Saturday, April 21, 2012
Making Connections
It is interesting to see how the social, political, and religious structures were transformed upon the arrival of the Spanish and their reign as the leaders of the native people. Stern mentions that Pizarro distributed encomiendas of Indian peoples to his conquistador allies. (27) This type of structure continued to be prevalent even until the 19th century where the elites would use systems of patronage and give encomiendas to their political supporters. I am taking HIST 272 Latin America in the Modern Era where we have hit on this particular subject, and I am finding some similarities between the 16th century and the 19th century in Latin America. The systems that were utilized by the Spaniards at the beginning of their 'conquest' seem to have had a big impact on the way of life in Latin America and its evolution, as they naturally should, since the Spaniards took over as leaders. Also, Stern's book talks in-depth about the alliances that helped the Spaniards take control of the region, specifically in Peru. Pizarro and his fellow conquistadors used tactics of understanding the fragmentation of the region to gain support to oust Inca rule. (30) This is a particular point that Restall made in his book where he stated that the Spaniards were not alone in the 'conquest.' It is now interesting to see more evidence that supports this particular idea. The native rivalries were manipulated quite well by the Spaniards, and this manipulation gave them one of the biggest advantages in their 'conquest.'
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I absolutely agree with your post. I personally am not a fan of the pre-Columbian Latin American history; I prefer Modern Latin America history because I feel like it’s more relevant and easier to understand. However, after reading the first half of Stern’s book Peru’s Indian Peoples and the Challenges of the Spanish Conquest my view of the importance of pre-Columbian history has changed. I am also taking history 272 and I feel that there is a strong parallel when comparing the social structures that the Spanish introduced during the 16th and 17th centuries in Peru, and the current social stratification there is today.
ReplyDeleteLast class we discussed why Stern wrote this book, what was the purpose? I believe he wrote this book to look at the roots of pre-Columbian Peru, and make connections to modern day Peru, in terms of social systems and class. I believe that Stern does a great job of discussing and describing the foundation of these social class systems that have impacted Peruvian, and Latin American, society to this day. There are many similarities that can be made by both of these societies over time. I don’t believe that they are directly linked, because there is always change over time, and these social classes changed somewhat over time. But, the Spanish did play and important role in creating these social classes that help shape modern Latin America. In this sense I feel that the Spanish were successful in “conquering” Latin American society to their advantage.