Born In Blood And Fire Summary

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During the period of colonialism, both the Native Americans and the people of African descent suffered severely from the oppression and the injustice that the Portuguese and the Spaniards held against them. The Iberians managed to control the Americas for over three hundred years without an organized army due to their implementation of a Hegemony and Transculturation. These approaches allowed the Portuguese and the Spaniards to administer and regulate political, social, economic and religious aspects of the New Land. John Charles Chasteen, writer of the book “Born in Blood and Fire”, discusses the meaning and development of the hegemony that took place in the colonialism period. Chasteen states how this system was both the reason of the Iberian success and a vast obstacle for the slaved and indigenous individuals – many who became extremely dependent of …show more content…
The Spaniards and Portuguese offered a system of adaptation and cultural exchange to the natives, in order to construct a relationship with them and increasing their chances of gaining territorial, economic, social and political power. The natives ended up adapting to the ideas of sharing their land and culture with the Iberians. As an example, many of them went through Catholic Conversion, due to the influence of the Iberians’ beliefs and regulations (Marriage, Church, burials, etc.). Also, the Natives and the Iberians had a structural system where they resembled the Spanish Municipal Organization: The “Republica de Indios”, where the caciques still had the power and responsibility of leadership and tribute collection and the natives had the chance to keep the system that they already had in place. This powerful yet silent consent that was shared among the Iberians and the Natives served as the glue that held the