ABSTRACT
THE characteristic feature of society in the Spanish colonies at the close of the eighteenth century was its lack of homogeneity. The Europeans, the Indians, and the negroes represented three distinct races. Besides the representatives of these races, there were various classes with mixed blood. The most important of the mongrel classes were the mestizos, the offspring of the union of Europeans and Indians; the mulattoes, the offspring of the Europeans and negroes; and the sambos, the offspring of the union of Indians and negroes. The legal and other obstacles that were opposed to the emigration of unmarried Spanish women to America and the lack of any sentiment hostile to the union of the Spanish and the Indians led to the development of a large class of mestizos, greatly exceeding in numbers any other mixed class. The same freedom, however, did not exist with respect to the union of the Indians and the Africans. In fact, the government sought to prevent the amalgamation of these races, and prohibited their union by cruel and unusual penalties.
