Casta Paintings in Colonial Latin America Many pass

Casta Paintings in Colonial Latin America

“Many pass as Spaniards who in their hearts know that they are mulattos. ” Pedro Alonso O’Crouley, Spanish merchant

Casta Paintings http: //upload. wikimedi a. org/wikipedia/comm ons/e/e 8/Casta_paintin g_all. jpg Go to the above address and click on the individual images to enlarge

Racial Mixtures Sample Parentage Spaniard & negro Mulato & indian Negro & indian Spaniard & mestizo Spaniard & castizo Spaniard & mulato Spaniard & morisco Spaniard & saltras Atras Indian & lobo Indian & mestizo Indian & coyote Indian & chino Indian & mulato Spaniard & morisco Offspring Mulato chino grifo * lobo or sambo mestizo castizo or Albino Spaniard morisco saltas atras ** tente en el aire *** chino cambujo coyote Indian albarazado lobo albino *Chino= various meanings. Chino grifo=frizzly headed chin Chino cambujo=a very swarthy one **Saltas atras=literally a ‘jump backward’ away from Spanish stock ***tente en el aire=literally ‘very much in the air’ of very dubious standing

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Activity #1 • Pick one image to work with and answer the following questions on your worksheet • Identify the document -Is there title? -Who are the people? -Can we date the images? -What objects do you see in the picture? -What are the people doing in the images? -What does their clothing tell us

Activity #1 continued • What is the main idea behind casta paintings? • Who was the intended audience? • What was the purpose of these paintings? • Can you detect bias? • Is there a trend seen in the images? • What questions can you think of, if you could ask the artist or producer?

Activity #2 General Questions • Read the Role-Play handout on Life in the Spanish Colonies and discuss with your neighbors • Discuss how the Latin American social system compares (sims & diffs) with Medieval European society • Compare with the Hindu caste system • Can it be compare to the Jim Crow system in the Southern States?