LATIN AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS

1750-1914: An Age of Revolutions

BACKGROUND

Indigenous peoples and civilizations Maya, Aztec, Inca

European Colonization, 1500s Spain, Portugal, France

American Revolution, 1776

French Revolution and Enlightenment, 1789

Napoleon’s conquests within Europe, 1800s Colonial possessions of Spain and Portugal “ignored”

LATIN AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS, 18TH & 19TH C.

FRENCH COLONIES: REVOLUTION IN HAITI

Saint Domingue, now known as Haiti

Western third of island of Hispanola in Caribbean Sea.

Plantation slavery, sugar

TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE

Former slave, self-educated.

Untrained in military and political matters, but became a skilled general and diplomat.

Allegedly got name (“opening” in French) from being able to find openings in enemy lines.

Took leadership of a slave revolt that broke out in 1791.

100,000 slaves in revolt.

By 1801, L’Ouverture moved into Spanish Santo Domingo (the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispanola), took control of territory and freed slaves.

In January 1802, French troops landed.

Toussaint agreed to an end of fighting if the French would end slavery

French accused him of planning another uprising.

Sent him to a prison in the French Alps.

He died 10 months later, April 1803.

JEAN-JACQUES DESSALINES

Toussaint’s general; took up the fight.

Jan 1, 1804 - declared an independent country.

First black colony to free itself from European control.

He called it Haiti, “mountainous land,” in the language of the native Arawak inhabitants.

Became first emperor of Haiti; later assassinated in a revolt.

1820: Haiti became an independent republic

SPANISH COLONIES REVOLUTIONS AGAINST SPANISH RULE

LATIN AMERICAN SOCIAL CLASSES

Peninsulares - men born in Spain held highest offices

Creoles - Spaniards born in Latin America officers in army, but not in government often resented power of the peninsulares

Mestizos - mixed European and Indian

Mulattos - mixed European and African

Indians

EUROPEAN BACKGROUND: NAPOLEON

Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808.

Removed Spain’s King Ferdinand VII and made Joseph (Nap’s brother) king of Spain.

Creoles used it as a reason for revolution.

1810 rebellion across Latin America.

1814, Napoleon defeated and Ferdinand returned to power, but creoles cont’d their movement.

SIMON BOLIVAR

Wealthy Venezuelan creole.

“The Liberator”

VENEZUELAN INDEPENDENCE, 1821

Venezuela declared independence, 1811.

Bolivar’s armies unsuccessful at first.

1819: Bolivar marched armies over Andes into today’s Colombia, defeated Spanish army.

1821: Venezuelan independence.

Marched north to Ecuador to meet Jose de San Martin.

JOSE DE SAN MARTIN

Simple, modest man.

Born in Argentina, spent time in Spain as military officer.

ARGENTINEAN INDEPENDENCE

Argentina declared independence in 1816.

San Martin led army across Andes to Chile, joined by Bernardo O’Higgins, and freed Chile.

Ecuador, 1822: San Martin met with Bolivar to decide how to remove remaining Spanish forces in Lima, Peru.

BolivarSan Martin

GRAN COLOMBIA, 1820-1830

Bolivar’s vision of a united South America.

Present-day Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Panama.

Short-lived due to dissension amongst various factions.

Bolivar resigned in 1828.

In 1830, Bolivar’s Gran Colombia divided into Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.

Panama later split from Colombia with US assistance, 1903.

MEXICO

Indians and mestizos, not creoles, played the key role in independence movements.

Creoles sided with Spain to avoid violence of lower-class rebellions (until 1820).

MIGUEL HIDALGO

A village priest, believed in Enlightenment ideals.

1810, called for revolution.

Hidalgo’s Indian and mestizo followers marched to Mexico City.

Spanish army and creoles acted against Hidalgo and defeated him in 1811.

JOSE MARIA MORELOS

Took leadership after Hidalgo’s defeat.

Defeated by creoles.

MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE, 1821

1820 revolution in Spain put a liberal government in power.

Mexican creoles feared loss of influence, so they united against Spain.

Agustin Iturbide declared himself emperor, but was overthrown.

1824: Establishment of the Mexican Republic. Compromise between conservatives and liberals Presidential system, bicameral legislature

MONROE DOCTRINE, 1823

US watched with interest as new independent countries were forming in Latin America

Concern arose when Britain and France began to try to influence struggling democracies

James Monroe, 5th President, issued doctrine to protect Latin America No new colonies allowed in Western Hemisphere Attempts to recolonized would be seen as an act of war USA would step in to aid Latin American countries

Could the USA interferr????

ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANNA

A caudillo, strong military leader.

Fought for independence from Spain in 1821 and again in 1829 when Spain tried to reconquer Mexico.

Between 1833 and 1855, president four times switched sides to keep himself in power

Was Emperor for a short time – until Texas defeated Mexico in its War of Independence, but never really had control of his empire

Remember the Alamo

BENITO JUAREZ

Poor, orphaned Zapotec Indian; law degree and local governor.

La Reforma: reform movement

redistribution of land, separation of church and state, education

Set up a liberal government, but plagued by conservative rebels.

FRENCH RULE

Conservative rebels plotted with France to reconquer Mexico.

Napoleon III sent armies to Mexico.

Cinco de Mayo, 1862: Zaragoza won the Battle of Puebla against the French, but the French won the war.

Napoleon III appointed a relative, Austrian archduke Maximilian, as emperor of Mexico.

Juarez resisted, US sent troops to Mexico - French gave up in 1867.

Juarez continued reforms.•Can you say Monroe Doctrine????

PORTUGUESE RULE

Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494 divided the Atlantic between Spain and Portugal.

Portugal was mostly focused on routes to Asia in the 15th and 16th centuries.

BRAZILIAN INDEPENDENCE

In 1807, Napoleon marched on Iberian peninsula, forcing Portuguese royal family of King John VI to escape to Brazil, Portugal’s largest colony.

From 1807 to 1815, Brazil was center of Portuguese empire.

BRAZILIAN INDEPENDENCE

With defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Portugal wanted Brazil to become a colony again.

By 1822, creoles demanding independence signed a petition asking Portugal’s prince, Dom Pedro, to rule Brazil.

On Sept 7, 1822, Dom Pedro agreed, and declared Brazil’s independence “Constitutional monarchy”

1889, Brazilians overthrew Pedro’s successor and declared their country a republic.

UNITED PROVINCES OF CENTRAL AMERICA

Several other Central American states declared their independence from both Spain and Mexico to create the United Provinces of Central America.

PERIOD OF CONSOLIDATION, 1825-1850

Breakdown of original nations and groups: Gran Colombia an original union between Bolivia and Peru United Provinces of Central America

Instability of internal politics Bolivia experienced 60 revolts and coups. Venezuela experienced 52 revolts and coups

Liberals - free trade, representative government, federal government system

Conservatives - protect church and upper classes controlled most regimes between 1830 and 1870.

Independence movements and new governments run by Creoles

Spanish administrators had excluded Creoles from political leadership, so few leaders could actually run a government.

RESULTS OF LATIN AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTSPolitical/Social: Continued battles between liberals, conservatives and the military over how to best rule. Tensions between articulate political forces and the separate masses.

Economic: Unable to free itself from dependence on Western-controlled economic patterns. Cash crop economies Banana Republics

Cultural/intelligent: Distinct cultural entity combination of Western styles and values plus its racial diversity, colonial past, and social structure of a semi-colonial economy.