Bourbon reforms was a socio-political set of laws that wee introduced in Spain spearheaded by various kings in the House of Bourbon. They were introduced in the 18th century purposely for helping to stimulate modernization in Spain (Fisher, J.R., 2002). This modernization was to depend on the technological and industrial development. Meaning, a lot of changes had to be made in the infrastructure and agriculture. They were introduced to promote the primacy of Spain over her colonies and. This would make the Spanish administration more efficient.
As obviously expected, these reforms affected Spain in many ways. It led to many improvements in this country. This resulted from the reforms that were made in improving agriculture. Because of such a support in this sector, food production increased. This coupled with improved infrastructure; there were undoubtedly improved living standards of people.
However, not every body was contented with these changes. Therefore, it received a lot of discontent from the Indians, Creoles and the Mestizos. These people, as a result of the ever racial segregation tensions at the time, organized various revolts like the Tupac Amaru II and Comuneros revolts. The Tupac Rebellion of 1780-82 organized by the Mestizo and the native peasants in Viceroyalty of Peru against these reforms which they argued did not favor them. Even if their first leader was captured in 1781, the3 revolt continued for more years.
On the other hand, the Comuneros Revolt was organized in 1781 by the inhabitants from the modern Columbia and Venezuela. They were also presenting their dissatisfaction with these reforms. Consequently, these revolts later intensified liberation struggles in all the Spanish colonies in Latin America, Africa and Asia especially in the second half of the 19th century.
Slavery in Brazil
Slavery refers to an act of holding a human being in captivity and denying them freedom. This practice is as old as man. It even traces its roots to the biblical times of King Herod who is recorded to have enslaved the Jews from Israel. In other words, it means making a person be treated as a property of another. This inhumane practice became so prominent in the 16th, 17th, and the 18th centuries. In my discussion, I will trace highlight on the practice of slavery in Brazil. In Brazil, slavery was prominent in the mining, sugarcane and cotton production. As a country, she constantly received around 35% of all the slaves from Africa during the Triangular Trade.
Historically, the people of Brazil began trading in 155O. As the trade intensified, Brazil was receiving 3 million Africans. These were subjected to harsh treatments in the sugar cane plantations where they ere working (Fausto, B. and A. Brakel, 2006). It was however, a legal right for the slave owners to acquire, buy, transport, discipline and dispose of the slaves or their body parts.
The slaves were sexually molested by their masters. They could be raped by the white masters even though they were not supposed to protest. The slaves were subjected to little or no payment at all. In case of misbehavior, they would be punished heavily by whipping. At times, they could be harmed to the extent that they could succumb to such injuries. The slaves were also given little food besides being forced to work for long hours. This was so tedious.
At the same time, these slaves had no leadership rights. They could not participate in elections either as voters or contenders. They were confined within shanty settlements characterized by poor living conditions. This affected their health leading to the death of many of them. Their children were not allowed to get quality education that would prepare them for lucrative white collar jobs.
However, the native Brazilians were privileged. They were entitled to all the fundamental rights like democratic freedom.
In the early 19th century, a lot of pressure was put on the European governments to abolish this infamous practice. Many humanitarians like William Wilberforce together with economists like Adam Smith argued against slavery. From instance, Adam Smith, a great economist, argued that free labor is uneconomical. Hence, by 1850, nearly all the European slave trading countries including Britain, the major beneficiary, abolished it. This ban extended to other countries. So, today, slavery and slave trade is illegal.
Ethnicity and slavery
Racism is the belief that people from certain races are more equal than others. Therefore, they are accorded preferential treatment. Racism, over the years, has become a very contentious issue. Ethnicity, on the other hand refers to the belief that people from certain tribes are more special than others (Burns, E.B. and A.C. Charlip, 2009). Even if we all understand that we are in a diverse world, in which we have no choice, but are endowed with this plurality, still many people have misused this by causing segregations.
Uruguay is one of the multiethnic societies in South America. This simply means that it is made up of many people from different ethnic affiliations (Burns E.B. and A.C. Charlip, 2009). According to the official government records, in 2009, she had a population of 3,494,382. In this regard, it means she has a population made up of the native Uruguayans and other immigrants from other pars of the world- Africa and Europe.88% of these immigrants are of European decent. These are the Spaniards, Italians, Portugal, French, British, Germans, Russians, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Lithuanians, Latvians, and poles, Ukrainians, Estonians, Swedish, Dutch, Belgians, Austrians and Scandinavians. There also exist a smaller number of Serbs, Turkish, Lebanese and the Americans.
A very huger percentage of these people have either Italian or Spanish cultural roots. However, other smaller groups trace their ancestry to the French, Portugal and the English decent. Many of them reached Uruguay in the 19th century. They have heavily influenced the kind of culture that is practiced in Montevideo and other big cities in the country. This is why the people living in these areas freely associate with the West.
The rest of the people living in Uruguay are of African, Asian, Arabian, Japanese or Chinese origin. More than 97& of this number consists of the Black Uruguayans. The remaining 2% of this number consists of the Asians from Syria, Japan and China. On the other extreme are the Amerindians who live in the rural North Western part of the country.
Even if these groups live together, they may at times be separated by their diverse culture, history, religion and economic success. This is handled so cautiously because, despite this, the Uruguayans still place their nationality primary to their ethnic affiliation.
Reference
Burns E.B. and A.C. Charlip (2009) Latin America: An Interpretative History. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc.Meril, T.L. and M. Ramon (Eds.) 92002) ‘Road to Independence. Mexico’. A County Study. Washington DC GPO for the Library.
Fausto, B. and B. Brakel (2006) A Concise History of Brazil. Cambridge: Cambridge Concise Histories.
Fisher, J.R. (2002) Commercial Relations Between Spain and Spanish American the era of Free Trade, 1778-1796. Liverpool: University of Liverpool.
