Social Hierarchy and Bourbon Reforms in Spanish America

REVOLUTIONS IN LATIN AMERICA HIST 1301 | History Social Hierarchy and Bourbon Reforms in Spanish America Late eighteenth-century Latin American countries had tightly developed stratification. Numerous social indicators, such as money, race, religion, and professional and familial links, were linked to status. The most evident and intricate noneconomic element influencing social standing was colour. Being white was more than just a sign of dominance in the economy. It was a sign of European origin, which signified Christian status and, thus, a level of assumed moral and social superiority. In addition, male Europeans born in the Iberian Peninsula (the peninsula containing Spain and Portugal), referred to as peninsulares in Spanish America and reinóis in Portuguese America, felt they were better than male Europeans born in the Americas, known as creoles in Spanish America. The majority of the landed elite (plantation owners, miners, and other members of the mining industry) were creoles, although those born in Europe tended to monopolise the top posts in the church and state as well as the means of production in the early decades of colonisation. However, Europeans and their descendants in the Americas were fighting to hold onto their place at the top of the social pyramid in the decades preceding the struggle towards independence. The fact that they had imposed an unfair system in which a small group of Europeans and their descendants controlled a much larger group of American Indians and enslaved Africans, as well as a sizable population of mixed-race people, or castas, made up of pardos, who were referred to as "brown" in Spanish and were primarily people of White European and Indian descent, and mestizos, who were literally defined as "mixed" in Spanish. In addition to working as shoemakers, tailors, and other craftspeople, this ethnically diverse population predominated in urban centres. A small percentage of mestizo and pardo males were also enlisted in the colonial militias.The House of Bourbon had ruled the Kingdom of Spain since 1700, and by the end of the eighteenth century, the monarchy divided its American possessions into four major regions. These were New Granada (founded in 1717 and roughly equivalent to the modern-day countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela), Peru (founded in 1542), New Spain (established since 1521), and Río de la Plata (founded in 1776 with territory corresponding to present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay). As previously, the Spanish king was represented by the head of each of these viceroyalty groups. Governors, or intendants, now controlled the local administrations inside each of the viceroyalties. In an effort to promote centralization and lessen corruption, the monarch appointed these peninsulare governors, who answered directly to him. They received assistance from other peninsulares, many of whom had just moved here from Spain and were far less affluent, educated, and culturally sophisticated than the creole elite they ruled. The technological and commercial advancements brought about by the intendancy system's centralization of government resulted in newfound material affluence for peninsulares and creole landowners and merchants. Nonetheless, the most significant positions in the administration were reserved for Peninsulares, or those who were born in Spain. Under the system, creoles may become wealthy, but riches did not equate to social standing. The deep split that existed between them and the Spanish peninsulars fed the creoles' aspirations for independence. Enlightenment concepts travelled over the Atlantic during the Bourbon Era, reaching the Spanish possessions in North and South America. These beliefs, which sprang from the notion that everyone had a right to engage in politics and the economy—which was mostly dominated by Spain—influenced creoles in Latin America to seek greater rights to political and economic participation. Although groundbreaking, the goals fell short of drastically altering the social structure. At first, the elite of colonial Creole culture simply asked for White men descended from Spanish to have more influence. African and mixed-race groups, as well as native populations, were left out. With their own interests in mind, the White male creole elites questioned the universal principles associated with the new rights of citizens and exposed the hypocrisy of European egalitarian rhetoric. The growing accessibility of books and other written materials had a significant role in the aspirations of creoles and other groups for greater involvement in the political and economic spheres. Historically, the upper classes of Spanish American Whites had access to formal education and literacy, whereas lower socioeconomic groupings of people of colour mostly received their information through oral tradition. Even yet, even if these groups were excluded from the various privileges granted to White people, the flow of books and manuscripts among the vast community of mixed-race people had significantly risen by the end of the eighteenth century. Nevertheless, educated Creoles in the colonies and persons of mixed races were not the only ones to adopt the "dangerous" ideas of the Enlightenment. Rebellions in the late eighteenth century were sparked by these ideals as well as Peninsulares' animosity. The intendancy system's formation infuriated the Creoles much more than their desire to participate. In order to bolster its American empire and maintain control over it, the Bourbon dynasty had also implemented further changes. Men born in Spanish America were assigned to newly formed army regiments and the colonial militia was enlarged. Because Spanish troops were no longer required to be ferried across the ocean, this decreased the expense of protecting the empire. The top military posts, like political jobs, were only open to Peninsulares, which added to the dissatisfaction of the creole population. of 1767, Spain followed Portugal's lead and drove the Jesuit priests out of her American dominion, upsetting people on all socioeconomic levels and altering the political and military landscape of its colonies. The Jesuits were not only known for being the most compassionate employers of American Indian forced labourers, but they also taught a large number of the elite creole people and attracted a large number of young creole males to the Jesuit order. The Bourbons also implemented economic changes, many of which were unpopular. The Spanish kings wanted to maximise the profits from their American conquests by, for example, increasing the efficiency with which taxes were collected from the inhabitants and enhancing "free" commerce, all in the name of strengthening and enriching the parent nation through the use of colonies. In effect, this meant that Spanish producers had unrestricted access to the colonies' markets, where they could compete with native manufacturers and traders, frequently driving them out of business. Colonial manufacturers were nonetheless restricted in their ability to sell their products to British or French consumers at the same period. Many monopolies continued to exist. For instance, all tobacco production and sales were governed by the Crown. In contrast to the political reforms that predominantly impacted the Creoles, the economic changes had an impact on members of Spanish American society at all levels, occasionally resulting in violent reactions. The huge 1780–1781 Inca revolt near Cuzco in the Viceroyalty of Peru and the 1781 Comunero ("commoner") Revolt in New Granada (Colombia) were two such uprisings that were spurred by an increase in the colonial sales tax. The foundation of Spanish economic activity had changed in each of these viceroyalties, moving from tribute payments to the imposition of organised labour laws like debt slavery. A wellliked mixed-race commander in the area, José Gabriel Condorcanqui Noguera spearheaded the Great Inca Rebellion. Noguera, posing as Túpac Amaru II, claimed descent from the final Inca monarch, Túpac Amaru, in order to incite Indigenous people to fight against the Spanish demand for forced labour. Fearing that he might organise forty thousand members of the Indian majority in the Viceroyalty of Peru, the outnumbered Creoles joined the Spanish and put an end to the uprising, which had the potential to turn into a rebellion against White, not just Spanish, authority. In addition to Túpac Amaru II, tens of thousands of people perished. The Comunero Rebellion of 1781 protested regulations that gave the Spanish Crown a monopoly over the manufacture of alcohol and tobacco, in addition to opposing colonial taxation. This uprising, which demanded the return to old systems of government, swept over the highlands and resulted in the arrival of armed demonstrators in Bogotá. The local Spanish government first chose to engage in negotiations. They consented to abolish the monopolies, the tariffs, and to give Creoles precedence over Peninsulares in positions of administration. But once the comuneros left and the viceroy found out about Bogotá's concessions, he gave the order to capture and kill the leaders of the insurrection. These two uprisings served as early warning indicators of a disgruntled mixed-race populace, and swift legal action was taken in response. Tensions erupted in 1795 between the Spanish king, Carlos IV, and the creole city council of Caracas, in the Viceroyalty of New Granada. A new edict issued by the Crown permitted those with mixed Spanish and African descent to obtain a royal identity card, known as a cédula real, for a certain cost. This card gave mixed-race persons citizenship and the legal status of creoles, classifying them as legally "White" and enabling them to pursue formal education or political office, among other avenues of improved social mobility. The prospect of upward social mobility for individuals of mixed race was met with resistance by both elite groups: the Spanish-born peninsulares and the Spanish creoles born in the United States. White people considered themselves to be well-educated, productive members of society who worked on plantations, mines, and ranches. Mixed-race persons were seen by them as inferior and stupid, hopeless, incapable of achieving success, and deserving of no respect at all. The Caracas municipal council contended that allowing mixedrace individuals to advance in society would result in the collapse of society as they know it. Creoles and Peninsulares were concerned that mixed-race individuals would grab the upper classes' supposed "good" occupations. Many avoided careers or occupations connected with mixed-race populations because they were so fearful of them. They also feared the increasing military might and influence of individuals of mixed races following the 1780s uprisings that had led to the current state of affairs. The 1791 slave uprising in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) also served as a warning to White Spanish Americans about the potential consequences of lax authority over African Americans. Caracas' elites argued that the cédula real would make it much harder to keep this control and would even spark more uprisings. They thought that the secret to colonial stability and safety was on maintaining the castas' subordination. At the outset of the Latin American independence struggle, individuals were living in this socioeconomic milieu.