Comparing Racial Ideologies In North America And Latin America, And The Caribbean

Racial ideologies have immense effects and huge impacts on societies, especially those with varying races. This phenomenon of racial prejudices and stereotypes changing social systems and structures can be seen in North America, and Latin America/the Caribbean specifically from the 16th century to early 19th century. In both areas the social effects of racial ideologies can best be seen in the treatment of native people and slaves. But, because of the strong influence of differing European nations, and their differing standards, contrasting social effects can be seen in interactions between those who implemented the colonization of the regions. The idea of European superiority and dominance drive the social structure of the “New World” (The regions of North & Latin America/the Caribbean) Due to this dominant racial ideology, the native people in both regions were often the target of discrimination and oppression. The extent of their ill-treatment differed, as in North America they were simply pushed aside or confined to specific areas to live , but in the southern portions of the hemisphere they
In North America, there was a predominating British influence on society as they were the European power who controlled a majority of the territory. This influence lead the North American colonies to attempt to emulate their mother country. It was a societal goal to provide unity and equality between all white citizens. However, in Latin America and the Caribbean the main European influence is from the Spanish and Portuguese cultures. The colonies of Spain and Portugal lacked the sense of unity seen in the British colonies due to in large part to the separation of royalty and commoners in Spanish culture. This separation in Europe translated to many complex social classes in the colonies that often prompted violence between class