Chapter 23: State Building & Economic Transformation in Latin America

1800-1890

Roots of Revolution, to 1810

• Latin American elites were frustrated by lack of political and economic power-angered by high taxes & imperial monopolies

• Napoleon invaded Spain & Portugal-caused crisis of legitimacy

• Venezuela, Mexico, Bolivia overthrew colonial officials in 1808-1809

• Spain reasserted control, but new revolutions began in 1810

Spanish South America, 1810–1825

• Creole-led revolutionary junta declared independence in Venezuela in 1811

• Spain rallied free blacks/slaves- junta’s leaders only pursued interests of Creole landholders

• Simón Bolívar-charismatic leader of Venezuelan revolutionaries – attracted new allies (including

slaves and free blacks)- commanded loyalty of his troops

– defeated Spanish armies-tried to forge Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador into single nation but failed

Spanish South America, 1810–1825

• Buenos Aires was center of revolutionary activity in Spanish South America

• In 1816, after Ferdinand regained Spanish throne, local junta leaders declared independence-formed United Provinces of Rio de la Plata

• New government weak-region descended into political chaos

Mexico, 1810–1823

• Mexico was Spain’s richest & most populous colony-Amerindians suffered

• Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla led rebellion-executed

• José María Morelos-executed• Colonel Agustín de Iturbide

to declared Mexico’s independence, with himself as emperor

• Army overthrew him-Mexico became a republic

Padre Miguel Hidlago y Costilla led the first stage of Mexico’s revolution for independence by rallying the rural masses. His defeat, trial, and execution made him one of the Mexico’s most important political martyrs.

Brazil, to 1831

• King John VI of Portugal ruled his kingdom from Brazil until 1821, when he returned to Lisbon

• His son Pedro ruled as regent until 1822-declared Brazil an independent constitutional monarchy, with himself as king

• Pedro’s liberal policies-opposition to slavery-alienated elites

• Protests forced Pedro I to abdicate to his son, Pedro II, who reigned until republicans overthrew him in 1889

Latin America by 1830: By 1830 patriot forces had overturned the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the Western Hemisphere. Regional conflicts, local wars, and foreign interventions

challenged the survival of many of these new nations following independence.

The Problem of Order, 1825–1890

• Why was it so difficult to establish constitutional governments?

• How did “personalist leaders” gain power?• Why did Latin American “personalist leaders”

become dictators but not in the United States?• What challenges did new national governments

in the Western Hemisphere face?• How did national governments treat native

peoples of the Western Hemisphere?

Constitutional Experiments

• Leaders in both US & LA espoused constitutionalism• United States had experience with representative

government; Latin America did not• Canada-Britain established limited self-rule• Latin America experimented w/ untested &

impractical political institutions• Difficult to define political role of church• Difficult to subordinate the military to civilian

government

Dominion of Canada, 1873: Although independence was not yet achieved and settlement remained concentrated along the border, Canada had established effective political and economic control over its western

territories by 1873

Personalist Leaders

• Successful military leaders in both US & LA used their reps to gain political power

• LA’s slow development of stable political institutions made personalist politics more influential than in US

• Large numbers of poor citizens excluded from full political participation-led to rise of populist leaders

Personalist Leaders

Andrew Jackson Jose Antonia Paez

Andrew Jackson in US & José Antonio Páez in Venezuela challenged the constitutional limits of their authority & dominated national politics by identifying with the common people, but in practice, they promoted the interests of powerful property owners. Personalist leaders were common in both the United States and Latin America, but in Latin America, the weaker constitutional tradition, less protection of property rights, lower literacy levels, and less developed communications systems allowed personalist leaders to become dictators.

The Threat of Regionalism

• After independence, weak central governments were unable to prevent regional elites from leading secessionist movements

• In Spanish America, all efforts to create large multistate federations failed

• Regionalism and slavery divided US, led to establishment of the Confederacy & U.S. Civil War

• Confederacy failed because of poor timing; secession attempted when national government strong

Territorial Growth of the United States, 1783- 1853: The rapid western expansion of the United States resulted from aggressive diplomacy and warfare against Mexico and

Amerindian peoples. Railroad development helped integrate the trans-Mississippi west and promote economic expansion.

Foreign Interventions & Regional Wars

• By end of 19th century, US, Brazil, Argentina, & Chile had successfully established themselves as regional powers

Execution of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico: This painting by Edouard Manet shows the 1867 execution by firing squad of Maximilian and two of his Mexican generals. The

defeat of the French intervention was a great triumph for Mexican patriots led by Benito Juarez.

Native Peoples and the Nation-State

• With independence, Amerindians lost protection

• Former colonies viewed independent Amerindian peoples as significant challenge

• Through force & coercion, Amerindian military resistance was overcome in both North & South America by 1880’s

Native Peoples & United States

• Rapid expansion of white settlements led to conflict between American government & Amerindian confederations

• Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced resettlement of east Amerindian peoples to land west of Mississippi River

• Amerindians living on Great Plains were skilled users of horses & firearms-formidable resistance to expansion of white settlement

• Horses & firearms had also made the Plains peoples less reliant on agriculture - more reliant on buffalo hunting

• Near extinction of buffalo, loss of land to ranchers, & nearly four decades of armed conflict w/ US Army forced Plains Amerindians to give up their land & accept reservation life

Navajo Leaders Gathered in Washington to Negotiate: As settlers pushed west in the nineteenth century, Amerindian peopes were forced to negotiate territorial

concessions with the U.S. government. This photo shows Navajo leaders and their Anglo translators in Washington D.C. in 1874.

Native Peoples & Argentina & Chile

• Native people were able to check expansion of white settlement until 1860s, when population increase, political stability, & military modernization gave Chilean & Argentinean governments upper hand

• In 1870s, governments of Argentina & Chile crushed native resistance-drove surviving Amerindians onto marginal land

Native Peoples & Mexico

• Plantation owners in Yucatán forced Maya communities off their land & into poverty

• In 1847, when Mexican government was at war w/ US, Maya communities in Yucatán rose in revolt (the Caste War)- nearly returned Yucatán to Maya rule

• Mexican government regained control of major towns but some Maya rebels created independent state organized around a mix of traditional beliefs and Christian symbols called “Empire of the Cross”

• By 1901, resistance eliminated

The Challenge of Social and Economic Change

• How was slavery and the slave trade abolished?• What was the experience of immigrants in the

Western Hemisphere?• What was the impact of social reform such as the

women’s rights movement on political structures and beliefs systems?

• How did Western Hemisphere nations compare with each other economically and in terms of quality of life?

• What were the factors that altered the environments of Western Hemisphere nations?

The Abolition of Slavery

• In most of the new nations, rhetorical assertion of the universal ideals of freedom and citizenship contrasted sharply with the reality of slavery

• Slavery survived in much of the Western Hemisphere until the 1850s—it was strongest in those areas where the export of plantation products was most important

What Factors Led to the Weakening of Slavery?

• Abolitionist movement-women and free African Americans played important roles

• US African slave trade terminated • Thousands of slaves freed in Spanish American republics joined

revolutionary armies• Despite progress, increased demand for plantation products in

early 19th century led to increased imports of slaves to Brazil & Cuba

• Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in rebel states not occupied by Union army

• Final abolition accomplished with passage of 13th Amendment in 1865

What Factors Led to the Weakening of Slavery?

• In Brazil, abolition was slower– pressure from British– Heroism of former slaves who fought in war against Paraguay

• In Caribbean colonies, little support for abolition among whites or free blacks

• Abolition in British Caribbean colonies was the result of government decisions made in context of declining profits

• Abolition in French colonies followed overthrow of government of Louis Philippe

• Slavery abolished in Puerto Rico in 1873 and in Cuba in 1886

A Former Brazilian Slave Returns from Military Service: The heroic actions of black freemen and slaves in the Paraguayan War (1865-1870) led many Brazilians to condemn slavery. The original caption for this drawing

read: “On his return from the war in Paraguay: Full of glory covered with laurels, after having spilled his blood in defense of the fatherland and to free people from slavery, the volunteer sees his own mother bound and

whipped! Awful reality!”

Immigration

• As slave trade ended, immigration from Europe & Asia increased

• During 19th century, Europe provided majority of immigrants to West Hem- Asian immigration increased after 1850

• Immigration brought economic benefits & backlash-discrimination, prejudice, violence

• Desire for common citizenship inspired assimilation policies

• Schools used to inculcate language, cultural values, patriotism

Chinese Funeral in Vancouver, Canada: In the 1890’s Vancouver was an important destination for Chinese immigrants. This photo shows how an important element of traditional Chinese culture

thrived among the store-fronts and streetcar lines of the late-Victorian Canadian city.

American Cultures

• Despite discrimination, immigrants altered the politics of many nations

• Immigrants, undergoing acculturation, were changed by their experiences

• Languages, arts, music, & political cultures of West Hem nations were influenced by cultures of immigrants

Arrest of Labor Activist in Buenos Aires: The labor movement in Buenos Aires grew in numbers and became more radical with the arrival of tens of thousands of Italian and Spanish immigrants. Fearful of socialist and anarchist unions, the governments of Argentina used an expanded police

force to break strikes.

Women’s Rights and the Struggle for Social Justice

• In second half of 19th century, women’s rights movements made slow progress toward economic, legal, political, & educational equality in US, Canada, Latin America

• Most working-class women played no role in women’s rights movements

• However, working-class women helped transform gender relations as part of the workforce

• Discrimination against persons of African descent remained throughout West Hem

• Successful men & women of mixed ethnicity in Latin America faced less discrimination than did those in US

Development & Underdevelopment

• Nearly all nations of West Hem experienced economic growth during 19th century- US was only one to industrialize

• Only US, Canada, Argentina attained living standards similar to West Europe• Rising demand for mine products led to mining booms in west US, Mexico, Chile• Heavily capitalized European & N. American corporations played significant role

in developing mining enterprises in Latin America• Expense of transportation & communications technology increased

dependence on foreign capital• LA, US, Canada participated in increasingly integrated world market, but

interdependence & competition produced deep structural differences among West Hem economies

• Industrialization brought development and prosperity• Nations that depended on export of raw materials & low-wage industries

experienced underdevelopment

New Technologies Change the Mining Industry: Powerful hydraulic technologies were introduced in ‘western mining sites in the United States. This early photo shows how high-power

water jets could transform the natural environment.

Why did different nations in the Western Hemisphere Develop differently?

• Cyclical swings in international markets partially explain why Canada & US achieved development while Latin America remained underdeveloped

• Both US & Canada gained independence during periods of global economic expansion

• Latin American countries gained independence during 1820s, when global economy was contracting

• Weak governments, political instability, & (in some cases) civil war slowed Latin American development

• Latin America became dependent on Britain & US for technology & capital

Altered Environments

• Population growth, economic expansion, new plants & animals caused deforestation, soil exhaustion, erosion

• Rapid urbanization put strain on water delivery systems sewage, garbage disposal systems-led to spread of timber industry

• Expansion of mining industry led to erosion, pollution in west US, Chile, Brazil

• Faced with choice between protecting environment or achieving economic growth, all nations chose economic growth

The Expansion of the United States, 1850-1920: The settlement of western territories and their admission as states depended on migration, the exploitation of natural resources, and important new technologies like railroads and telegraphs that facilitated economic and political integration.

Conclusion: Constitutional Challenges

• All new nations in the Western Hemisphere evolved from their colonial political traditions

• All but the United States suffered failed constitutions within a generation and were divided by distinct regions and ideologies

Conclusion: Challenges of Expansion

• The new nations faced foreign intervention and/or regional competition over territory

• Amerindians lost out to white encroachment throughout the hemisphere

Conclusion: Social and Economic Changes

• The end of slavery in the United States and Brazil followed long campaigns and protests to the point of Civil War. The poorest regions of the United States and Brazil were those that had relied upon slave labor. Amerindian populations were forced to marginal lands and remained at the bottom economically

• Immigrants to the Western Hemisphere tended to settle in regions that had not included slavery. Many came as indentured servants and some, such as the Chinese and East Indians, suffered racial discrimination

• Although economic growth throughout the hemisphere depended upon agricultural exports, the United States had become a major industrial nation by 1890