G–10 GLOSSARY
Portuguese crown to serve loyally the colonial
administration in its effort to preserve Portu-
guese dominion over Brazil.Relacão, pl. relaçoes A high court in colonial
Brazil that combined judicial and administra-
tive functions.
Repartimiento (1) An assignment of indígenas or
land to a Spanish settler during the fi rst years
of the Conquest. (2) The periodic conscription of
indígenas for labor useful to the Spanish com-
munity. (3) The mandatory purchase of mer-
chandise by indígenas from royal offi cials; also
repartimiento de mercancías.
Repartimiento de mercancías See Repartimiento
(sense 3).
República de españoles The form of colonial gov-
ernance created by Spanish imperial authority,
which excluded Muslims, Jews, Protestants, and
all foreign nationals and empowered Spanish
nobility to regulate colonial affairs on behalf of
the king.
República de indios Sixteenth-century admin-
istrative reforms introduced into the Spanish
American colonies that recognized the natural
authority of traditional indigenous leaders to
govern their communities, subject to Spanish
royal control.
Requerimiento Literally “the Requirement,” this
describes the mandatory reading of a document
that outlined the legal and moral rationale for
the Spanish conquest and enslavement of in-
digenous American peoples, citing Spain’s sov-
ereign authority under God, the Catholic pope,
and God’s divinely ordained monarch.
Resguardos Native communal lands in nineteenth-
century Gran Colombia.
Residencia A judicial review of a colonial offi cial’s
conduct at the end of his term of offi ce.
Saladeros Salt plants in Argentina that processed
dried beef for overseas export.
Samba A song and dance that originated in Afro-
Brazilian favelas, drew heavily on Angolan and
Congolese cultural traditions, and gave voice to
subaltern social-class discontent.
Santería A religion, popular in Cuba and the Ca-
ribbean more generally, that combines Span-
ish Catholic and African traditions and ritual
celebrations.
Senado da Câmara A municipal council in colo-
nial Brazil.
Seringueiros Independent rubber tappers whose
survival depends on the preservation of Bra-
zilian rain forests threatened by commercial
ranchers and mining companies.
Serranos Inhabitants of the sierra or remote
mountainous regions in Spanish America.
Sertanejos Inhabitants of the sertão.
Sertão Underdeveloped backlands of Brazil, espe-
cially in the impoverished northeastern region.
Sierra The remote mountainous regions of
Spanish-speaking Latin America more gener-
ally but also used to describe the guerrilla in-
surgency in the Cuban Revolution.
Social corporatism A political economic system
that relies on diverse, relatively autonomous
private organizations with State-licensed rep-
resentational monopolies to regulate social, po-
litical, and economic participation and secure
cooperation with State policies.
Solares Substandard tenement houses in urban
Cuba
Soldaderas Women who often fought, gathered
military intelligence, fed insurgent troops, and
provided medical care to those wounded in the
Mexican Revolution.
Son First developed among rural Afro-Cuban
workers, a musical genre that combined Span-
ish melodies and the syncopated rhythms of
West Africa and that, by the middle of the twen-
tieth century, became the dominant musical
form identifi ed with Cuban popular culture.
Soviets Derived from the Russian word for “coun-
cils,” this refers to locally elected governing bod-
ies typically composed of workers and peasants
who collectively manage and operate the agri-
cultural and industrial enterprises that employ
them.