whites, Free Colored, and Enslaved Africans.