Question

Because so few Spanish women came to the New World, Spanish male colonists mostly married Indians; the resulting race was and is known as _______, the largest population in Latin America.

1) Mestizos
2) Mulattos
3) Criollos
4) Indigenous

Answer 1

The race resulting from the unions of Spanish male colonists and Indigenous women is called mestizos, and they constitute the largest population in Latin America, positioned in the middle of the colonial caste system. The correct option is 1.

Step-by-step explanation:

The resulting race from marriages between Spanish male colonists and Indigenous women in the New World is known as mestizos, which is the largest population in Latin America. The term mestizo generally means 'mixed' in Spanish and originally referred to individuals of Spanish and Native American descent.

Mestizos were part of a complex caste system in colonial Latin America, finding their place in the middle of the social hierarchy below the peninsulas (Spaniards born in Spain) and criollos (Spaniards born in the colonies) but above the Indigenous populations and African slaves.

As the Spanish conquest of the New World primarily involved male soldiers, Native American women often became their only option for partnership. Prominent figures, such as Hernan Cortes, had children with Indigenous women, contributing to the growth of the mestizo population.

Over time, mestizos became a significant and distinct part of the social structure in Latin and South America, working variously as artisans, in the lower clergy, or as laborers on land owned by the criollo elite. The correct option is 1.