Whiteness in Latin America: measurement and meaning in national censuses (1850-1950)
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Whiteness in Latin America: measurement and meaning in national censuses (1850-1950). Drawing on an analysis of all national censuses conducted in Latin America from 1850 to 1950, this article examines how tacit assumptions about the nature of « whiteness » informed the production of statistical knowledge about Latin American populations. For insight into implicit racial beliefs that shaped census-taking in this period, the article considers how census agents accomplished three basic tasks: 1) identifying the « race » of individuals in the population; 2) preparing statistical tables to publicize census results; and, 3) projecting the racial composition of national populations in the future. The analysis identifies variation in notions of « whiteness » across the region, but also points to a set of broadly shared premises about the nature, value, and boundaries of whiteness that transcended nation-state boundaries in this period. Fundamental similarities in ideas about whiteness found in Latin American censuses appear even more starkly when the scope of analysis expands to include the censuses of the United States.
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Whiteness has been taken for granted in Chile based on the narrative of mestizaje that views Chilean national identity as constituted solely by European-Spanish and indigenous ancestries and rejects any African ancestry.
“Like other Latin American countries, whiteness has been taken for granted (Loveman 2009) based on the narrative of mesti zaje that views Chilean national identity as constituted solely by EuropeanSpanish and indigenous ancestries ( mestizo ) and rejects any African ancestry, a misconception that warrants correction (Bonhomme 2023).”
From Racism and food delivery platforms: shaping migrants' work experiences and future expectations in the United Kingdom and Chile (2025) · cites this paper as Loveman 2009
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- Authors
- Loveman, M.
- Corresponding author
- Loveman, Mara
- ORCID
- Loveman, Mara
- Venue
- Journal de la société des américanistes
- Publisher
- OpenEdition
- Published
- 2009
- Volume
- 95
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 207-234
- ISSN
- 0037-9174 (ISSN-L)
- 1957-7842
- OpenAlex
- W1608255170
- Cited by
- 63
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 0.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- fr
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal de la Société des Américanistes (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- OpenEdition (OpenEdition) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Demography › Historical Studies in Latin America
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Visual Arts and Performing Arts › Latin American history and culture
- Social Sciences › Demography › Migration, Health, Geopolitics, Historical Geography
- Keywords
- whiteness, racial classification, national census, census history, racial statistics, racial composition, racial ideology, Latin America, history of statistics
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