New World Oppression

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the ways in which native American peoples and people of African descent resisted, revolted from, escaped, adapted, and incorporated the dominating culture in Mesoamerica and Peru during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. It explains how the conquest of the Americas by the Spanish was among the most complete and oppressive in all the New World, managing to overpower and, in some cases, eradicate the existing cultures. It shows that, despite this, the oppressed minorities were able to retain some elements of their own identities, often creating elegant adaptations and responsive solutions to the efforts of their conquerors.

From the Paper:

"Within a few decades of European discovery of the New World, the Spanish had already laid claim to substantial portions of Mexico, Mesoamerica, Peru, and other contiguous areas, dominating the existing cultures and imposing their own rule over the lands. This domination lasted until 1821 but continues to have a profound effect on the area. By the 18th century, Spanish conquest had created a unique society in which those most resistant to Spanish influence were the most oppressed and impoverished. Yet some native peoples managed to evade the worst of these oppressions and even learned to thrive in a predominantly Hispanic culture. Steve J. Stern writes, "The growing poverty of Andean peoples by the early seventeenth century could lead us to overlook the rise of natives who escaped severe burdens imposed upon most Indians, in some cases climbed the social ladder, and accumulated considerable wealth" (112)."

More papers on New World Oppression:

• Comparison Essay # 40 : "Huxley's "Brave New World" and Zamyatin's "We" Compared"
• Essay # 15358 : "Rebellion of Oppressed Groups In the New World"
• Analytical Essay # 142802 : "Immigrant Experiences In The New Homeland"

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