Jordan Thomas
September 15, 2017
Chapter 5: Breakup and Transformation of the Social Order
Europeans being unhappy with the social conditions sparked inspiration of enlightenment.
This emphasized that the new world would be free of ignorance and oppressive power. Eventually
this enabled a change in Europe and the new practices were slow to get the New World. However,
the distance of the New World did not completely hinder it from learning of Europe’s new
practices. They gained knowledge of the changes through word of mouth, books and pamphlets
travelers brought back with them. The idea of enlightenment quickly spread throughout the New
World especially to the criollos who I learned was already angered from the lack of social
advancement. The criollo intellectuals dissected the thinking from the Old World and applied the
new-found knowledge to their current social conditions. This in return helped the criollos gain
finer meanings to their theories. Their revolutionary ides eventually spread throughout all of
Mexico and Latin America.