LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
HISTORY 151B, Winter 2016
Professor: Cecilia Méndez G.
Office: HSSB 4227
E-mail: mendez@history.ucsb.edu
Office Hours: Monday 5-6 pm, Wednesday 10:30- 11:30, and by appointment
Web page: http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/cecilia-mendez-gastelumendi
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course surveys the history of the nineteenth century in Latin America, an era that witnessed
the birth of the language of equality of rights and representative government, and where terms such as
nation, citizenship, slavery, revolution, and liberalism, were hotly contested. The nineteenth century was
the era in which the former European colonies of the region we now call Latin America became
independent states. Most of them achieved independence during the first decades of the century, the first
being Saint Domingue, rebaptized Haiti, in 1804, the last one being Cuba in 1898.
This course will go over the different changes and challenges experienced by Latin American
societies in this fascinating and turbulent time of their history, an era marked by civil wars and the
construction of states, which left enduring memories that still affect the present. The countries selected as
case studies in this course are Haiti, Peru, Argentina and Cuba.
OBJECTIVES:
 Get a fundamental sense of the main historical processes of Latin America in the 19th century.
 Develop your ability to write and think and critically.
 Foment your awareness of the importance of the past to understand the present.
 Develop your ability to understand the world from different perspectives.
REQUIREMENTS
 4 short typed papers handed in class, in hard copies, every other Wednesday; 550-600 word each
(excluding footnotes and references): 40 % of your grade.
 Attendance and participation, including any reports, quizzes, homework, or class presentations,
apart from the short papers: 20% of your grade.
 Final Paper, 2,000-2,100 words long (excluding footnotes and references), on a topic of your
choice, or chosen from list of topics to be assigned. Students must decide their topics no later
than week 5, and meet with the professor individually at least twice afterwards to discuss their
paper progress. After week 7 no change of topic will be allowed. All topics must be approved by
the professor. Late final papers will not be accepted: 40 %.
 Come to class in time, prepared, and bring the readings due for the week in hard copies. All
readings are due on Mondays, except otherwise specified.
POLITIC ON ELECTRONIC DEVICES
The use of cell phones, tables, or laptops is not allowed in this class. Please keep them off and away. Make
sure to bring hard copies or the readings and the course Reader to class.
POLICY ON SHORT PAPERS
Every other week you will hand in, in class, one short paper summarizing and commenting on the
readings You are responsible for a total of 4 short papers. If your last name begins in A to L your papers
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are due on weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8. If your last name begins in M to Z, your papers are due on weeks 3, 5, 7,
and 9. The papers are due in class, on the Wednesday of the corresponding week. Papers should be typed
and double paced, no less than 550 and no more than 600 words long, excluding footnotes and references.
Please include the word count below your name. Students who wish to improve their paper grades are
encouraged to write as many weekly papers as they see fit. I will eliminate your lowest grades and
consider your four highest grades only. However, in order to get full credit for an extra paper, you need
to have submitted your mandatory paper in time. Late papers are strongly discouraged and they may not
be accepted because they are necessary for class discussion. In the extreme cases that they are accepted,
they are subject to penalties equivalent to one full letter grade less for every late day.
REQUIRED READINGS
- Mary Lyn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide for Writing in History, sixth edition. New York: Bedford, 2014 (210 or
later editions are acceptable).
- Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (Boston: Beacon Press,
1995)
- Domingo F. Sarmiento, Facundo, or Civilization and Barbarism. University of California, 2004, English
translation by Kathleen Ross (it has to be this edition).
- Ada Ferrer, Insurgent Cuba: Race, Nation and Revolution 1868-1898 (Chapell Hill and London: The
University of North Carolina Press, 1999).
- A Reader of articles and documents will be available for purchase from Associated Students in the UCen.
Once the reader is made available, the reading materials may no longer be posted electronically.
WEEKLY READINGS AND TOPICS
Week 1:
Haiti: The First Republic of Latin America (1790-1804)
M Jan 4
Course introduction
W Jan 6
The Haitian Revolution as a “Non-Event”. Discussion of Trouillot.
Required Readings Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Silencing the Past, Acknowledgements, preface, and chapters 2,
and 3; Rampolla, chapter 1. Recommended Reading: Trouillot, chapter 1.
Week 2:
Independence in Spanish America: Elite & Popular Participation (1810s-1820s)
Mond Jan 11
Independence Spanish America, The Constitution of 1812 and its impact.
Wed Jan 13
Contesting Interpretations: Creole or popular independence? Discussion.
Required Readings: John Lynch, The Spanish American revolutions, 1808-1826, chapters one, last and
excerpts (New York: Norton, 1986); Marixa Lasso, “Revisiting Independence Day” in Mark Thurner and
Andrés Guerrero, eds, After Spanish Rule, (Duke University Press, 2003); Henri Favre “Bolívar and the
Indians” in UNISA, Latin American Report, vol 4, # I 1988: 4-16. Rampolla, chapters 2, 3, and 4.
In class readings (Monday): The 1812 Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy (excerpts in Reader); José
María Morelos, “Sentiments of the Nation” (The Congress of Chilpancingo, 1813), in Reader.
Week 3:
Creoles, Indians, and the Nation (1780s-1840s)
Mond. Jan 18th
HOLIDAY, NO CLASS. Martin Luther King’s day.
th
Wed Jan 20
Creole Nationalism, Race and Nation: The Peruvian Bolivian Confederation
Required Readings Cecilia Méndez G. “Incas Sí, Indios No: Notes on Peruvian Creole Nationalism and its
Contemporary Crisis,” in Journal of Latin American Studies, vol. 28, I, February 1996: 197-225; Simón
Bolivar [The Jamaica Letter, ca. 1815 or “An American’s Convictions”], in John Lynch editor, Latin American
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Revolutions (Norman and London: University of Oklahoma Press), 1994, 308-318; Rampolla, chapters 5, 6
and 7.
Week 4
Caudillo Rule, Plebeian Republics: The Case of Huanta Province (Peru)
th
Mond Jan 25
Aftermath of Independence: Challenges /Contradictions of Republican Liberalism
Wed Jan 27th
The State and the Indigenous Peasants: The Case of Huanta Province
Required Readings. All due by Monday: Cecilia Méndez, The Plebeian Republic (Durham and London: Duke
University Press, 2005) intro pp. 1-13, 22- 29, chapters 6 and 7 (Reader); Rampolla, chapters 5, 6, and 7.
Week 5:
Caudillos, Gauchos and Montoneros: La Rioja Province (Argentina)
st
Mond Feb 1
Ruralization of Power in Argentina: Unitarios vs. Federales
Mond Feb 3rd
Gauchos and Caudillos in La Rioja Province.
Required Readings. De la Fuente: Children of Facundo ( Duke U. Press 2000), intro, chapters 4, 5, and
conclusions; Peter. Winn: “Perils of Progress” (from Americas, 1999, pp. 88-98 (Reader).
Homework (Monday). Decide your final paper topic. Bring to class one typed page indicating what is your
topic, and how do you plan to approach it.
Week 6:
From Countryside to City: Export Boom, Immigration, State Centralization
Mond Feb 8th
Late-19th Century Ideas of Progress: Material and Ideological Transformations
Wed Feb 10th
Economic Growth and Transatlantic Migration: the Changing face of Argentina
Required Readings: Peter Winn, “Perils of Progress”, excerpts from Americas, 1999, pp. 98-118 (Reader).
Domingo F. Sarmiento: Facundo, or Civilization and Barbarism, Introduction by Roberto González
Echevarría, Translator’s Introduction, Author’s Note, Introduction, and chapters I-VI .
Homework (Monday). Confirm your final paper topic. Bring to class two typed paragraphs with the
introduction and main thesis you want to develop (follow Rampolla’s guidelines). Bring a list of at least 5
sources (articles, books, media, films, music, or art), you would like to use in your paper, in addition to
those indicated in the final paper prompts.
Week 7
Civilization and Barbarism? The Birth and Endurance of 19th Century Paradigms
th
Mond Feb 15
HOLYDAY, PRESIDENT’S DAY. NO CLASS
Wed Feb 17th
Continued discussion of Sarmiento, Facundo, or Civilization and Barbarism
Required Readings: Sarmiento: Facundo, or Civilization and Barbarism, chapters VII-XV.
Homework (Monday). Bring to class, typed, your revised introduction and thesis, your revised list of
sources, and an outline that indicates how you plan to organize your paper. Follow Rampolla’s guidelines.
Week 8
War and Nationalism: The War of The Pacific (1879-1883)
Mond Feb 22nd
War and Nationalism: the Big Picture.
th
Wed Feb 24
Popular Participation in the War of the Pacific. Discussion on Bonilla and Mallon.
Required Readings. Peter Klarén “War of the Pacific and Reconstruction”;; Heraclio Bonilla, “The Indian
Peasantry and 'Peru' during the War with Chile”; Florencia Mallon, “Comas and the War of the Pacific”
(reader). Get started with Ada Ferrer’s Insurgent Cuba, in preparation for next week.
Homework: Continue writing your final paper.
Week 9:
War, Race, Nationalism, and Revolution in Cuba (1868-1898).
Mond Feb 29th
Cuba’s War of Independence: Background, Context, and Outcome
Wed March 2nd
Discussion of Ada Ferrer’s book.
Required Readings. Monday: Ada Ferrer, Insurgent Cuba: intro, chapters 1, 2, 3, and 5; José Martí, “Our
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America” (Reader). Wednesday: Ada Ferrer, Insurgent Cuba, chapters 6, 7, and conclusions.
Homework, Continue writing your final paper.
Week 10:
The “Spanish-American War”, and the Rise of U.S. Imperialism.
th
Mond March 7
The Spanish American War and the Rise of US Militarism/ Class presentations.
Wed March 9th
Nineteenth-century lessons and legacies: An overview / Class presentations.
Required Readings. All due by Monday , Eric Williamson, “The American Mediterranean” (pp.209-213).
Homework: Finish a draft of your final paper.
MONDAY MARCH 14TH: FINAL PAPER IS DUE ELECTRONICALLY NO LATER THAN MIDNIGHT.
Note: This syllabus is subject to modifications. Shall you miss any class, it is your responsibility to catch up
with any materials and information provided.
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