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Colombia COLONIAL SOCIETY, 1550-1810
Colonial society relied on "purity of blood" as a basis
for
stratification. The elites at the top of the social
pyramid were
peninsulares, persons of Spanish descent born in
Spain.
Peninsulares held political power and social
prestige in the
society. Below them were the criollos, those of Spanish
descent
born in the colonies. This group had limited access to the
higher
circles of power and status. For generations the criollos
accepted
a position of inferiority to the peninsulares, but
in the
late eighteenth century their acquiescence was transformed
into a
resentment that ultimately led to their fight for
independence.
Next in importance and the most numerous were the
mestizos, persons
of mixed Spanish and Indian descent who were free but
relegated to
positions of low prestige. Most Indians gradually became
absorbed
linguistically or lost their identity through mixture with
other
peoples; by the late 1980s, Indians constituted only 1
percent of
the Colombian population
(see Contemporary Trends
, ch. 2).
Black
African slaves and zambos, persons of mixed African
and
Indian descent, were at the bottom of the social scale and
were
important only as a source of labor.
Data as of December 1988
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