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WHY HISTORY?

WHY HISTORY?. LATI 50 Introduction to Latin America. HOMILIES AND BROMIDES. “I hated History… just a bunch of facts and dates… Ugh!” “Who needs it? Stuff that happened so long ago!” “History is bunk.” (Henry Ford) “History repeats itself.”

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WHY HISTORY?

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  1. WHY HISTORY? LATI 50 Introduction to Latin America

  2. HOMILIES AND BROMIDES • “I hated History… just a bunch of facts and dates… Ugh!” • “Who needs it? Stuff that happened so long ago!” • “History is bunk.” (Henry Ford) • “History repeats itself.” • “Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it.” • “We should be looking forward, not backward…”

  3. A SIMPLE IDEA • History can help us understand the present--how and why the present came to be. • It can illuminate crucial choices in the past that still affect the present. • In particular, differences in historical paths can help explain differences within the present. • Seen this way, some of those ancient and irrelevant “facts” can be intriguing provocations for our imaginations.

  4. DIMENSION I: DEMOGRAPHY • Key: racial mixture (European, African, indigenous) • Spanish America: • view of indigenous: incorporation, not elimination • Source of labor • Special laws for alleged “protection” • Extensive mestizaje • Comparison with North America/United States • Portuguese America/Brazil: • No indigenous civilizations like Aztecs, Maya, Incas • No large-scale mining (at first) • Large land tracts to encourage settlement • Eventual reliance on slavery • Importation of African slaves • Plantation societies • Caribbean and later Brazil • Gender imbalance: men > women, patterns of interracial liaisons

  5. RACIAL COMPOSITION:AMERICAS, 1570-1825 Spanish Portuguese 1570 1825 1570 1825 White 1.3 18.2 2.4 23.4 Mixed 2.5 28.3 3.5 17.8 Black - 11.9 - 49.8 Indigene 96.3 41.7 94.1 9.1

  6. DIMENSION 2: POLITICS • Spanish monarchy: • Momentum of empowerment 1492- • Religious mission • Mercantilist economics • Portuguese monarchy: • Prior imperial experience • Low priority for Brazil • Reliance on exports • Less pervasive presence • British monarchy: • Late start (Jamestown 1607, Massachusetts 1620) • Ambivalent relationship to settlers • Reliance on taxation

  7. DIMENSION 3: INDEPENDENCE • Spanish America: • Resistance to Napoleon • Lengthy and destructive wars (1810-26) • Quest for “democracy” • Military legacies, military rulers • Portuguese America: • Court move to Brazil • Question of “recolonization” • Little military conflict • Continuation of Bragança monarchy • British America: • Opposition to monarchy and policies • Medium-scale military conflict (1776-83) • Installation of democracy (by/for elites)

  8. AND SO…. • Why is Latin American society the way it is? And why is Brazil so different from Spanish America? • Why has there been such political instability in Latin America? And authoritarian rule? • Why the differences from the United States? • Suggestion: Take a look at history…

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