CULTURE OF LATIN AMERICA GENERALIZATIONS/DETA ILS HW Ch 4 Section 3

Generalization #1: “The demographic collapse of Latin America’s indigenous population is the major cause of the region’s ethnic, linguistic & religious diversity.” Supporting details… 1. Because of the “Iberian (ie Spanish/Portuguese)” colonization of LA a syncretic European/Native Latin American (“Indian”) culture emerged. 2. Amerindian languages are still spoken in the region, however, more commonly European languages dominate most cultures. 3. Pre-contact LA civilizations like the Aztecs & Incas were complex, strong & wealthy, however, most were unable to survive and 90% of the region’s indigenous populations were lost to disease (influenza, smallpox), warfare, forced labor & starvation

More supporting details… 4. Surviving indigenous people made a slow recovery throughout the colonial period & continued their cultural beliefs & practices. 5. Indigenous animist beliefs combined with European religious beliefs to create religious syncretism in the region. 6. Indigenous populations continue to fight for cultural, political & economic recognition.

The demographic story… Pre-contact Americas had approximately 54 million inhabitants (“indigenous people”) – 47 million of them were in the region we are studying as Latin America; There were 2 major population centers in LA at that time – one in Mexico (Aztecs) with about 14 million people & one in the Andes (Inca) with close to 12 million people; Around that same time (1500) Western Europe’s population was about 42 million.

More demographics… By 1650 the indigenous population was 1/10 its pre-contact size; While the Aztecs & Incas are the largest & best known indigenous populations of LA – they were not the only ones. There were 1,000’s of others, however, 90% of those groups were eliminated largely due to 4 causes…  DISEASE…WARFARE…FORCED LABOR…STARVATION

Causes….  DISEASE: Influenza & smallpox were responsible for more deaths among. indigenous people than any of the causes below. Some historians estimate as high as 80%.  WARFARE: there were organized resistance attempts by native peoples throughout Latin America. However, European weapons were far superior & these attempts most often ended in defeat.  FORCED LABOR: the encomienda system of land ownership put native LA people into a situation of forced labor & caused many deaths. Europeans were to provide education & protection in exchange for use of land and labor. Reality was more along the lines of slavery.  STARVATION: Europeans forced native LA people to produce cash crops which upset & eventually collapsed their food production systems leading to widespread famine in parts of the region.  QUESTION FOR DEBATE…if disease was most responsible for deaths among native Latin Americans can the actions of Europeans be considered as genocide?

Generalization #2 (ethnicity) “Although European powers officially discouraged racial mixing…it was very prevalent & is a key factor in the ethnic patterns in the region today.” Even though it was strictly forbidden, miscegenation or racial mixing occurred with great frequency in LA. Even though the Spanish & Portuguese courts worked hard to maintain racial purity among colonists, the outcome was that LA is one of the most racially mixed regions of the world. Mestizo/castizo/mulatto/zambo were all classifications used to distinguish newly emerging ethnic groups due to racial mixing; eventually 4 broader categories were used (blance/mestizo/indio/negro) but ultimately racial or ethnic mapping became almost impossible.

Generalization #3 (language) “Although indigenous languages are still used in some parts of Latin America, roughly 2/3 of Latin Americans speak Spanish & 1/3 speak Portuguese.” Until recently many LA countries discouraged or repressed use of indigenous languages. However, slowly some schools in the region have begun to encourage the use of indigenous languages along side the official languages of Spanish and Portuguese.

Generalization #4 (religion) “Approximately 90% of Latin Americans are Roman Catholic, however, the presence of syncretic religions allowed them to fold animist practices into their Catholic beliefs.” Animism refers to a wide variety of tribal religions that are based on the worship of nature’s spirits & human ancestors. There are hundreds of thousands of animist religions throughout the world. In LA, people have found ways to fold some of their animist beliefs into their Christian/Catholic beliefs to create a new, syncretic (blended) form of Catholicism that is unique to this region. (Ex: shrines to saints; offerings of fresh fruit & flowers at shrines; Our Lady of Guadeloupe = patron saint of Mexico).

Machismo & Marianismo… Details … Machismo refers to cultural traits that are traditionally assigned to men in LA. These include not allowing your authority to be questioned in public or at home; behaving in a “macho” way; attention to honor & risk taking as a way to earn that honor. Female cultural traits are traditionally referred to as marianismo. They include striving to be patient, loving, gentle & willing to suffer in silence. Women are nurturers & keepers of the home & are expected to adhere to a higher morality than men. These traditional stereotypical cultural traits have been challenged over the generations but remain a strong part of LA culture. Although many women in the region work outside the home, the traditional cultural beliefs about male & female traits have set up a patriarchal society that is male- dominated & that often leaves women to hold inferior statuses. GENERALIZATION??