Colonial+Society+in+the+Americas

= **Colonial Society in the Americas (675-681)** =

**Cecilia, McKenzie, Chris** **The Formation of Multicutural Societies** Throughout the Americas, relations between individuals of American, European, and African ancestry led to the emergence of mestizo populations. European people and their Euro-American kids dominated political and economic affairs. They mined metals, cultivated cash crops, and trapped fur-bearing animals to supply capitalist markets. >
 * __Cabeza De Vaca (spanish nobleman/traveler)__[[image:Cabeza_de_Vaca.jpg align="right" caption="Cabeza De Vaca"]]
 * Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca joined an expedition of 300 explorers who went from hispaniola to investigate Florida in 1527
 * most members perished because of inadequate supplies the harsh environment and clashes with indigenous forces
 * him and the few survivors built boats to make their way across the Gulf of Mexico to New Spain.
 * crashed in Texas
 * There ship crashed and for 8 years him and 3 companions lived in several different societies serving as slaves and physicians
 * they found their way to Mexico in 1556
 * __Mestizo Societies__
 * All European territories became multicultural societies
 * Migrants became to go to the Iberian colonies; from spanish decent 85% of them were men, and portuguese people had an even more male dominated society
 * Because of the lack of European women in these colonies, the spanish and portuguese men began to have relationships with the native women
 * this caused the mestizo(mixed) society population to increase
 * in colonial cities spanish migrants tired to recreated the European-style society
 * in less settled lands the spanish migrants and native women gave rise to the mestizo society
 * In Brazil, Portuguese men had relationships with native women and African slave women due to the lack of European women
 * Brazil soon had populations of mestizos, mulattoes( Portuguese and African parents), zambos( Indiginous and African parents), and other combinations of different race parents
 * Different race marriages became very popular as a result of these different race relationships
 * **__The Social Hierachy__**
 * in both spanish and portuguese settlements, migrants native to Europe, also known as peninsulares, were at the top of the social hiarchy
 * next to the top were criollos or creoles, people born in the americans to 2 European parents
 * All Iberian colonies imported slaves and conquered peoples stood at the bottom of the social hierarchy.
 * Mestizos, mulattoes, zambos, and other mixed people began to make a big impact on the Brazilian society so they moved up in the social hiarchy
 * __**North American Societies**__
 * these settlements were a lot different than the ones in south american, because in North American there were more women than men in the society
 * french fur traders associated with native women and made //metis(//french and native women children)
 * Women were numerous among the French
 * in colonial cities french and native women interactions was less common
 * There was never relationships between the English colonies of North American and Native people
 * The English did not like the natives and this later turned into an early form of racism
 * the english did interact with the american and african people, they used there language when naming raccoons and opssums, and trees like hickory and pecan
 * the english also began to wear moccasins and deerskin clothes
 * they also gave up military customs of marching in massed ranks and presenting drums and flying colors
 * from the african slaves the borrowed food crops and techniques for rice cultivation
 * __**Mining and Agriculture in Spanish Empire**__[[image:1801-Spanish-silver.jpg width="280" height="271" align="right"]]
 * From the Spanish point of view, the greatest attractions of the Americas were precious metals
 * Gold was not the most abundant American treasure
 * Silver was greater than gold
 * They needed workers for mines in mexican societies. Most was voluntary labor but they had to get a draft system called the mita system.
 * American silver helped spanish kings finance a powerful army and bureacracy.