Introduction

Recent scholarship traces the occupation of the Americas, justifiably called the New World, to about 40,000 years ago. The search for explanations (religions, arts and sciences), systems of values and behavior styles (communal and societal life), the psycho-emotional and the imaginary, and the models of production and of property were developed, in these cultures, in a way which is completely different of what was developed in the so-called Old World.

The major encounter identified as the Conquest of the Americas, initially by Spanish and Portuguese navigators, later followed by British, French and Dutch, brought European knowledge systems to the New World. In the period known as the Colonial Era, which extended from the early 16th century through the transition from the 18th to the 19th century, European knowledge laid firm institutional grounds.

The process of submitting of the entire planet to European powers reflects the ethos of these powers and thus characterizes the different objectives of the conquest and the way the colonies were ruled. This must be taken into account when trying to understand the specificities of mathematics development in the various countries of the region [3].

To consolidate the conquest, Spain and Portugal organized the administration of their colonies into Viceroyalties.