this is how the spaniards defined skin color. the darker the color of the skin, the more value the person was as a slave. Black folks couldn't run and blend in with the indigenous folks. conversely, the darker the skin, the lower in the social structure.

these designations were critical to the spanish government, because people were inventory. but most interesting was how obsessed the spanish slavers were in presenting themselves as liberators and egalitarian to the public.

it's like the bs @charliekirk11 or @Cernovich says today, but 500 years ago and in spanish. basically denying history, blaming other cultures, and scared to death they'll be ousted out of cultural and political power.