Imperialism in Latin America

Spanish-American War

Mexico Civil War

AP World History

Chapter 25c

Monroe Doctrine of 1823

asked European countries not to increase their influence or

recolonize any part of the Western Hemisphere

Main Idea

Imperialism in Latin America involved the United States and

European nations seeking to strengthen their political and

economic influence over the region.

Imperialism in Latin America

New Opportunities for Trade

• US Interest in Latin

America

– Bananas, coffee,

sugar and tobacco

• British Interest…

– Wool, wheat, beef and

nitrates for fertilizers

and explosives

Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821 and became a republic in

1823, but political factions struggled for control of the government. Conflicts

caused violence well into the next century.

• In the 30 years after

independence,

Antonio López de

Santa Ana

dominated Mexican

politics

• Popular for military

victories

• Served as president

five times

Early Conflicts

• Began career as

liberal reformer

• As power increased,

became conservative

• Exiled several times;

returned when

enemies defeated

• 1855, overthrown by

group of reformers,

exiled, never returned

Santa Ana’s Rule

• Leader of reformers,

Benito Juárez,

reduced power of

Catholic Church,

military

• Conservatives

outraged; civil war

erupted

• Juárez, liberal allies

triumphed

Juárez’s Reforms

Power Struggles in Mexico

• Maximilian ended up alienating

both conservatives, liberals

• French withdrew troops;

Maximilian did not have enough

support to stay in power;

surrendered; executed

• Mexican Republic restored;

Juárez reelected president,

became one of Mexico’s

greatest national heroes

Republic Restored

• Conservatives found ally in

Europe

• French emperor Napoleon III

wanted to restore French

empire in Americas

• 1861, sent French troops into

Mexico, overthrew government,

installed Austrian archduke

Maximilian as emperor of

Mexico

The Second Mexican Empire

Power Struggles in Mexico

Díaz’s Rule

• Porfirio Díaz came to power after Juarez’s death

• Ruled with iron fist; maintained law and order in Mexico

• Imprisoned opponents; used army to keep peace at any cost

The Mexican Revolution

• Díaz controlled outcome of 1910 election; jailed opponent, Francisco Madero

• Madero freed from jail; fled to Texas

• Declared himself president; called for revolution against Díaz government

Modernization

• Díaz helped modernize Mexico by encouraging foreign investment

• Exports boomed; railroads expanded quickly; yet most remained poor

• Wealth concentrated in hands of foreign investors, Mexican elite

The Mexican Revolution

Villa and Zapata

Madero returned to Mexico, found rebellion spreading.

• Two men gathered support from lowest classes, began

attacking government forces

– Francisco “Pancho” Villa led band of rebels

supporting Madero’s ideas; disgraced Diaz’s

government by capturing city of Juarez, 1911

– Emiliano Zapata led group of indigenous peasants,

called for land reforms

• Díaz soon forced to resign

Mexico Territory in 1821

United States Involvement

• Pancho Villa’s army of small ranchers and cowboys in the north and

Zapata’s peasant army in the south revolted against Huerta.

• 1914, United States intervened, sent Marines to occupy Veracruz

• Brought Mexico, U.S. close to war

• Huerta tried to stay in power, but resigned and fled to Spain

More Violence

• Madero elected president later that year; turmoil continued

• Within months, army chief Victoriano Huerta seized power,

imprisoned Madero

• Former Madero supporters opposed Huerta

Venustiano Carranza declared himself president. Zapata and Villa

refused support and the nation was plunged into another civil war.

• End of 1915, Venustiano

Carranza had defeated rivals

• Villa continued to lead attacks

against Carranza government

• U.S. backed Carranza; Villa

retaliated, launched attack

across U.S. border

• U.S. forces pursued Villa back

across border, but unable to

capture him

Carranza Opposed

• 1920, Villa finally agreed to

halt attacks, Carranza began

nation building

• New constitution allowed the

government to redistribute

land, limited power of church,

protected citizens’ rights

• Mexico still struggled with

widespread poverty

Carranza Reforms

Carranza as President

Sequence

What were the major events of the Mexican

Revolution?

Answer(s): President Porfirio Diaz jailed his

opponent, Francisco Madero; Madero called for a

revolution; Francisco "Pancho" Villa led a band of

rebels who captured city of Juárez; Emiliano

Zapata called for land reforms; Diaz resigned

Martí was killed in an uprising against the Spanish. Thousands of Cubans were

forced into Spanish-controlled camps where many died.

The United States had become a growing economic force in Latin

America by the late 1800s. Economic power and political power grew

together, and the United States exerted its influence and control in

many ways.

• Island of Cuba one of Spain’s

colonies in the Americas

• 1860s, Cuban nationalists began

fighting for independence

• Spain exiled leaders of nationalist

revolts

Uprising in Cuba

Growing U.S. Influence

• One exiled leader, José Martí,

continued struggle for

independence from New York City

• Poet, journalist, Martí urged

Cubans to continue fight

• Founded Cuban Revolutionary

Party; returned to Cuba, 1895

Cuban Nationalists

American Intervention

• British and Falkland Islands (1833)

– No US Intervention

– Had earlier problems w/ Argentina

– Enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine???

• British and Venezuela (1895)

– US intervention

– Motivation=Gold

Sympathy for Rebels

• Many people in U.S. felt sympathy for Cuban rebels

• Viewed Cuban struggle for freedom as similar to American Revolution

• American newspapers urged United States to enter war

Short War

• War disastrous for Spain

• Spanish army defeated in Cuba, navy fleets destroyed in Philippines, Cuba

• U.S. won war within three months

War Begins

• February 1898, U.S. battleship Maine exploded in Havana’s harbor

• Many American’s immediately assumed Spain was to blame

• Congress declared war; Spanish-American War began

• Theodore Roosevelt & the Rough Riders – San Juan Hill

The Spanish-American War

Treaty of Paris

Treaty ending Spanish-American War

• United States received Puerto Rico, Guam

• Agreed to purchase Philippines for twenty million dollars

• Spain agreed to give up Cuba, but U.S. did not want

Cuba to have full independence

– U.S. made Cuba a protectorate by forcing it to include Platt

Amendment as part of new constitution

– Platt Amendment allowed U.S. to intervene in Cuba, approve

foreign treaties, lease land at Guantánamo Bay for naval base

Status in Philippines

• Nationalists in the Philippines,

another Spanish colony, believed

Spanish-American war would bring

them independence

• Instead became U.S. colony

No Independence

• Three years of fighting

• More than 200,000 Filipinos died

from combat, disease

• Did not win independence

Betrayal and Revolt

• Rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo,

who cooperated with U.S. forces

against Spanish, felt betrayed

• Rebels revolted against U.S.

Ruling Philippines

• Until 1935, U.S. ruled Philippines

through governor appointed by U.S.

president

• 1946, Philippines granted full

independence

Revolt in the Philippines

• U.S. gained control over more territory with building of Panama Canal

• 1880s, French company had tried unsuccessfully to build canal across

Isthmus of Panama, then part of Colombia

• 1903, U.S. bought French property, equipment

• Colombia refused to allow U.S. to build canal

• U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt

sent warships to support uprising

against Colombia

• Panama declared independent,

signed treaty granting land to build

canal; became Panama Canal

Zone, ruled directly by U.S.

Panama Canal Zone

• 1904-1914, Panama Canal built

• Major medical advances required to

control effects of yellow fever,

malaria on canal workers

• Shortened sea voyage from San

Francisco to New York City by

about 8,000 miles

Building the Canal

The Panama Canal

Benefits of the Panama Canal

• Shortened sea routes from NY to SF by

8,000 miles.

• Atlantic and Pacific fleets could be moved

quicker.

• Central America became a crossroads of

trade.

Monroe Doctrine

• 1823, Monroe Doctrine declared Americas off limits to European imperialism,

except for colonies that already existed

• Seen as idle threat by U.S. until end of Spanish-American War

Roosevelt Corollary

• To protect U.S. interests, maintain stability, Roosevelt announced the

Roosevelt Corollary to Monroe Doctrine

• The U.S. vowed to use military might to keep Europeans out of the Americas

Considerable Financial Interests

• Late 1800s, Europe and U.S. had considerable financial interests in Latin

America; many nations there were deeply indebted to foreign creditors

• 1904, European creditors threatened force to collect in Dominican Republic

A Warning to Europeans

Increasing U.S. Power

United States sent troops to several nations in early 1900s

• U.S. forces entered Haiti, the Dominican Republic,

Nicaragua, Cuba to restore civil order

• United States took control of finances in those

countries

• Claimed need to prevent financial chaos

Reality: U.S. used Roosevelt Corollary to become even

more involved in political affairs of Latin American countries

Find the Main Idea

How did the United States gain control over

more territory in the late 1800s and early

1900s?

Answer(s): gained Guam, Puerto Rico, and the

Philippines after the Spanish-American War;

ruled the Panama Canal Zone after supporting an

uprising against Colombia;

sent troops to Haiti, the Dominican Republic,

Nicaragua and Cuba