[6] Enlightenment, a system of thought that emerged during the 17th and 18th century in Europe, relied on Greco-Roman ideals of humanity such as moral virtue and rationality.
[1] Additionally, the "loose social and political organization"[8] of Indigenous societies was deemed uncivilized in comparison the Spanish Empire and was therefore a contributing factor towards the term Indios Bárbaros.
As such, the characterization of Bárbaros as violent, unenlightened communities that lacked reason acted as a rhetorical decision to justify extreme force in subjugating Indigenous groups.
In the northern frontiers, the Comanche and Ute were labeled as Bárbaros as Spaniards rationalized continued violence through their descriptions of these groups as inherently violent.
[12] Spanish relations with the Miskitu people in Nicaragua and Honduras involved the application of the classification of Indios Bárbaros to justify excessive force.
However, in times of war, these terms increased drastically, and when advocating for policies of extermination, Spaniards would choose to characterize the Miskitu people as Bárbaros in order to invoke images of unbridled savages the necessitated the use of violence to control.
[11] During the nineteenth century, there was a surge of Indigenous peoples resisting colonization who began attacking Spanish settlements on the northern frontiers of Mexico.