Today in History 109, we learned about the history of Latin America. Possessing a rich history, we also learned about the name itself, and what all the different names can tell us about the people that shaped the entire region. In about 45 minutes, we covered roughly 500 years’ worth of history dating back to the colonial period.

In terms of Colonization, we covered 2 main types: planter and extractive. Planter colonization consisted of heavy production of export crops and importing enslaved Africans, while extractive moved resources out of the colonized areas with the use of indigenous populations. One particular location we looked at was the Potosi silver mine, where extractive colonization funneled silver directly into Europe and Asia. We also looked at the extensive sugar operations in Brazil, where at least 4 million slaves were imported to work on sugar plantations. A brutal slavery system resulted from this.

We also covered the impact of this extensively, focusing on 3 main points: a heterogenous population, religion, and land. In terms of the heterogenous population, colonists conducted aggressive sexual behavior on the indigenous people, causing a heavily mixed population of people. Racial diversity is still very prominent today, but it is not simple. With religion, Spanish and Portuguese introduced Catholicism to the native population. Some embraced it, others did not. Some had their own ways to worship, one of these discussed was N.S. de Guadalupe. On the last point, land, colonialism caused a very unequal society that was based on land ownership. Simon Boliuan later commented on this inequality before the revolution form European control, however, he notes 20 years later that the problem is still present.

In the period of Neo-colonialism, this region of the world focused heavily on exports – both to US and European markets – and on extensive urbanization. As we wrapped up for the day, we briefly covered some 20th C. points, including extensive economic change, new political structures like populism and dictatorships within the region, and revolutionary movements. When looking at this period, it is important to note it as a time of great political turmoil and change, whether that be for better or for worse.

Overall today was very informative, interesting, and brought up some points about Latin America (or however you name it) that I hadn’t thought extensively about for a long time. We tend to focus much more on the American aspect in middle and high school, so it’s really quite fascinating to learn more about this area of the world whenever possible.