Final answer:
In Spanish colonial Latin America, social classes were primarily based on race, with peninsulares at the top, followed by creoles, mestizos, and mulattoes, which dictated one's socioeconomic status and opportunities.
Step-by-step explanation:
The social stratification in Latin America under Spanish colonial rule was intricately tied to both race and place of birth. At the top were the peninsulares, Spaniards born on the Iberian Peninsula, who held the highest administrative and clerical positions. Below them were the creoles, Spanish descendants born in the colonies, who were part of the landed elite and merchant class. The mestizos, of mixed Spanish and indigenous heritage, were artisans, lower clergy, or small landowners. Mulattoes were individuals of mixed European and African ancestry, occupying a similar social stratum as mestizos.
The distinctions among these groups were primarily used to create social classes based on race. The 'purity of blood', European ancestry, and whiteness were associated with presumed social and moral superiority, significantly affecting socioeconomic positions. These caste divisions enforced by colonial laws played a pivotal role in the administration, economy, and social hierarchy of Latin American societies in the 16th century and beyond, ultimately influencing the course of struggles for independence and the region's historical trajectory.