Racial discrimination is one of the most striking manifestations of the historical legacy of slavery, the slave trade, and colonialism. Multiple historical studies demonstrate the nature of the colonial order and its connection to the gradual entrenchment of racial differences. However, few examples are included in the investigations to demonstrate the visibility of distinctions between ethnic groups. Nevertheless, De Brahm’s map and the Casta paintings are the earliest demonstrations of racial difference emergence and its gradual affirmation in society.
A crucial stage in British history is the period of accelerated territorial growth of the Empire and the equally rapid conversion of British society to imperialism. The mode of colonization was undoubtedly linked to racial issues that initially seemed less noticeable. However, De Brahm’s map is one of the most striking pieces of evidence of the conquest of space and the entrenchment of the idea of land and people as titular property (Imagining the Colonial 4). De Brahm used his practicum as an engineer to make the map and meticulously and scientifically demonstrate considerable details. Most notably, his map showed the terrain of farmsteads owned by colonists, and the cartouche exhibited constrained individuals being forced to operate the ground (Gopal 45). Thus, this map indicated a process of brutal enslavement and the beginning of dividing people into conquerors and enslaved.
The Casta painting genre is an equally important example of how racial differences became visible. The term casta itself was used to refer to people of different ethnic backgrounds since the term race was not yet in use at that time (Race and ethnicity in Colonial New Spain 5). However, the casta was the identifier of ethnic and economic class positions in colonial society. Casta, as a painting, embodies a shared obsession with genealogy and lineage to determine a class position in society (Morrison 198). It is important to note that in the colonial era, people born of a Spaniard and an Indian were called mestizo. They were never entirely accepted as their own by either the Spanish or the Indians, and they had no place in either group.
Thus, the Métis constituted a kind of semi-asocial group that coexisted with other castas, was equally non-privileged, and was discriminated against by the Spaniards and Creoles. Paintings existed to convey the diversity of the new races, from appearance to the manner of dress, from dwellings to relationships within such families (King 8). Regardless of the artists’ attitudes, they demonstrated that race matters. The castes formed in New Spain resulted from a real human tragedy. The Spaniards took advantage of their marginal status to exploit them, which the Indians silently despised (Morrison 196). Therefore, even though the concept of race still did not exist, the differences between ethnic groups became more and more evident, leading to the emergence of a new art form – Casta painting.
It is conceivable to conclude that despite the geographical distance, the colonial regimes of Spain and England had similar features. There were signs of discrimination in both regions, which can be seen in the examples of De Brahm’s map and Casta paintings. Although racial differences may not seem evident at first glance, both examples show the difference between individuals of different nations, demonstrating the privileges of some and the disadvantages experienced by others.
Works Cited
Gopal, Priyamvada. Insurgent Empire: Anticolonial Resistance and British dissent. Verso Books, 2019.
Imagining the Colonial, 2023.
Race and Ethnicity in Colonial New Spain, 2023.
King, Tiffany Lethabo. The Black shoals: Offshore formations of Black and Native studies. Duke University Press, 2019.
Morrison, Katherine. “The Colonial Efficacy of Casta Paintings.” NASKO, 2019, pp.190-202.