The Spanish class system placed people in the top class primarily based upon

how much American blood a person had.

how much Spanish blood a person had.

where a person worked.

whom a person married.

The Spanish class system placed people in the top class primarily based upon how much Spanish blood a person had. This system was present in the Spanish colonies in the New World, where Spanish people born in Spain were at the top, followed by white people born in the New World, followed by half-white/half-indigenous people and then by people of half-white/half-African descent.