Influence of the Spanish on Puerto Rican Society :: Puerto Rico History Historical Essays

Influence of the Spanish on Puerto Rican SocietyIn the histories of Colonial Latin America there is oneness common aspect and that is the importation of slaves as a labor force. The resulting consequences for the territory are vital if we are to understand the develop ment of the society. In Puerto Rico these consequences tummy mainly with African influence on the peasantry, the corrective measures taken thereafter to negate the African influence, and the results of these corrective measures.The Tainos, the natives of Puerto Rico, were extensive agriculturalists as well as a highly organized people. They developed techniques, such as irrigation, which was new to agriculture and at the same time increased the productivity of their crops, like the yuca their main staple. another(prenominal) unique feature to the Taino society was the relationship between man and woman. The Tainos gender roles were markedly different from those of the European nations. For example the matrilineal arra ngements allowed both men and women to become the chiefs of their respective villages. Spanish settlers were critical, upon arrival, of the Taino lifestyle. Unfortunately Taino influence is rarely felt due to their rapid demise.Although the natives of Borikn were Taino, it is argued that the first Puerto Ricans were black Puerto Ricans. Spanish occupation well-nigh eliminated Native influences by the way of the decimation of the people as a result of disease brought across the atlantic by the Spanish settlers. In this way the Taino were minimally influential in forming a new cultural identity. The descendants of the first African slaves had already become black Puerto Ricans(Gonzlez 10) when Spaniards from the canary islands arrived to replace those who had left in search of riches in Peru and Mexico. For this reason it is feasible to accept the notion that the Puerto Ricans were in fact black Puerto Ricans. (Gonzlez 10) The African presence was more of a portion in the formation process of the Puerto Rican identity. Of the massive numbers of slaves who survived the voyage there were those who were fortunate enough to escape into the hinterland. Here they found refuge from the hardship of orchard labor along with the opportunity to join the peasantry that also searched for refuge. The jbaros used the broken topography of the interior as an ally in its struggle with the expanding sugar plantations (Scarano 6) This intermixing of the devil cultures forged several similarities.