Racial Classifications in Colonial Spanish America

The sections of the textbook regarding racial classifications in Spain's colonies in the Americas was very interesting to me. Perhaps because I do not put much consideration into people's race it is amazing to think that the Spanish and Portuguese were able to dissect peoples racial background to such precise amounts. My mom is from Mexico and this article makes me reflect upon the history of own ethnic background. It is horrifying to think that to some degree my families existence was dependent on such a cruel past. The amount of the indigenous population that died after the Spanish arrived is tragic. It is also interesting that there was a great degree of mixing between the Iberians and the natives in the Americas. Espsically when it is compared with how the United States was orginally colomnized. This reading left me wondering what the Americans and the Caribbean would be like today had colonialism and mercantilism never took hold in the minds of Europeans during this time period. If the Aztec, Inca and other Native American tribes/empires/groups had be allowed to flourish free of outside influence, who knows what types of wonderful civilizations they may have developed?


Here are some related links I found
http://nativeheritageproject.com/2013/06/15/las-castas-spanish-racial-classifications/

http://mlktaskforcemi.org/pathways/the-racial-caste-system-in-colonial-spanish-mexico/

http://faculty.washington.edu/steptoe/afram150/Handouts/Race%20in%20Colonial%20New%20Spain.pdf