colonial period

Despite the constant obstacles of racial prejudices that people of African and mixed racial descent (often termed pardos or mulattoes) faced, they did manage to find some avenues for upward social and economic mobility during the colonial period.  This week’s reading examines many of the social tensions that had developed by the end of the colonial period.  The first reading by Leo Garofalo examines how Mexican artists attempted to categorize people into fixed racial groups during the mid-1700s.  The second reading is a vociferous complaint written in 1796 by the City Council of Caracas to the King of Spain near the end of the colonial period.  The final reading by Ann Twinam recounts the struggles of Pedro de Ayarza, a Panamanian merchant of African descent, who went to the courts to purchase “whiteness” for himself and his four sons.  The results of Pedro de Ayarza’s decade-long legal struggle were mixed.
Answer the following questions using specific examples from all of this week’s readings:
1.)   1.) How did racism against pardos and mulattoes in colonial society impact their daily life? How did they overcome these obstacles?  How would you characterize colonial society in Latin America?

2.)   2.) Why do you think the City Council of Caracas felt so threatened by thepardos and mulattoes?  Why do you think the Spanish Crown decided to allow people the ability to purchase whiteness in the first place?

3.)   3.) Speculate on how different groups in colonial society might react to a movement for independence.  Do you think Pedro de Ayarza or his sons would support a movement for independence?  How about the City Council of Caracas?  Why or why not?