Colonial Latin America Final Paper

Spanish America and Brazil

Ellen Bruegger
December 6, 2012

European contact with the Americas first happened in 1492 when

Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas. Hernan Corts and his
conquistadors discovered and eventually overtook Tenochtitlan in
1519and began colonial rule which would last until the 19th century.
The Portuguese went to Brazil in 1501 where they would also remain
until the 19th century. European colonization changed the Americas in
many ways, trying to impose their ways of living on the sometimes
vastly different native practices. Given the Portuguese and Spanish
close proximity on the Iberian Peninsula it is expected that their
colonization practices would be similar, they were however also many
differences between them including the type of labor used to fuel their
colonial enterprises, the products made within the economy, native
integration into society, location of settlements, and the way
colonization ended.
Prior to European contact Spanish America and Brazil had very
cultures and settlement patterns. In Mexico there were large
populations of sedentary indigenous peoples, these people had
established permanent cities and developed social structures. After
conquering parts of Mexico the Spanish moved south to Peru, where
they conquered the Inca, another sedentary group. In the early years
on conquest the Spanish did not focus on non-sedentary groups since
they were harder to conquer because of the ease with which the
nomadic groups could pick up their village and move away form the

Spanish. The nomadic groups also had a less structured society that
was altogether foreign to the Spanish conquistadors.
Brazil was much different than Spanish America; there were very few
sedentary native groups for the Portuguese to conquer. Due to this fact
the Portuguese invaders did not settle in native cities they established
their own towns along the coast.
When the Portuguese came to Brazil and began conquest they
were primarily looking for natural resources to exploit for the benefit of
the empire. They did this by setting up large-scale sugar plantations in
Northern Brazil and mining of silver and gold in Minas Gerais. Because
there were very few sedentary groups of natives, native labor was
ineffectual for the Portuguese. The natives had no pre-contact practice
of forced labor and therefore would not work for the Portuguese,
African slaves were forced to Brazil via the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
In colonial Brazil slaves greatly outnumbered free people by 1700 there
were 400,000 free immigrants and 1,891,400 slaves. The colonial
Spanish encountered a much different society; the sedentary natives
had pre-existing traditions of forced labor that they were able to exploit
after conquest. This forced labor was also known as tribute labor
because the labor was considered a form of tax on natives. Other
forms of native labor included the encomienda, which was a labor
grant given to Spanish conquerors for native labor, and the
repartimiento, which continued to encomienda but not on a private

level for Spaniards who had to share workers. The existence of forced
native labor in Spanish American limited the necessity for the
importation of slaves from Africa. The Spaniards began mining gold
and silver and also began ranching.
Ethnic mixing occurred in both colonial empires, in both places
proving European ancestry was the most desire because it allowed for
social, political, and economic advances that were unavailable to
others. In Brazil, the high number of African slaves and the fact that
the Portuguese did not settle in native centers meant that there was
more Afro-Luso ethnic mixing than Luso-native mixing, not that the
latter did not happen. Afro-native mixing also occurred. In Spanish
American mestizos or a person with native and European ancestry,
were more present in society than mulattos, people with African and
European ancestry. In both societies Iberian born Europeans occupied
the highest social standings, followed by American born Europeans,
mestizos, Indians, mulattos, and Africans. The more white a mestizo or
mulatto could prove himself or herself to be further raised their social
positions.
By the latter half of the 18th century rebellions were occurring
throughout both empires. In Spanish America there were three major
rebellions in the Andes, known as the Great Rebellion between 17801783. The rebellions were in response to the Bourbon reforms, which
allowed for greater Spanish governmental efficiency in tax collection

and enforcing tribute labor. The Tpac Amaru revolt was not apart of
the Age of Revolution liberal-ness. It was fought in the name of the
Spanish King and did not call for an end to Spanish rule, they simply
wanted to end Spanish rule at the local level. This revolts leadership
preserved colonial social stratification, with native elites and clergy at
the top, Indians making up the rank and file of the army, and while
African were allowed in they were servants for the leaders. During the
revolt Indians were collected as tributes and forced to fight.
The Tpac Katari revolt like the Tpac Amaru revolt was not
driven Liberal Enlightened ideals and was fought for many of the same
goals. However, they did call for an end to native tribute labor and did
not collect tribute labor to swell their forces. They also wanted an end
to the draft labor system known as the mita and wanted to expel the
Spaniards. The Spaniards responded quickly and harshly to both
rebellions, capturing and executing the leadership and capturing,
torturing and eventually killing the indigenous rebels.
Brazil also experienced revolts around the same time as the
Great Rebellion in Spanish America. The Mineiro Conspiracy occurred in
1788-1789, the participants were largely white free men of elite status;
they did however, promised freedom for African slaves who joined and
made up the bulk of the militia. The rebels were talking of ending
colonial rule and instituting an independent democratic republic, and
ending the colonial tax system. In 1798 the Conspiracy of the Tailors

happened in Bahia, unlike the Mineiro Conspiracy, Afro-Brazilians were

the majority of participants. They were anti-clerical, wanted to free
slaves and provide equality for everyone. This conspiracy was liberal
and enlightened.
The Pernambuco Revolt happened in 1817 and would lead to
independence in 1822. The revolt started in response to the
Portuguese royal family being in Brazil, Southern Brazilian were
benefitting from their presence while the Northerners were separated
yet responsible for supporting them. The revolt spread and threatened
royal control so the army was sent in to put it down. A military revolt in
Portugal forced the King back to Lisbon in 1821, leaving his 22-year old
son in charge. When the King called for his son to return Dom Pedro
refused and with public support declared independence in 1822
beginning the Empire Period of Brazil, which would last until 1889.
Independence in Spanish America was not as easy, the
traditional interpretation of the Wars for Independence claim just that,
that rebels were fighting for independence while in reality most were
fighting for local governmental control. After Napoleon took control of
Spain he placed his brother Joseph as King. The colonies resisted
French rule and began implementing representative governments.
When the Spanish monarchy resumed control of Spain and the colonies
colonists resented their push back to traditional governing styles.
Rebels such as Father Miguel Hidalgo, Jos Mara Morelos, and Simn

Bolvar lead rebellions throughout Mexico and Venezuela but were

unsuccessful in gaining independence. In 1816 Bolvar integrated black
troops into his Venezuelan forces that led to the independence of what
is now Venezuela and Ecuador. Jos de San Martn fought in the
mountain for Chile Agustn de Iturbide left royalist forces and formed
an alliance with rebels and after the collapse of Spanish rule in 1821
Mexico was free.
Colonialism lasted for almost 300 years in Latin America. The
period caused changes in native society that would have never
occurred without European contact. While Spanish America and Brazil
were quite similar in many of their colonial experiences, such as
European dominance in government, politics, and economics, they
were also many difference like labor force, produced goods and paths
to independence. However, a common thread is present in both
stories, European suppression of native and Africans in all aspect of
life.