Latin American Society•Known as a sociedad de
castas - based on racial origins:
•peninsulares - born in Spain - Spanish government officials, church officials - the clergy: priests, monks
•Creoles - born in America - controlled local economies, owned haciendas (plantations) and mines
•Castas - mestizos and mulattos - those of mixed origins
•Indians and African slaves
4 outside events that prompted it:
•Enlightenment ideas of liberalism spread among Creoles
•American Revolution showed how it could be done - inspired revolutionary leaders
•French Revolution idea of “liberty, equality and fraternity”.
•Fear of Haiti’s slave revolt made Creoles act quickly.
Short-term cause - What sparked it?
•Napoleon forces invade Iberian Peninsula
•Problem of legitimacy - What is the legitimate government of Spain?
•Peninsulares do not recognize the government of Spain
3 separate revolutions:•Mexico
•Northern South America: Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador
•Southern South America: Argentina
Mexico• Mexico - Father Miguel de
Hidalgo - leads Indians and mestizos - Creoles fear this
• Augustin de Iturbide - Creole officer takes over - proclaimed emperor of Mexico 1821
• The rest of Central America separates from Mexico which becomes a republic.
Northern part of South America
•Simon Bolivar - Bolivar The Liberator: wealthy Creole - creates Gran Colombia by 1830.
• Is the George Washington of South America
Southern Cone of South America
•Jose de San Martin - Buenos Aires, Argentina and Chile, Peru
•By 1825 all of Spanish South America had gained its political independence.
Brazil• A totally different path
to independence.
• Napoleon forces in Portugal leads royal family to move to Brazil - Rio de Janeiro.
• When king returns to Portugal, youngest son stays - warns him if independence comes he should lead it.
• He does - 1825 he becomes Dom Pedro I
Independence of Latin America
• Except for Brazil - all become republics
• Mexico a temporary monarchy and then a republic
• Haitian revolution made Latin American revolutionaries very conservative - social revolutions were avoided
Early governments of Latin America
Problems: social inequalities, disagreements over political representation and the role of the church and regionalism
Debate over political instability and struggling
economies of Latin American nations:
Nations have been unable to rule themselves due to corrupt governments
leading to a lack of economic development.
VS.Western imperialist powers like the
U.S. have interfered with these nations leading to neocolonialism.