Ch. 19 Discussion
Questions
AP World History
Discussion Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
Describe the diffusion of Iberian society
to the New World.
Define the model for American
colonization that was established in the
Caribbean.
Describe the nature of the exploitation of
Indians in the Americas.
Define the economy of the American
colonies.
Discussion Questions
5.
6.
7.
8.
Identify the nature of the Spanish system
of government in the American colonies.
Describe the change that the discovery
of gold and diamonds made on the
economic organization of Brazil.
Describe the social hierarchy of the
American colonies.
Compare the 18th century reforms in
Portuguese and Spanish colonies.
1. Describe the diffusion of Iberian
society to the New World.

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
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Commoners to America to become nobles holding
Indian-worked estates
Small urban centers
Strong patriarchal ideas
Family life based on encomiendas
Slavery
Political pattern of centralization (dependent on
professional bureaucracy)
Roman Catholicism
Old World animals (# of cattle go up = # of Indians
go down)
2. Define the model for American
colonization that was established in the
Caribbean.




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Conquest and then settlement (Spanish
women and African slaves brought in)
Plantation agriculture
Exploitation of Indian labor
Indigenous people destroyed by disease
Iberian style cities (grid plan with central plaza
for state & church buildings)
Royal administrators & professional
magistrates
Church cathedrals and universities
Ranches & sugar plantations
3. Describe the nature of the
exploitation of Indians in the
Americas.





Was beneficial to the Spanish only
Maintained native institutions to serve
Spanish goals (traditional nobility & mita)
Enslavement of natives (except in
warfare)
Government awarded encomiendas
(source of labor and taxes)
Traditional Indian religions were
eliminated
4. Define the economy of the
American colonies.




80% of colonists involved in agriculture –
remainder was in mining
Dependent on imports of finished
European goods
Colonies exported raw materials
Became part of the world economy
5. Identify the nature of the Spanish
system of government in the
American colonies.






Sovereignty rested with the Spanish crown
(based upon papal grant) in return for converts
Bureaucratic system w/core of lawyers who
held legislative and administrative authority
Theory – king ruled from Spain through
Council of Indies
Viceroyalties in based in Mexico City and Lima;
divided into 10 divisions run by royal
magistrates
Local level – magistrates managed tax and
labor service obligations
Catholic Church held great influence over all
levels
6. Describe the change that the discovery
of gold and diamonds made on the
economic organization of Brazil.




Opened the interior of Brazil to settlement,
devastated Indian populations, & weakened
coastal agriculture
Led to government policies that stimulated
agriculture
Rio de Janeiro became a major port and
capital (1763)
Coincided with the fall of sugar prices (Brazil
was less important in world markets)
7. Describe the social hierarchy of the
American colonies.





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Based on color & castas
Indian women suffered sexual exploitation from
Europeans
The Crown sponsored marriages because of few
European women – resulted in a Mestizo population
Mestizos had a higher status than Indians
Europeans were always at the top with Indians and
slaves at the bottom
Peninsulares higher than Creoles
Women were under male authority
Upper class women were confined to household
occupations while lower class women participated in the
economy
8. Compare the 18th century reforms
in Portuguese and Spanish colonies.



Creation of more viceroyalties to allow
for better defense and administration
Lessening of the Catholic Church’s
influence in political decisions
Removal of Creoles from administrative
positions