The key issues of chapter four are the demographic changes and labor changes caused by Iberian colonialism. The authors describe how the indigenous and Iberian populations were affected in the New World and how indigenous and African slave labor were utilized differently throughout the region. While other works we have read focused on the governance of the new colonies and how the conquerors sought wealth in the New World, Burkholder and Johnson examine how these new regional priorities impacted the various populations living there. Rather than simply learning about the bureaucratic systems, the reader learns about the peoples operating under such a system. The reading is particularly important moving forward because it provides us with
