Meztisos People of Idigenous and European Blood Essay

The late 15th century marked the beginnings of a period of discovery and expansion for Europeans. During these years of discovery, great forces behind drive for expansion existed. The Spanish and Portugueses main forces included: the lust for the wealth of gold and silver, the acquisition of new lands which brought nobility, and the spread of their Christian based religion. The Spanish and Portuguese conquest of Latin America provides us with insight of these drives in the ultimate search for power. Unfortunately, these motives caused a European-Indigenous syncretism that virtually changed the native peoples way of life. Ultimately, syncretism meant survival for Native Americans in a world where their way of life did not suit the life†¦show more content†¦103) Ambitious conquistadores, along with there kings, could not pass up taking advantage of a society so rich and plentiful. Thus the conquest began, resulting in the death of over 1 million indigenous peoples lives by war or by plague. This conquest then opened the door for massive European immigration and colonization in the Americas, which then resulted in a racial syncretism of European and Native blood. Although European were procreating with native blood, they continually sought out the fairest skinned indigenous woman, for in their culture the whiter the skin, the higher class ranking you appeared to come from. These offspring came to be known as mestizos. Because these people were part meztiso, and were aware of indigenous views, these people would eventually fight for independence from their transatlantic predecessors. This type of syncretism was almost a necessity for the survival of native peoples. Up until this point, thousands of natives were being wiped out by the plagues brought by the Europeans. However, with the appearance of the meztiso, better immune systems were being developed among the indigenous populations, which diminished the indigenous death rate due to disease. Furthermore, this cla ss of people contributed largely to the initial independence movements against