Latin America: Independence and Consolidation of New States (1791-1910)
The wars of independence 1791-1825, the unstable aftermath of
independence 1825-1870 and national consolidation 1870-1910 marked the
political transformation of Latin America during the "long 19th century." The
wars of independence led to the political separation of most of Latin America
from their former colonial rulers: Spain, Portugal, and France. Often
described as civil wars because they involved violent class and racial con¬
flict, the wars of independence resulted in not only the formation of 17
independent states but also widespread economic devastation, social
disruption, and decades of political instability. From the 1820s to the 1870s,
generals, who had led the struggle for independence, recruited personal
armies and fought with one another incessantly over who should rule. By the
1870s, instability gradually ended and national consolidation began.
Emerging from the American born upper class, newly wealthy oligarchs,
associated with the export economy (coffee, metals, oil, wheat, and beef) and
foreign capital overthrew the old style caudillos and established new regimes.
Based on "democracy for the few," the oligarchs, during the last quarter of
the 19th century, centralized governmental functions and formed national
armies and police forces that solidified their control.
The wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon precipitated Latin
America's independence movement. This was particularly true of the Haitian
slave revolt from 1791 to 1804. When news of the Declaration of Rights of
Man and Citizen spread to the French sugar plantation colony of St.
Domingo, the mulatto population (20,000) sought equality with whites
(24,000). But mulatto demands prompted a rebellion for freedom among the
slaves (408,000). On January 1, 1804, after 13 years of war, the former
slaves officially declared Haitian Independence. Black army leaders,
Toussaint Loverture and Jean Jacques Desallines, defeated in succession the
French colonial regime, a British invasion force and a Napoleonic invasion.
The loss of life during Haiti's struggle for independence was far greater than
in the other parts of the Americas. More than one-third of the black
population died. Of the 400,000 former slaves only 250,000 remained. Black
armies killed or drove out the white population and many of the mulattoes.
British and French invaders each lost approximately 50,000 men. They
succumbed to the violence of war and to yellow fever. Revolutionary leaders
also perished. Loverture died in a French prison in 1803 and Desallines was
assassinated in 1806. In the first selection, General Desallines "informally"
announced independence on November 29, 1803, the day that Napoleon's
army withdrew. He reveals the animosities generated by slavery and 13 years
of racial war and hatred.
In contrast to Haiti, the least violent independence movement
occurred in Portuguese America. When Napoleon invaded the Iberian
Peninsula in 1807, the Portuguese King escaped to Brazil on an English ship.
While there, the Portuguese King established Brazil as an independent
Kingdom. When the monarch returned to Portugal in 1820, the King's son,
Pedro I, declared Brazil's independence in 1822 to prevent the Portuguese
Parliament from reestablishing colonial rule.
In Spanish America Napoleon presented a different problem. By
imprisoning the Spanish King in 1808, Napoleon undermined the legitimacy
of the Spanish colonial government. As the Spanish-American upper class
argued over who had the right to rule, lower class rebellions of Indians,
mestizos and mulattoes, especially in Mexico and Venezuela, shaped the
political future of Spanish America. Upper class Creoles, the descendants of
Spaniards born in America, organized armies that accomplished two
purposes; they smashed lower class rebellions by 1815 and eventually
achieved independence by 1825.
Simon Bolivar, the liberator of northern South America, Peru, and
Bolivia, came from this Creole class. His political ideas clearly expressed the
biases of his social origins. He mistrusted the lower classes and advocated
elite-run governments. In the second selection these prejudices are clearly
shown in Bolivar's advice to the legislators gathered at Angostura in 1819 to
discuss the proposed constitution for the new state of Venezuela.
Mexican President, Porfirio Diaz, who governed with an iron hand
from 1876 to 1910, exemplified the transition to oligarchic rule. Although he
was a rough mestizo military leader, Diaz enjoyed the support of the
Mexican oligarchs and their articulate spokesmen. With the oligarchy's help,
he ended 50 years of civil war. Through concessions to foreign investors,
particularly in mining, railroads, and oil, Diaz presided over an impressive
economic boom in exports to the United States. To maintain economic
growth, the oligarchy sought stability, and Diaz provided it. The third
selection is from an interview given by Porfirio Diaz in 1908 to the American
reporter James Creelman. Diaz candidly revealed how he achieved order.