Women in Colonial Latin America

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at the lives and roles of women in colonial Latin America and discusses how the class and race of the women helped determined their roles and position in society.

From the Paper:

"Evidence also suggests that some variability existed regarding the roles of women in different Latin American countries. In late colonial Brazil for example, women married early, generally by age twenty or twenty one; also many of the households were headed by women in colonial Brazil. This may have resulted from the need for men to be mobile, frequently traveling to find mines or off on exploratory adventures. Though illegitimacy was an area of concern and a threat to honor, as described above in greater detail, in Brazil there were high levels of illegitimacy among all people; Lockhart and Schwartz (1983) suggest that in some areas more than 40 percent of children born were illegitimate."

More papers on Women in Colonial Latin America:

• Essay # 14439 : "Women In Colonial Latin America"
• Term Paper # 135912 : "Women in Latin America"
• Analytical Essay # 135950 : "Latin-American Women in the Colonial Period"

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