Independence Movements in Latin America (1800-1825)

Nation Building and Economic Transformation in the Americas, 1800-1890 Chapter 23

Independence in Latin America 1800-1830

Roots of Revolution, to 1810 • U.S. Declaration of Independence and Fr. Declaration of the Rights of Man were circulating in Latin America • Elites • upset at the power held by colonial officials • upset about high taxes

trouble in Europe led to ideas of revolution • Napoleon invading the Iberian peninsula • 1808, the Portuguese royal family went to Brazil • King John VI ruled from there for 10+ years

Napoleon replaced the Sp. monarch with his brother Joseph Bonaparte • Sp. patriots formed the Junta Central to govern Spain while the King remained a Fr. prisoner • The Junta claimed control of all of Spain’s territories • Many wealthy Sp. colonists did not like the Junta • 1808 and 1809- uprisings overthrew the Sp. officials in Venezuela, Mexico, and Alto Peru • Sp. officials quickly regained control and punished the leaders • This made more people support the revolutionists

Spanish South America, 1810-1825 • Caracas (capital of Venezuela) • revolutionary Junta led by Creoles declared independence in 1811 • leaders were large landowners • supported slavery • opposed citizenship for black and mixed-race people • colonial administration reacts • rally free blacks and slaves to defend Spain

Revolutionary officials turned to Simon Bolivar • son of wealthy planters • had studied classics and the Enlightenment • agreed to support emancipation to get slaves to help and to get supplies from Haiti • he gets the help of English soldiers

Spain, 1820 • Ferdinand VII is returned to the throne • forced to sign a constitution that limits his powers • Bolivar’s Army liberates Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia (named for Bolivar)

Buenos Aires • important center of revolution • a Junta formed that claimed loyalty to Ferdinand VII while he was imprisoned • they declared independence after Ferdinand returned to the throne • United provinces of the Rio de la Plata • They were unable to control the region and chaos broke out • San Martin, a military leader was able to cross the Andes and attack Sp. troops in Chile and Peru • Won in Chile, lost in Peru • Unable to win in Peru, he gave command of his troops to Bolivar who defeated the Spanish in 1824

Mexico, 1810-1823 • Spain’s wealthiest and most powerful colony in 1810 • rich silver mines • Mexico City was larger than any city in Spain • largest population of Spanish immigrants • Spanish loyalists overthrew the viceroy when Ferdinand was forced to abdicate the throne

Rebellion • central Mexico • wealthy farmers had forced Amerindians from their land • crop failures and epidemics made the situation worse

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla • parish priest • urged people to rise up against Spanish oppression • rural poor joined him, they had no military experience or weapons • randomly attacked their oppressors, the ranches and mines • Hidalgo was captured, tried, and executed in 1811.

Jose Maria Morelos • a priest • better military and political leader than Hidalgo • set up a congress that met and created a constitution in 1813 • he was defeated and executed in 1815

colonial rule seemed secure in 1820 • Mexican loyalists, led by Colonel Agustin de Iturbide, later declared independence from Spain and Mexico declared Iturbide the emperor. • 1823, Mexico became a republic

Brazil, to 1831 • 1808, Portuguese royal family moved to Brazil • stimulated economy • gave more power to colonial elite • 1821, King John VI returned to Portugal, left his son Pedro in Brazil • People surrounded by revolutions for independence questioned their own colonial status

Pedro I declared independence from Portugal and Brazil had a constitutional monarchy • different political opinions and high costs of running the new government forced Pedro to abdicate in 1831 • Pedro II ruled until 1889

The Problem of Order 1825-1890

Constitutional Experiments • Just like in the U.S., Latin Americans felt a constitution was necessary • careful description of political powers • protected the people • constitutions were often ratified and then rejected

societies were not accustomed to voting • British colonies had voted for elected officials in town governments • Spanish and Portuguese America had little or no experience voting for representatives • Nearly all limited the right to vote to free men owning property

British colonies in Canada • want democracy and effective self rule • 1837 – armed rebellion • 1840s – Britain allows limited self rule • Confederation of 1867 • Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia • Beginning of the Canadian nation

Latin America • drafters of the constitutions had no experience with elected governments • hard to define the political role of the Catholic Church • many early constitutions had tried to reduce its power • secular education • permitted other religions • tried to limit the power of the military • strengthened during the wars of independence • military leaders would not follow civilian authorities • Brazil, led by Pedro I was the exception

Personalist Leaders • Successful leaders gained popularity in the U.S. and Latin America • used patriotic symbols • used personal followings to gain national political leadership • ex. Iturbide in Mexico; Bolivar in Gran Columbia

caudillo – a personalist leader who held political power without constitutional sanction • early constitutions excluded the poor from political participation • Personalist leaders often became dictators

Andrew Jackson and Jose Antonio Paez both challenged constitutional limits • Paez – led Bolivar’s cavalry in Venezuela and Columbia • uneducated and poor, his personality and strength made him popular • Bolivar tried to unite Latin America under his rule • Paez declared Venezuela independent • Ruled as president or dictator for the next 18 years

Jackson – a self made man • was popular among frontier residents, urban workers and small farmers • he served as judge, general, congressman, senator and President

military success • beat the British – Battle of New Orleans in 1815 • took Florida from the Sp, in 1818 • 1828 – elected as President by a landslide • 1832 – reelected • Was able to take power from Congress • personalist leaders in Latin America didn’t face many obstacles and were able to gain more power than those in the U.S.

The Threat of Regionalism • New governments were weaker than old colonial governments • elites led uprisings or disobeyed laws that threatened their interests • all attempts to form large multi-state federations failed • Republic of Central America • Split into 5 separate countries

Gran Columbia • Venezuela, Columbia and Ecuador split into separate countries • Bolivia, Uraguay, Paraguay and Argentina • Had been under one viceroyalty, but split after independence in 1830

Argentina • Sought strong central government • Secular education, free trade and immigration • Conservatives • supported Catholic Church education and protection of local products from European imports • rebelled a constitution that went against these values • Juan Manuel de Rosas, a caudillo, came to power and ruled for 20+ years • economy expanded • use of mob violence and assassination made him many enemies • overthrown in 1852

United States • Regional problems • ex. Senate in which each state is equally represented due to small state fears • slavery polarized the country • Louisiana Purchase; 1803 • War with Mexico to gain Texas • New land gains led to a debate over whether slavery should be allowed to spread • immigration led to higher population and more political power in the north

1860; Abraham Lincoln was elected President • Southern states seceded, formed the Confederate States • U.S. Civil War (1861-1865) • Union victory led to the abolition of slavery in the U.S.

Foreign Interventions and Regional Wars • 19th century – countries that had gained their independence continued to fight • War of 1812 • U.S. vs. Great Britain • 1898-1899 Mexican-American War • U.S. vs. Spain • Gained the Philippines and Puerto Rico • British and French Naval blockades of Argentina

Mexico had to defend itself from Spain in 1829 and the French in 1838 • in 1836, Texas gained its independence from Mexico • 1848, Mexico was forced to give land to the U.S. (now New Mexico, Arizona and California) for $15 mill.

1862, France invaded Mexico • Benito Juarez, forced to flee Mexico • French installed the Austrian Hapsburg Maximilian as emperor • Mexican forces drove the Fr out in 1867

Chile • defeated the Confederation of Peru and Bolivia on several occasions • Argentina and Brazil fought over Uruguay until Uruguay’s independence • 1865; Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil joined to fight Paraguay

Native Peoples and the Nation-State • In many cases, colonial powers had tried to protect native people • New independent governments were too weak to protect their frontiers

United States • settlers looking for agricultural land pushed into native territory • Tecumseh and his brother formed an Amerindian Alliance in the Ohio River Valley • Tecumseh was killed in the War of 1812 • 1830 Indian Removal Act • Passed by Congress • Forced native tribes to settle west of the Mississippi River • Trail of Tears, nearly half of the forced migrants died

Great Plains Amerindians were more of a challenge • Had mastered the use of horses and firearms • Became nomadic buffalo hunters • during the U.S. Civil War • disrupted Amerindian trade • buffalo herds were hunted to near extinction • forced to give up their land and traditions

Argentina and Chile • the native people were successful and militarily strong • they had the upper hand until the 1860s • 1870s; Argentina & Chile used overwhelming military force • Crushed native resistance

Mexico • plantation owners pushed Mayans off of their land • Mayan rebellion 1847, Caste War • created their own state until 1870 when they were defeated by Mexican forces

The Challenge of Social and Economic Change

The Abolition of Slavery • Anti-slavery movements during the independence movements in the North and the South • revolutionary leaders wanted freedom and citizenship

United States • slave trade stopped in 1808, slavery continued • cotton agriculture was still profitable • abolitionists said slavery went against the rights mentioned in the Declaration of Independence as well as most religions

Women and free African Americans tried to end slavery • Were not granted full citizenship themselves • Produced effective propaganda • Frederick Douglas • A former slave • Abolitionists speaker and writer • U.S. Civil War • thousands of black freemen and escaped slaves fought for the Union • 1863 – Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation • 1865 – end of the civil war, Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery • 1880s – increased segregation and racial violence

Spanish America • slaves gained freedom by joining revolutionary armies • Brazil and Cuba increased their slave trade because of profits • Brazil • 1830 – treaty with the British to end the slave trade • Continued to illegally import slaves • Pedro II and many liberals worked to abolish slavery • many slaves joined the army to fight Paraguay • 1888 – legislation abolished slavery

Caribbean Islands • received 40% of all incoming slaves • most people were not interested in independence • slave revolts were inspired by the Haitian revolts on Saint Domingue • abolition resulted from European colonial powers • Slavery lasted longest in Cuba and Puerto Rico • 1873 – abolition in Puerto Rico • 1886 – abolition in Cuba

End of the slave trade • Great Britain ended the slave trade in 1807 • asked that Spain, Brazil and others stop trading slaves as well • 1833 - Slavery in British colonies ended • “freed” slaves were required to stay with their masters as “apprentices”

Immigration • 19th century wave of immigrants from Europe and Asia • rapid economic growth • occupation of frontier regions • urbanization

before 1870 most came from Western Europe • after 1870 most came from southern and eastern Europe • U.S. national population increased • 1871 – 39 million • 1891 – 63 million (62% increase)

Immigration to Latin America and Canada also increased (especially Argentina) • Large numbers of Chinese and Indian immigrants were arriving as well

Independence Movements in Latin America (1800-1825)