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COPYRIGHT 2008 GaleCaste and Class Structure in Colonial Spanish America
During most of the colonial era, Spanish American society had a pyramidal structure with a small number of Spaniards at the top, a group of mixedrace people beneath them, and at the bottom a large indigenous population and small number of slaves, usually of African origin. Although the size of these groups varied between regions and fluctuated over the course of three centuries, they comprised the hierarchy of power and social status during most of the colonial period.