Was Russia a backward European country, destined to follow the lead of more highly developed Western European societies? Or was it different, uniquely Slavic or even Asian, shaped by its Mongol legacy and its status as an Asian power?
The idea that Russia is solely a European or an Asian power is one that refuses to accept the massive size, landscape, diversity, and history of Russia.
Even more important, Qing conquests, together with the expansion of the Russian Empire, utterly transformed Central Asia
The Qing dynasty is a great example of how more tolerant policies do not result in the success of an expanding empire. Although the Qing dynasty tolerated Mongolian, Tibetan, and Muslim cultures, there was still conquest involved. Conquest destroys parts of culture that are essential to the success of the conquered.
A light-skinned person of biracial or multiracial background who had acquired some wealth or education might well pass as a white. One curious visitor to Brazil was surprised to find a darker-skinned man serving as a local official. “Isn’t the governor a mulatto?” inquired the visitor. “He was, but he isn’t any more,” was the reply. “How can a governor be a mulatto?”15
When there is a great mixture of races and ethnicities, it is difficult to determine social status solely on skin color. Bi or multi-racial people in Brazil could be considered of higher social status from higher education or economic standing.
But they were also regarded as the “bearers of civilization,” and through their capacity to produce legitimate children, they were the essential link for transmitting male wealth, honor, and status to future generations. This required strict control of their sexuality and a continuation of the Iberian obsession with “purity of blood.”
I find it contradictory that Spaniard women were valued for their “pure blood,” while Spaniards born in the Americas were considered less superior to those born in Spain. This, along with the strict control over these women’s sexualities, leads me to believe that these values were held to control Spaniard women, not to preserve Spaniard “blood.”