Angela Batallas: A Parallel to Latin American Independence

The story of Angela Batallas duels as a message of social justice, as well as a parable for political independence. Batallas, a female slave in Quito, beseeched the liberator Bolivar to help grant her freedom from her oppressor and the father of her child. This relationship could be seen to symbolize the connections of the colonizers to the colonized in Latin America during this time period. Angela Batallas also appeared to have a strong sense of self as well as the audacity to speak beyond her station; these qualities are similar to those of the fighting oppressed in colonization. Furthermore, Batallas had the inner will to fight for her freedom, which is the most important parallel of the separate battles.

The colonizers took control of the terrain in which the inhabited, seized the land and over powered the political structures that were already functioning in each region. After the initial phase of infiltration a relationship emerged between the Indians and the Spaniards. These relationships were perfidious, to phrase it mildly, yet the importation of Africans proved to be much harsher. The Spaniards eventually lost connection with the motherland and became Peninsulares. The same can be said for the Africans that found themselves in Latin America, they too transformed from their traditional African nature into a cross cultural society with Christian influences.

The largest connection between these two situations can be expressed through the story of Batallas. In the case of the slaves, the connection is clear. Yet the connection with the Independence movement may need further clarifications. The Peninsulares in the parable are represented by Batalles, ironically her oppressors. The Spanish are the slave owners. In the case of slavery, one is being exploited for a service, and in the case of colonization Spain was extracting goods from the colonies with little consideration for the population. In this case the elite became inspired by revolutionary ideals. In the case of Batallas, she received a letter from the liberator but also fought in court for her own freedom.

Society at Its Best

In the primary source given, Nahuatl Speeches and Dialogues, exemplary behavior is outlined, in the form of examples of different situations, and how one should speak in each of them. This signifies that the stratification of society was somewhat open, due to the notion that all should speak similarly, yet the actualization of this is not likely. This text was written by a noble; although the thought was overreaching the general idea was that all in society should speak in this manner. The classes were at the very least meant to appear to all be well spoken and revere God in all that they did. The influence of Christianity is overwhelming in this document. However, it is very important to note that these speeches were idealized notions of how one is to behave, rather than actual representations of their behavior, which could have been very different.

In one situation the policy prescribed for greeting a family member on the way to market was a lengthy conversation about the health of family and God and his desire to grant health or afflictions. The representation of such notions equate to a desire for the general population to engage in healthy dialog, yet it is lacking one age old aspect of grocery store chat—gossip. This seems to be completely left out of the conversation, and although this period is far separated from modern forms of communication, it is sure that gossip had its place in society and generally this type of encounter is where that would take place. Especially in this situation, because it is said that they lived very far apart and this would be prime opportunity for local news to travel.

The idealized notion of conversation in this text also is “reflective of a bygone era” which reveals that the practicality of this means of communication is also off skew. In many examples the turn of phrase revolves around the notion of health and well being, yet little mention is of how to respond if one is feeling ill. It is not possible that one feels blessed in health each day, yet there is no explanation for this. This could be similar to the greeting of many modern Americans where when someone asks another “How are you today?” the proper reply is always “Fine, thank you. How are you?” This could be similar, yet in many cases the questions are to immediate family such as mothers or uncles. In reality it is unlikely that one would hide their true status of well being form this segment of the population, thus the notions may be over done.

This particular source is quite interesting and important because the idealized values and means of communication are still very important. They reveal the desires of the population or at the very least the noble in this case of the population. The shortcomings of the document are obvious in the sense that they lack the actualization of conversation, yet the examples provide a glimpse into the societal expectations of the period, rather than the true portrayal of society. This is their society at its best.

Spanish- Incan Relationships

Spanish-indigenous relationships by nature were coercive. In all circumstances this may not be the case, and especially when pertaining to nobility and the elite in the Incan community; however in the situation of the largest proportion of the population and the sheer nature of all relationships coercion was used in some form. In the case of nobility mixed marriages and arrangements may have been at times beneficial for a temporal period, yet even those arrangements often went sour and resulted in mistreatment of the females in question.

The forced transition in religious doctrine proved to be particularly harmful to women and lead to many coercive and exploitive relationships.  In the church priests would extort tithes from the native population and from the women sexual favors with the fabrication that the act would remove sin or pay the fees. Furthermore, the power that Spaniards held over the population as a whole significantly reduced the power women held previously in society as religious leaders and prominent social figures. Religion to the Incas was more than a part of society, meaning that there was no separation from religion in their lives; their lives were formed by their religion. Women were a part of that, as seen in Guaman Poma de Ayala’s work El Primer Nuevi Crinica y Buen Gobiero, the Sun god and his wives were and integral part of society and no one ever desecrated the sacred notion of the marriage. Moreover, women whom were married to the king, or even his concubines, were treated with much respect and honor for their dedication.   

Irene Silverblatt concludes her piece, entitled In Women and Colonization: Anthological Perspectives, “The women in the puna are living in the ways our ancestors lived years ago, they are defending our customs, they are defending our culture”.  In her work she promotes the notion that the indigenous population had no connection to the brutish Spaniards. The Spanish are ruining their way of life and restructuring their entire civilization. This can be seen in the changing status of women as sacred, to merely objects to be sold and traded. This can be illustrated by the actions taken by the male members of the common class when faced with the possibility of forced mining labor. These men would trade or barter their female relatives to the Spanish in order to avoid the back breaking labor. Previously, this would have been unacceptable behavior.   

These relationships, sexual and social, were by nature coercive because the Spanish though of women as objects to be bought, traded and sold as they saw fit. The Spanish sought to conquer the Incan civilization in every aspect of their lives, including the sexually. The relations in most cases were nothing more than carnal reincarnations and representations of their views on Incan society. The forced changes in politics and economic system exacerbated the decline of women’s status in the Incan Empire. It cannot be speculated that in every single case of sexual relations between a Spaniard and an Incan woman compulsion was used, however the nature of the interactions were, without question acts of conquest rather than consent and desire as the traditional Incan norm.

Gender Issues in America

Gender and sex have very distinct definitions that collaborate to create the norms of American society. Gender equating to the result of many years of the division of labor into two distinct groups and other societal factors that change frequently. However, sex has a genetic and physical connotation that stems from the observed genitalia of each individual. Each category affects American society and is a fundamental means by which everyone is judged, yet the stereotypes are constantly evolving and shifting to and from each category. In the past century things have drastically changed in America, and many new challenges to the status quo have emerged.
As the decade of the 1910’s began, men and women had very distinct and definite roles; yet they were about to change drastically. Women’s gender roles were composed of domestic chores and child rearing. Pants were not socially acceptable fashion for women in many rural areas of America and women in the workplace were rare, and in the few cases where they were admitted to the force, jobs were very gender conscience, such as teachers and mission workers. As the decade progressed and the roaring 20s emerged this evolved into a larger pool of women with the addition of secretarial work and industrial textile mills in the acceptable positions for women. This remained unchanged until the WWII era when women entered the positions their husbands left. However, the conditions, advancement opportunities, and equality of compensation were lacking as well as proper anti-harassment policies. These issues were fought for over the course of the century, and are still being resolved but great success has been made.
Currently, gender is at another cross roads in America with regard to homosexuality. As in the previous decade women and men were at odds with one another in regard to voting rights, equality in the workforce and equality in the home. In the mid 1970’s homosexuality was pushed to the forefront of issues in American society and many of the issues that these individuals are fighting for are not yet resolved. However, there have been some definite decisions made in state level policies. In the state of Tennessee it has been made explicitly clear that gay marriage is banned, yet in some states such as Massachusetts their unions have been made legally recognized.
A relatively new area of gender and sexuality has emerged in America, transexuality. In America these individuals are facing discrimination at similar levels as the previous fighters for social equality. Transexuals are changing the sex to which they were born and this is causing quite an uproar in many areas of the US. They have been victims of intense violence and blatant bigotry in political and social arenas. Gender and sexual issues in the American society are slow to actualize fairness and equality, yet as the process shows some significant improvements are possible.