REVOLUTION &
INDEPENDENCE IN LATIN
AMERICA
2013
CENTURIES
OF EUROPEAN
COLONIZATIO
N
SPARKS OF INDEPENDENCE!
European Ideas of
Enlightenment!
French & American
Revolutions!
CLASS
STRUGGLES
&
DISCONTENT
The
peninsulares
occupied the
highest political
positions in
society as the
we a l t hy S p a n i s h born citizens.
* The creoles
we r e S p a n i a r d s
born in Latin
America who
could not hold
political office
but could be
a r my o f f i c e r s .
* To g e t h e r,
t h e s e t wo
classes
possessed the
we a l t h , p o we r,
and land in
Latin America.
INDEPENDENCE IN HAITI
 World’s Leading Sugar
Producer- Plantationsowned by Whites
 Slave labor of non-white
Haitians until late
1790’s.
 1791 - 1 st Slave
Rebellion, burning sugar
fields and killing
hundreds of slave ownerssets off 13 years of Civil
War!
 Toussaint L’Ouvertureself educated former
slave
INDEPENDENCE IN HAITI
 Toussaint L’Ouverture- self
educated former slave
 Organized rebels and by
1800 has driven all foreign
forces out of Haiti.
 1802- French & Napoléon
Bonaparte tries to reclaim
Haiti & French capture
L’Ouverture dies in French
Prison
 Yellow fever brings death to
French & finally
independence in 1803.
 First Independent nation in
Latin America!
INDEPENDENCE IN NEW GRENADA
(VENEZUELA, COLUMBIA, BOLIVIA)
INDEPENDENCE IN PERU & LA PLATA
(CHILE -1818, ARGENTINA -1812,
ECUADOR & PERU
INDEPENDENCE OF NEW SPAIN
(MEXICO-1821)
MEXICO- DEMOCRACY OR MONARCHY?
 Although Iturbide's reign
was short, it defined the
political struggles before
and after independence.
 The two ends of Mexico's
political spectrum: liberals
who favored representative
government and
conservatives who favored
a more authoritarian
regime.
 1832- Constitution &
Mexico finally becomes a
republic.
INDEPENDENCE IN BRAZIL
PEACEFUL STRUGGLE, BUT MONARCHY
REMAINS UNTIL 1889.
Dom Pedro 1
1822-1831
Dom Pedro 11
1831-1889
DAT E S O F
INDEPENDENCE
DI D T H E RE VOLUT I ONARY LI BE RA L I DE A S OF E QUA LI T Y,
F R E E DOM & DE M OC R AC Y TA KE H OL D I N T H E N E W LY
I N DE P E NDENT C OUN T RY ?
Liberal Ideas
 Progress- change in Gov.
& social structure.
 Freedom of worship;
separation of church &
state
 Popular soveignty everyone votes (in reality
most creoles wanted
power) Racial equality
was not practiced.
 Liberal political parties
rise.
Conservative Ideas
 Want Colonial Models;
creoles top level
 Want Catholicism as
state religion
 “Common people”
should know their
place, leave
government to elites
 Conservative parties
rise.
MAJOR PROBLEMS THE NEW NATIONS
FACED!
 New governments had few resources and faced tremendous
obstacles
 Economic failure after independence,
 True democracy was crushed by conservative hierarchy
(Creoles)
 Political corruption & political violence, distrust of
government
 In general 1825-1850 dif ficulties and no real progress
economically or of liberal ideas/governments.
 Lack of transportation systems and infrastructure…
 Conservative governments ultimately take hold and little
change occurs…
CREOLES PAY “LIP SERVICE” TO IDEAS OF
FREEDOM!!!
 Unlike India in 1947, when the
colonial power, the white
British lef t the countr y and
the Indians began to establish
a new government.
 In most Latin American
countries, the Peninsulares
lef t the countr y af ter
independence,
 But the white Creoles, now top
of the rigid class system,
stayed in power and
oppressed the other social
classes.
 Caudillo, Latin American
militar y dictator and
conser vative governments.
HISTORY- IMPORTANT
TIME PERIODS IN LATIN
AMERICAN HISTORY
Next slides
PROGRESS IN MANY COUNTRIES; LEAD TO LIBERAL
GOVERNMENTS
1850- 1875!
 Industrialized countries traded with Latin America
 International money help economies and build infrastructure.
 Conservative governments could not live up to promises;
liberal ideas flourish again.
 Transportation revolution - steam ship & railroads & telegraph
lines.
 Social mobility of lower classes to upper class = joined liberal
parties…
 Public education over private (Church established schools)
 Landowners and urban middle - class people prospered, but
people in rural areas experienced little change.
 Sadly Liberal leaders became more concern with economic
progress than political freedoms.
1880-1930
NEO-COLONIAL PERIOD & GROW TH OF OLIGARCHIES
 Economic progress and transportation revolution led to new
imperialism by Great Britain & the U.S.
 Landowners & Middle Class profit; but indigenous and lower
social classes did not profit - remained very poor.
 Many indigenous groups that had communal land - lost their
land by corruption of the wealthy..
 Development of many oligarchies - wealthy families;
 Rubber companies & others - paid workers very little
 United Fruit Company - turned countries into “banana
republics”- major corruption… poor workers
 National Armies received new weapons & training from west!
 Stable authoritarian governments & oligarchies characterize
this period.
MONROE
DOCTRINE
James Monroe
Wa r n i n g f o r
E u r o p e a n to
s t ay o u t o f
L a t i n A m e r i ca ,
But give the
U.S. the power
to “ i n te r ve n e ”
in Latin
America!
America’s Good
Neighbor
p o l i c y…
NATIONALISM & LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS
1940-1960
 Neo-Colonialism (U.S. and other Countries) resentment led to
new nationalist feelings and movements!
 Nationalist leaders- charismatic leaders, directed their message
to poor and lower middle class.
 Juan & Eva Peron in Argentina
 Advances in democracy; women’s voting rights, literacy requirements
strict down, lower age to 18.
 Many Latin American liberal governments call for liberal ideas
was seen as “creeping communism”.
 Cuban ally is overthrown by “communist revolution” Fidel Castro.
 Many Latin Americans called for revolutions to continue path to
democracy and economic justice…
 Artists, writers, political leaders adopted Marxist perspective
 The events of these years set the stage for conflict in next stage Cold War & Reaction Stage
CUBA & COMMUNIST IDEOLOGY
Fidel Castro & Revolution
Che Guevara
REACTION TO LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS & THREAT OF
COMMUNISM NEAR U.S. 1960 -1990S
 U.S. government saw any Marxist Revolution in Latin America
as a Soviet supported (as had in Cuba)
 In reality Marxism in Latin America meant siding with the weak and
impoverished masses against the rich minority and the U.S.
multinational corporations.
 U.S. policy supports a violent counter revolutionary reaction to
liberal governments or liberal revolutionary groups in 1960s &
1970s…
 The U.S. government made alliances with military generals
and increased the power of the army = military dictatorships
U.S. IN
LATIN
AMERICA!!
U . S . o f te n
s u p p o r te d t h e
ruthless
d i c t a to r s i n
L a t i n A m e r i ca
Military
o p e r a t i o n s to
“ s to p t h e
spread of
c o m m uni s m i n
L a t i n A m e r i ca .
DECADES OF DICTATORS, CAUDILLOS &
OLIGARCHIES; USUALLY SUPPORTED BY U.S.
GOVERNMENT
DIRT Y WARS OR CIVIL WARS IN LATIN
AMERICA!
PRESERVATION OF CONSERVATIVE
GOVERN & THE ROMAN CATHOLIC
CHURCH- EL SALVADOR
NEO-LIBERALISM 1990- PRESENT
 New generation of liberals  Move towards true democracies in countries