Midterm

Yesseenia lentz

3/12/2012

History 8B

Midterm, Part 2

Sarah Chambers went to Arequipa, Peru and researched documents from judicial archives. “Plebian meaning ordinary city dwellers of modest mean, often mixed race” [ (Chamber 1999) ] she found that for men there was improvement of their situation in the new model of liberalism. The situation for women was quite different.

What I got from Sarah’s work was a comparison of poor and rich women’s lives before and after the enlightenment. In general in Peruvian society like in most of Latin American women roles were often constrained by the concepts of virtuosity and honor. These concepts were basically unchanged by the enlightenment of the male dominated society. Among the upper class women there was perhaps an improvement in the education of women’s roles, but among the poor women there was essentially no change at all, and in fact their sit may even have become worse.

Both Spanish colonial and independent Peru Republican, concept of honor, that limited woman’s right to political equality. Women were judged primarily by their sexual purity and domestic virtue. [ (Chamber 1999) ]

Education was a way to prepare young girls for traditional roles. When two young girls from two schools where asked to demonstrate their mathematical abilities before local notables. The notables though praising of their mathematical skills, paid more attention to their beauty, modesty, and purity, these qualities were much more valued, then book learning for young girls.

The number of spousal abuse cases was high. The Government did not protect women, who felt threatened or unsafe by their abusive husband. In fact Authorities did not stand in the way of a male citizen’s patriarchal right; this was a way to “correct” his wife, if she stepped out of domestic virtue.

Plebian men could interact with other men, they had more chances to exchange views in workplace, the military corps, and the tavern. Poor women, unlike poor men, had...