Libertyville HS

• Conquistadors defeated
Aztecs, Mayans &
Incans; set up gov’ts
– New Spain = Aztec /
Mayan area
– Viceroyalty = “assistant king”
• Viceroy appointed by king
• Had authority of king
• Semi-independent
– Audiencia
• Judicial courts in New World
• Also had legislative powers

• Social structure based on purity of
Spanish bloodlines
– Peninsulares: socially superior to all others
– Criollos (Iberians born in New Spain): wealthiest class
– Mestizos: Spanish men, American Ind.
Women; excluded from econ op.
– Slaves
• Women were to be obedient to men (patriarchal society)
• Catholic Church
– Church as imp. as gov’t officials
– Natives identified w/ Virgin Mary
– Crucifixion mirrored their suffering

• European born were dominant & controlled native labor
– Mining
– Cash crops
– Trade
• Colonial Administration
– Directed from Spain
– Responsible to Spain
– BUT semi-independent from Spain (distance, time)

• Economy
– Mining was key (silver, gold)
– Agriculture: cash & food crop
• Encomiendas (labor system)
– Given a certain # of natives
– Responsible for teaching Spanish, religion in exchange for food, gold
•
Haciendas (self sufficient land grants)
– Trade
• Spanish monopoly
• Slave trade: British monopoly
( asiento – K – between Spain,
Britain, to supply slaves)

• Spanish power declined in late 17 th / early 18 th C.
– Spanish Hapsburgs weak
– Peninsulares , Criollos dominated Am. w/ little interference from Spain
– Bourbons took over, 1701
(remember the War of
Spanish Succession?)
• More efficient government
• Revived Spanish control in
NW
• More efficient taxation = more wealth taken out of
NW

• Simon Bolivar (1783-1830)
– Success of American
Revolution inspired him to seek freedom for Spanish colonies
Gran Columbia in blue
– Called “The Liberator”
• Contributed to liberation of
Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador,
Peru, Panama, Bolivia
– Formed federation of former colonies called Gran
Columbia
• Served as its president from
1821-1830
• Believed in strong central gov’t
• Anti-slavery

• Santo Domingo (island)
– 2/3 of Fr. Tropical imports
– 1/3 of Fr. Total foreign trade!
• Brutal slave economy
– Poor living conditions
– Harsh punishments
– Constant demand for more African slaves

• French Rev. in France leads to rev. in islands
– Rich planters vs. free mixed race population (“gens de coleur ” – mulattoes)
• Slaves take advantage, rebel
– Plantations burned, masters killed, houses destroyed
– Combined African political culture w/ Fr. Rev. ideology

• Toussaint L’Ouverture
– Former slave, leader of rebellion
– Created an organized, disciplined military force
• 1794: Fr. NA abolished slavery
• 1801: L’Ouverture adopted liberal constitution
– Asserted loyalty to France
– Made Haiti indep.
• And then Napoleon took over…

• 1802: Nap. sent army to reclaim Santo Domingo
– Captured Toussaint (sent to
France, died in prison)
– Then, yellow fever infected
French troops
– Brutality on both sides
– Native resistance strong; they began winning the fight
• Fr. forces withdrew
• US (Thomas Jefferson) put embargo on Haiti (feared free blacks)

• Outcomes
– With no base in Americas,
Napoleon sold colonies to
USA
– Haiti declared indep. 1804
(first black republic)
– US continued embargo
(Jefferson pro-French)
– Haiti economy a shambles for decades
– Political violence continue for decades
Jean Jacques Dessalines, first
President of the republic

• Bolivar: “I fear peace more than war”
• Difficulties following revolution
– No middle class
– No tradition of self rule
– No cultural unity
– Contrast with USA
• Rise of caudillo (military dictator)
– Usually a military officer who took over government
– Ruled using combo of charisma, strength, patronage

Juan Manuel de Rosas, caudillo of Argentina
• Decades of civil war tore
Argentina apart
– Paraguay, Uruguay, and
Bolivia declared independence from Argentina
• Juan Manuel Rosas, caudillo of Argentina (1828-
52)
– Violent: assassination, intimidation of enemies
– BUT he brought economic benefits to region
– “Man of the people”
(whipping story)

• Republic est. 1823
• Spain invaded, 1829
(defeated)
• French invaded, 1838
(defeated)
• Mexico invited US citizens to settle in Texas (then, a state of Mexico) in 1820s
– Soon outnumbered
Mexicans
– Opposed Mexican gov’ts abolition of slavery

• 1835-36: TX rebellion vs.
Mexican liberals
– Alamo
– BUT Texans win war, declare independence
• 1845: TX became a state of US – provoked war
– 1848: Treaty forced Mexico to give up Mexico Cession
(CA, NM, AZ)
– In return, Mexico received
$15 million

• Mexican liberals took over gov’t: Benito Juarez
– Reforms (equality; no privileges for church, military)
– Sparked CW w/ conservatives
(1858-1861)
• French invaded in 1862, set up Maximilian as Emperor
– Austrian Hapsburg
– US threatened to get involved after 1865
– French pulled out, Max executed in 1867

• Legacy of Spanish colonialism
• Political liberalism limited
• Much of L.A. were economic disaster areas (corruption, primitive economies)
• Latin American weakness allowed USA rise to prominence in last ½ of 19 th C.