Nation Building and Economic Transformation in the Americas 1800-1890

Nation Building and Economic Transformation in the Americas1800-1890Independence in Latin America, 1800-1830 A. Roots of Revolution 1. The American and French revolutions stirred up enthusiasm for self-government. 2. Napoleons invasion of Portugal and Spain led to Latin Americas independence movements. 3. Spanish patriots fighting the French established a Junta Central committee to administer the areas they controlled. 4. A vocal minority of wealthy Spanish landowners objected to this favoring local Juntas. 5. These dissenters argued that they were subjects of the king, not dependents of the Spanish nation. 6. These elites established local Juntas but were immediately suppressed by Spanish officials. 7. Their harsh treatment further led the rest of the colonists to favor the Juntas of the elites. B. Spanish South America, 1810-1825 1. In Caracas, a revolutionary Junta led by creoles declared independence in 1811. 2. Its leaders were large landowners who supported slavery and opposed citizenship for black and the mixed-race majority. 3. As a result, thousands of free blacks and slaves joined the loyalists in defending the Spanish Empire. 4. This narrowed agenda forced the revolutionary movement to place overwhelming power in the hands of Simn Bolvar. 5. Bolvar was the son of wealthy Venezuelan planters. 6. Bolvar was initially opposed to the abolition of slavery but eventually supported emancipation.Simn Bolvar

7. Bolvar was defeated on many occasions and between 1813 and 1817 military advantages shifted back and forth. 8. When King Ferdinand VII accepted a constitutional monarchy his colonial supporters became divided. 9. After defeating the last Spanish army in 1824, Bolivar attempted a formal confederation. 10. His first attempt to establish this confederation was by unifying the nations of Columbia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. 11. With Bolvars encouragement, the nations of Peru and Bolivia also experimented with unification. 12. However, all of these initiatives failed by 1830.Gran Columbia

Latin America by 1830

C. Mexico, 1810-1823 1. By 1810, New Spain (Mexico) was Spains richest and most populous colony. 2. Mexico also had the largest population of Spanish immigrants among the colonies. 3. After Napoleons invasion of Spain, conservative Spaniards in Mexico City overthrew the viceroy because he was too sympathetic to the Creoles. 4. The first stage of revolution against Spain occurred in central Mexico, aka the valley of Mexico. 5. On September 16, 1810 Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla led thousands of rural and urban poor to attack ranches and mines killing many Peninsulars and Creoles. 6. He was eventually captured, tried, and executed in 1811. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla

7. The revolution continued under another priest, Jos Mara Morelos. 8. Morelos created a formidable fighting force and convened a congress that declared independence in 1813. 9. Loyalist forces proved to be too strong and he was defeated and executed by 1815.Jos Mara Morelos

10. Small numbers of insurgents continued to wage war unsuccessfully against Spain until 1820. 11. The military revolt in Spain that forced Ferdinand VII to accept a constitutional monarchy unsettled many conservative groups in Mexico. 12. Colonel Agustn Iturbide forged an alliance with the remaining insurgents with the request that Mexico would establish a monarchial form of government. 13. By early 1823, the army overthrew Iturbide and Mexico became a republic.Agustn de Iturbide

D. Brazil to 1831 1. After Napoleon invaded Portugal, the Portuguese royal family escaped to their Brazilian colony in 1808. 2. When Napoleon was finally defeated, the Portuguese government called for King John VI to return home. 3. By 1821 he returned to Portugal, leaving his son Pedro in Brazil as regent.Emperor Pedro I

4. Pedro I believed strongly in monarchy and to many liberal principles such as the constitution of 1824. 5. He was very much opposed to slavery and worked tirelessly to end it, which created enemies among the slave-owning regions. 6. Eventually, he was forced to abdicate his throne to his 5 year old son Pedro II who served until 1889. E. Canada 1. Unlike its neighbors to the south, British Canada was divided into separate colonies and territories each with a distinct government. 2. Each territory had a provincial governor and appointed councils drawn from the local elite. 3. Elected assemblies existed but exercised limited power. 4. Agitation to end this type of oligarchic rule led to armed rebellion in 1837. 5. The British responded by allowing limited self-rule in the 1840s. 6. By the 1860s, regional leaders saw the need for national character to protect economic interests and raids from the U.S. territory into Canada. 7. This led to the Confederation of 1867, which included the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.The Challenge of Economic and Social Change A. The Abolition of Slavery 1. It has become a forgone conclusion that anti-slavery sentiments were expressed during struggles for independence. 2. Revolutionary leaders asserted universal ideas of freedom and citizenship that contrasted sharply with the reality of slavery. 3. Abolitionists men and women who wanted to outlaw slavery. 4. Despite their efforts, slavery survived in much of the hemisphere until the 1850s. 5. Areas such as the United States, Brazil, and Cuba, saw the abolition of slavery occur with great difficulty. 6. Slavery in the United States ended with the 13th Amendment in 1865 and finally two decades later in Brazil.