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New Dietary Staples

Cows & Pigs brought to the Americas from Europe – prior to this the Native Americans ate little meat except hunted game.

New foods like potatos, corn, and pumpkins were introduced to the Old World from the Americas. Many foods made their way to asia and contributed to more diverse diets and population growth.

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Horses

Horses were brought to the Americas, which helped spark ranching economies in certain regions.
Native Americans used horses to hunt more effieicntly in the Great Plains.

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Other Exchanges

Smallpox and other diseases decimated Native American populations. Some “tropical” diseases born by mosquitos did have a heavy impact on Europeans who moved to those regions.
The Slave trade led to the exchange of millions of people. Slaves brought over their culture, religion, and specific foods like okra and rice.

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What is Race?

EMPIRES, SOCIAL HIERARCHY, AND CULTURE

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Key Concept: Empires establish various social or cultural hierarchies that serve to directly or indirectly maintain power.

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What is Race?

Social construction; Way of describing or internalizing human difference

How has race been defined historically?

Religion
Education
Wealth
Personality characteristics
Skin color
Science – post Darwin

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Spanish Empire

Encomienda system of Labor
Catholicism: Proselytizing as a Cause and Effect
Social structure organized by “race” but was fluid, depending on education, wealth, abstract racial qualities.
Fusion / merger of culture, religion, and language (Syncretism)

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Casta Document Analysis

Analyze how each casta is being defined and place them in order of importance/rank.
Consider both the stated mix of parentage and the visual clues of the image as you develop your rank.

How was race defined and how did it function in the Spanish Empire?

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The role of social and cultural hierarchies in empires

Can be based on race, social class, material culture, gender, etc. These all become socially constructed and are outward signs of supposed inward qualities. These qualities serve the organization and maintenance of the state in some way.

Determines access to political power. Usually gives advantages to the elite and legitimizes the status quo. Challenges to state power usually come from non-elites.

The fluidity of the hierarchy can be used to understand how the system survives and reforms and when the threat of rebellion/violent change can occur.

Often made more complex as a result of globalization and syncretism. Processes of trade and expansion lead to changes over time in these hierarchies.

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Spanish vs. British Empires

British colonies in North America

Settler colonies – entire families immigrated leading to less “mixing” between Europeans, natives, and slaves.
Slavery, when introduced, created very clear divisions between races. These divisions prevented the mixing that occurred in Spanish colonies.
Cultural homogeneity decreased syncretism.
Long-term impact on political stability. A culturally homogenous population is easier to unite for common purpose.

AP Human connection: Cultural homogeneity or heterogeneity can impact the existence and scale of centripetal and centrifugal forces. How governments respond in turn impacts future historical developments.

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Contextualization

How would you contextualize the following thesis?

Although race existed in British North American colonies, it was clearly defined and rigid. Spain’s colonies exemplified a more fluid social hierarchy because of the role of religious proselytization and the way Spain administered local and regional governments and economies.

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Contextualization Examples

During the 16th and 17th centuries, European nations were competing over resources and trade over the new sea-based trade routes. In the Americas, this meant establishing colonies and building strong empires based around the economic ideas of mercantilism. Each nation developed its own trade focus and strategies of imperial domination. Spain, interested in gold and silver, dominated central and south America. Britain, limited to North America, developed settler colonies focused around agriculture and cash crops.

Notice how the context starts “big” at the global level, and zooms in to the thesis. It also used specific details and key words so as not to be too broad.