© T. M. Whitmore

Today The Columbian “encounter” continued Second Pillar of Latin American societies:  Spanish and Portuguese colonialism

© T. M. Whitmore Last Time -- QUESTIONS? Latin America & the Caribbean  Very Diverse Physical environment First Pillar of Latin American societies  Legacies of Indigenous (pre- Columbian) peoples

© T. M. Whitmore Amerindian contributions to global agriculture I Some major Foods:  Maize (corn)  Beans (lima, green, black, pinto, etc.)  Peanuts  Potatoes (they are NOT Irish!)  Squashes (including pumpkin)  Sweet potatoes (what are incorrectly called yams)  Chilies  Vanilla  Cacao (Chocolate - that staff of life)  Pecan

© T. M. Whitmore Amerindian contributions to global agriculture II Foods:  Papaya  Cashew  Manioc (or cassava, yuca - you may know it as tapioca)  Avocado  Tomatoes (what did the Italians do before 1492?)  Pineapple  Guava  and many, many others (especially fruits)

© T. M. Whitmore Amerindian contributions to agriculture III Non-foods  Cotton (all commercial types)  Tobacco  Rubber (latex)  Coca (source of cocaine)  Indigo (blue jeans dye)  Hemp/sisal

© T. M. Whitmore Amerindian contributions to agriculture IV Animals (only a few of importance)  Guinea pig  Llama  Alpaca  Turkey  and very few others About 1/3 of the world’s total agricultural crops are Amerindian in origin

© T. M. Whitmore Pillar # 2: Legacies of Spanish and Portuguese colonialism Conquest of Latin America Amerindian population collapse Colonial economic systems in Latin America Other legacies of colonialism in Latin America

© T. M. Whitmore Conquest of Latin America Columbus (+ 3 other voyages) Columbus 1519 Cortés left Cuba to conquer Aztec state Pizarro arrived on Peru coast 1527 and found Inka in civil war => relatively easy conquest in 4 years Portuguese conquest confined to Brazil after its “discovery” in 1500 => Brazil speaks Portuguese while most of LA speaks Spanish

© T. M. Whitmore Amerindian population collapse Caused primarily by infectious disease brought by Europeans, their African slaves, and animals Amerindians never exposed to common Old World diseases such as: smallpox, typhus, plague, severe influenza, measles, malaria, yellow fever, and many others  1st exposure infected everyone (called virgin soil diseases)

© T. M. Whitmore Consequences for Amerindians Pre-Columbian population of Latin America ~ m Horrifying scale of loss  About 90% of Amerindian pop died in yrs  Compare with European Black Death –it killed % in Europe over 100 yrs in 1300s Nadir (minimum) population ~ 5 m! Nadir Contemporary population ~ 40 m Contemporary population

© T. M. Whitmore Amerindian Population Collapse

© T. M. Whitmore

Amerindian & Mestizo Populations European men and Amerindian women produced mestizos Mestizos are a majority in most of Spanish-speaking Latin America Large minorities of pop speak Amerindian languages in: Mexico, Guatemala, Bolivia, Peru  E.g., new president of Bolivia speaks Aymara

© T. M. Whitmore Colonial Economics in LA Colonial plantation style economies (mostly in Brazil and Caribbean) Colonial hacienda economies (mostly in mainland Spanish Latin America) Third colonial economic mainstay: Mining Economic legacies of Colonialism in Latin America

© T. M. Whitmore Plantation style economies: Brazil and Caribbean sugar cane Sugar cane needs: lots of land, quality soils, cheap labor, lots of fuel, and location near transport Labor needs met 1 st by Amerindian slaves then by Africans transported as slaves Sugar dominated by Brazil from 1500 – 1700 After 1700 N Europeans (French, British, Dutch, Danish) set up sugar on their possessions in the Caribbean (Jamaica & Barbados, Martinique & Haiti, etc)

© T. M. Whitmore Consequences of the sugar economy Largest forced migration in history  Current racial makeup reflects this migration; Brazil and Caribbean have populations with African heritage dominant Legacy of environmental damage Establishment of highly unequal land tenure (ownership), wealth, and social relations that persist to this day

© T. M. Whitmore

Slavery In The Americas Brazil~ 4.3 million Spanish America 50% To Cuba (900 K) 20% To Mexico (360 K) 10% To Venezuela (180 K) 20% To Other ~ 1.8 million French America Mostly To Martinique & Haiti ~ 1.7 million English America 40% To Jamaica (1.2 M) 22% To North America (640 K) 20% To Barbados (580 K) 13% Other Caribbean (377 K) ~ 2.9 million Totals are approximate and probably are underestimates. (nearly 5 m to small Caribbean islands) ~ 10.7 million

© T. M. Whitmore Sugar & Slaves 1500s – 1700s

© T. M. Whitmore Sugar & Slaves in the Caribbean

© T. M. Whitmore Colonial Plantation Economies – characteristics persist in L.A. today Export of cash crops Poorly paid labor Foreign owned Vast gulf between rich and poor (especially for land) Few local economic multipliers

© T. M. Whitmore 2 nd Colonial Mainstay - Haciendas Colonial Spanish Latin America Haciendas are also a type of latifundia (vast estates) with very few owners of mostly European heritage; often underused Most of the labor done by Amerindian and Mestizo peasant population Importance of cattle

© T. M. Whitmore 3rd colonial economic mainstay: Mining Initially gold (but small amounts except for 1700s in Minas Gerais, Brazil) Silver the most valuable  Huge strikes in Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia  Especially Potosí (largest silver strike in history) Mine labor mostly Amerindian or peasant (poorly paid or forced) So much silver that it transformed European economy for 100s of yrs

Potosí M i n i n g Minas Gerais

Mexican colonial silver strikes

© T. M. Whitmore Economic legacies of Colonialism I Very uneven distribution of land ownership due to hacienda and plantation economies Extractive economy (e.g., mining & agriculture) organized to enrich “foreign” (or mother) countries Huge quantities of wealth removed from Latin America to enrich Europe

© T. M. Whitmore Economic legacies of Colonialism II Mercantile theories of trade led to colonies that were isolated from each other and connected only with mother country  Subsequently this led to isolated independent states Tradition of exploited labor and vast wealth in the hands of very few

© W.H. Freeman & Co. Urban wealth contrasts in L.A.

© T. M. Whitmore Other Legacies of Colonialism I Languages:  ~ 360 m Spanish speakers  So many that Spanish is now the 2nd (or 3 rd or 4th) most spoken language in the world  Can you guess what is #1?  ~ 190 m Portuguese speakers  Only ~ 10 m in Portugal

© T. M. Whitmore The Mesoamerican highlands and the Andes continue to have the largest indigenous populations. Latin America has ~360 million Spanish speakers and ~190 million Portuguese speakers.

© T. M. Whitmore Other Legacies of Colonialism I Diverse Populations Majority in Latin America are either mestizo or mulatto or other mixed race Large Amerindian populations (perhaps 40+ m overall)  Guatemala: %  Mexico: %  Bolivia: %  Peru: ~ 45%  Ecuador: ~ 25%

© T. M. Whitmore Other Legacies of Colonialism II Diverse Populations Large African origin populations (> 100 m overall)  Haiti: 95%  Jamaica: 75%  Dominican Republic  Brazil: 40%+  Belize and the smaller islands of the Caribbean

© T. M. Whitmore Contemporary Cultural Diversity Survival of indigenous peoples in highlands and rainforests. Primarily European in Costa Rica and Southern cone countries (immigration in 1800’s). Majority are mestizo, of mixed indigenous and European descent. Large Afro-latin populations, particularly in former slave-holding countries. Small East Asian and South Asian populations.

African Heritage Mestizo Amerindian European Heritage Haiti and Jamaica are majority black, and many other Caribbean states have large black populations. The Garifuna people (pink shade) are of indigenous-African descent. Note that only Costa Ricans are predominately of European descent in Central America.

African Heritage Amerindian European Heritage >40% of Brazilians are also fully or partially of African descent. Only the Southern Cone countries and southeastern Brazil are predominantly European.

© T. M. Whitmore Other Legacies of Colonialism III Religious preferences: ~ 80% claim to be Roman Catholic (>90% in some countries)  But Evangelical Protestants gaining Highly urban (~ 75%) Legacy of exploitation of Amerindians and Afro-Americans Extractive economy and environment and resources degradation

Most Latin Americans are Catholic but many are influenced by other traditions, and evangelical faiths are growing.