Colonial Cuba: From Indian to Creole

Summary

The construction of the Indian as a colonial category was one of the first resources of domination implemented by the Spaniards in the Antilles. The term with its social, economic and cultural implications served to homogenize and differentiate populations, to eliminate identities of origin and to build a destiny of subordination and disappearance. In Cuba this category was transformed over the last five centuries and adjusted to various historical circumstances. The historical and archaeological data of the Island indicate that the Indians did not maintain a passive attitude against the colonial power. They confronted or learned to interact with him and sought mechanisms of survival. Although mestizaje and acriollamiento have been seen as processes of ethnic and cultural neutralization of the Indian, and as part of the causes of their disappearance, they were also channels for their integration into the colonial world and have a determining role in the current survival of their legacy.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21102