- The Spanish crown established centralized control over much of theAmericas through the use of many bureaucratic offices staffed byappointed administrators.- Two large areas, one in Mexico and one in Peru, were each overseen by a viceroy, who reported directly to the Spanish king; viceroys were responsible for enforcing colonial policy.- This led to the creation of new economic systems based on forced labor.- A new colonial social hierarchy emerged based on birth: peninsulares, those born in Spain, were at the top; next came the Creoles, those born in the colonies to Spanish parents, and who would emerge as the elite class; followed by the mestizos, people with both European and native ancestors, and the mulattoes, who were of mixed European and African descent; at the bottom were the natives and people of African descent.

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