Chapter 25: The Consolidation of Latin America, 1830-1920
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1867: Last Emperor of Mexico: Austrian Duke Maximilian I, was killed by
firing squad.
Last words: “Long live Mexico, long live independence!”
Series of Civil Wars in Mexico: Maximilian I vs. Benito Juarez
Colonial heritage of Latin America left little tradition of participatory
government among the majority of the Latin American population.
Rise of European industrial capitalism created an economic situation that
often placed the new nations in a weak or dependent position.
From Colonies to Nations
 Key leaders of independence: Hidalgo in Mexico, Bolivar in northern South
America, San Martin in the Rio de la Plata
 A lot of protest was led by the Creoles (criolles): American-born Whites
 Early movements for independence often failed because of the reluctance
of the Creoles to enlist the support of the American Indian, mestizo, and
mulatto masses, who they felt would be too hard to control.
Causes of Political Change
 Inspired by Atlantic Revolutions: rhetoric
o American Revolution, 1775-1783: how colonies could break from
mother country
o French Revolution 1789: “liberty, equality, fraternity.” (Latin
American elites rejected when the revolution became increasingly
radical for instance killing Louis XVI)
o 1791: French controlled St. Domingue: important sugar colony.
Slaves, free people of color, and whites staged a general rebellion
under Toussaint L’Overture. Haiti was successfully established as an
independent country in 1804.
 France invaded Spain and Portugal and a general insurrection erupted in
1808, followed by a long guerilla war (Peninsular War)
o Spain invaded by France under Napoleon
o Napoleon placed his brother, Joseph, on the throne
 Confusion over Spanish leadership affected the Spanish colonies as well
o Some conservatives remained loyal to deposed king Ferdinand
Spanish American Independence Struggles
 Father Miguel de Hidalgo: priest in Mexico who called for solidarity
amongst the American Indians and mestizos of his region. Eventually
creoles turned on him and he was executed.
 Augustin de Iturbide, Creole army officer, allied with insurgents instead of
fighting them and occupied Mexico City: Iturbide then declared emperor of
Mexico
 Simon Bolivar, wealthy Creole officer, emerged as leader of the revolt
against Spain around 1810 in Caracas
o Between 1817 and 1822: Bolivar won series of victories in Venezuela,
Colombia, and Ecuador. (Initially united until 1830 as Gran Colombia)
o Refused to be king, and died in 1830
 Jose de San Martin: led a resistance movement in the Rio de la Plata
o From Buenos Aires: emerged as a military commander who spoke
and acted for independence
o His army went from Argentina to Chile to Peru
 By 1825: all of Spanish south America had gained its political independence
o At first, all emerged as independent republics with representative
governments
Brazilian Independence
 Brazil was a major exporter of sugar, cotton, and cacao, and a major
importer of slaves
 Many of the elites feared political change
 1807: Napoleon invaded Portugal and the entire Portuguese royal family
and court fled the country and with the help of the British, sailed to Brazil.
 Rio de Janeiro became the capital of the Portuguese Empire
 Portuguese king, Dom Joao VI, lived in Brazil until 1820, then he was
recalled to Portugal and left his son, Pedro as regent
 September 1822: Pedro declared Brazilian independence and himself as the
constitutional emperor Dom Pedro I
New Nations Confront Old and New Problems
 Problems of new nations: social inequalities, political representation, role
of the church, and regionalism.
 By 1830, former Spanish and Portuguese colonies had become independent
nations
 Roman Catholicism had been the official religion of the Spanish colonies,
some pushed for freedom of religion, conservatives resisted.
 By 1854, slavery had been abolished everywhere except Spain’s remaining
colonies of Cuba and Puerto Rico, and Brazil
 Class conflict between the political elite and the mass of the Latin American
population: American Indians and people of mixed origins.
Political Fragmentation
 Mexico attempted to created an empire in Central America, but failed
 Gran Colombia: Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela: organized by
Bolivar, then disintegrated
 Andres Santa Cruz: Mestizo general that briefly united Peru and Bolivia
from 1829-1839.
Caudillos, Politics, and the Church
 Economies were disrupted by warfare
 Caudillos: independent leaders who dominated local areas by forces and
sometimes seized the national government itself
 Military became powerful, dominant force in Latin America
 Rafael Carrera, ruled Guatemala from 1839-1865: attempted to improve
the lives of the American Indian majority
 Centralists: wanted to create strong, centralized national governments with
broad powers
 Federalists: wanted tax and commercial policies to be set by regional
governments
 Liberals: stressed the rights of the individual and attacked the corporate
structure of colonial society…wanted a secular society and looked to US
and France
 Conservatives: believed in a strong centralized state, often wanted to
maintain aspects of colonial society. Tried to maintain Roman Catholicism
 There was a lot of political turmoil in Latin America in the first 50 years
after independence
Latin American Economies and World Markets, 1820-1870
* Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil illustrate the general pattern from political
instability or economic stagnation to the emergence of stable liberal regimes by
the end of the century.
* Monroe Doctrine (1823) issued by the United States: stated that any attempt by
a European power to colonize the Americas would be considered an unfriendly
act by the United States (US in charge of the Western Hemisphere)
* Latin American governments now turned to foreign governments and banks for
loans.
* Britain became a major consumer of Latin American products
* Latin America became increasingly dependent on foreign markets and foreign
imports and thereby reinforced the old colonial economic heritage in which land
was the basis of wealth and prestige.
Mid-Century Stagnation
* 1820-1850: Latin American economies were stagnant
* Key Exports: Coffee in Brazil, hides and beef in Argentina, minerals and grains in
Chile, guano in Peru
* Guano (bird droppings) earned Peru more than 10 million pounds and allowed
the govt. to abolish slavery by abolishing slavery by compensating the owners.
* (Guano was imported in large quantities to Loudoun County and displaced Lime
Production in the county)
* New infrastructure in Latin America: steamship, railroads
Economic Resurgence and Liberal Politics
* Auguste Comte: French philosopher who stressed observation and a scientific
approach to the problems of society: POSITIVISM
* Population increase in Latin America 43 million inhabitants by 1880
* landowners increased their holdings and peasant lands were expropriated in
Chile, Peru, and Bolivia, small farmers were displaced in Brazil and Costa Rica,
church lands were seized in Mexico
* Immigrants from Europe flooded into Argentina and Brazil
Mexico: Instability and Foreign Intervention
* Continued disparity between rich and poor in Mexico
* Liberal control from 1832 to 1835: assumption of power by General Antonio
Lopez de Santa Anna
* Santa Anna: caudillo in Mexico- Texas occupied by Anglo-American settlers:
Texas declared its independence from Mexico: 1845 US annexed Texas
* Manifest Destiny: belief that US was destined to rule the continent from coast
to coast.
* Mexican-American War: ended by the Treaty of Guadalupe- Hidalgo (1848): b/w
Mexico and US: US acquired about 1/2 of Mexico's national territory but less than
5% of population
* Benito Juarez: 1806-1872: Native American, legal education, became governor
of his state. Worked for a secular society where old privileges of the church and
the army would be eliminated.
* La Reforma: liberal revolt in 1854: military and clerical privileges were curtailed
and church property was placed on sale.
* By 1910: about half of Mexico's rural population was landless
* Conservatives asked for help from France: Napoleon III sent troops, 1862 French
forces took Mexico City.
* Maximilian von Habsburg, an Austrian archduke, took the throne of Mexico,
only ruled with help of French troops, executed in 1867
* Juarez ruled again until his death in 1872
* Porfirio Diaz: general under Juarez, became president and virtual dictator
Argentina: The Port and the Nation
* Rio de la Plata: pampas in southern South America
* Secularism
* Centralism: desire to create a strong national government
* Juan Manuel de Rosa: federalist who took control in Buenos Aires: campaigned
against Native Americans in the south and opened new lands to cattle ranchers.
* Domingo F. Sarmiento (1811-1888) liberal president of Argentina, wrote book
Faucundo against the caudillos
The Brazilian Empire
* Transition to nationhood was smooth: slavery, large landholdings, and an export
economy remained securely in place: reinforced by new Brazilian nobility
* 1831 Dom Pedro I abdicated for his son Dom Pedro II
* Major export: COFFEE: coffee estates (fazendas)
* Slavery was Brazil's primary form of labor: trans-Atlantic slave trade continued
through 1850 and Brazil didn't finally abolish slavery until 1888. Last nation in the
Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery
* Dom Pedro II: enlightened leader, worked for infrastructure
* After 1850: new immigrants, mostly from Italy and Portugal came to Brazil
* 1889: military coup deposed the emperor and established a republic under
military men strongly influenced by positivist intellectuals and Republican
politicians
* Antonio Conselheiro, religious mystic, gathered followers in the 1890's,
especially among peasants: four military expeditions were sent against "New
Jerusalem"
Societies in Search of Themselves
* Social change came very slowly for Native Americans, blacks, and women
Cultural Expression After Independence
* Latin America was influenced by neoclassical as well as Romanticism
* Jose Hernandez: 1872 wrote Martin Fierro, romantic epic poem about the end
of the gaucho (cowboys)
* J. Machado de Assis (1839-1908): African Brazilian author known as Brazil's
greatest novelist of the 19th c.
Old Patterns of Gender, Class, and Race
* Women's status didn't change much
* Lower-class women had more economic freedom
* By 1870's: women were an important part of the workforce
* Public Education: educate girls so they could educate their own children some
day
* Rise of secular public education
* Conflict between indigenous peoples and ruling elites
The Great Book, 1880-1920
* Europe and US wanted more raw materials, foodstuffs, and specialized tropical
crops
* Central America: bananas and coffee; Cuba: tobacco and sugar; Brazil: rubber
and coffee; Mexico: hennequen, copper, silver; Argentina: wool, wheat, beef;
Chile: copper
* War of the Pacific (1879-1883) between Chile, Peru, and Bolivia over control of
nitrates.
* Foreign investments provided Latin America with needed capital and services
but tended to place to place key industries, transportation facilities, and services
in foreign hands.
Mexico and Argentina: Examples of Economic Transformation
* Mexico: Juarez to Porfirio Diaz: industrialization
* Cientificos: advisors who were strongly influenced by positivist ideas and who
wanted to impose a scientific approach on the national economy
* Economic expansion at the expense of the peasantry
* Mexican Revolution: 10 year civil war: beginning in 1910
* Argentina: led by Buenos Aires
* Golondrinas (literally, swallows) immigrants that worked harvests in Italy and
Argentina
Uncle Sam Goes South
* US commerce and investments in Latin America increased following the Civil
War
* 1898: Spanish-American War- US occupied Cuba, Puerto Rico,and the
Philippines
* Direct US occupation of the Caribbean
* Panama Canal (land originally controlled by Colombia, Colombia resisted
allowing US to build, US backed Panamanian independence movement and then
obtained the rights from the new Govt.)