ABSTRACT
In this chapter we will explore some of the issues raised in the previous one in terms of how they are relevant to the Latin American context. As we suggested in earlier chapters, it is above all in the realm of education that Latin America’s indigenous populations have attempted to establish certain cultural and linguistic rights. As we saw in Part I policies and attitudes to the education of the marginalised indigenous peoples were a significant aspect of the Castilianisation process from the beginnings of the Spanish conquest through the early independence era. The decision whether to teach Spanish or whether to use indigenous languages in the Church’s early evangelising work, and, later, the role of the national education system in enforcing post-independence national identity and national unity were deliberate and conscious political considerations.
