Nation Building in Latin America

1. Nation Building in Latin America 21.4

2. Nationalist Revolts Revolutionary ideas in Latin America were sparked by the successes of revolutions in North America. In Latin American society, peninsularescontrolled the political and economic systems of the colonies. Creoles resented peninsulares and favored the revolutionary ideals of equality. A slave revolt in Hispaniola led to the formation of Haiti in 1804.

3. Nationalist Revolts In Mexico, a priest named Miguel Hidalgo roused the local Native Americans and mestizosto free themselves of Spanish control. In 1821, Mexico declared its independence and became a republic in 1823. Two men, known as the “Liberators of South America,” were heavily influenced by events in Europe and set South America on the path of freedom.

4. Nationalist Revolts José de San Martín of Argentina fought the Spaniards and liberated Argentina in 1810 before crossing the Andes Mountains and liberating Chile in 1817. Simón Bolívar, who had liberated Venezuela, arrived in Peru and helped San Martín’s forces liberate Peru in 1824. In 1822, the prince regent of Brazil declared independence from Portugal.

5. Nationalist Revolts In 1823, the Central American states declared their independence and eventually became the states of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. By the end of 1824, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile had all gained independence from Spain.

6. Nationalist Revolts Latin American independence movements faced a major threat from European powers who favored the use of soldiers to restore Spanish control in Latin America. American president James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrinein 1823 warning against European intervention in Latin America, and guaranteeing Latin American independence.

7. Nationalist Revolts The British also favored Latin American independence and used their navy to deter any European invasion of Central and South America.

8. Nation Building After they became independent, Latin American nations faced a staggering range of problems. Most of the new nations of Latin America established republican forms of government, but soon caudillosgained power. Supported by the landed elite, the caudillos used military power to rule. Some modernized the new national states by building schools, roads, and canals.

9. Nation Building In Mexico, Antonio López de Santa Anna ruled Mexico from 1833 to 1855. Santa Anna misused state funds, halted reforms, and created chaos. American settlers in the Texas region revolted against Santa Anna’s dictatorial rule and won independence from Mexico in 1836.

10. Nation Building In 1845, Mexico was forced to give up nearly one-half of its land following defeat to the United States in the Mexican War. Following Santa Anna, Benito Juárezcame to power. He brought liberal reforms to Mexico, including limiting the power of the military and religious tolerance.

11. Nation Building Although Latin American nations were politically independent, they were still economically dependent on the United States and Great Britain. Britain dominated trade with the Latin American nations, and the United States became the primary source of loans and investment money.

12. Nation Building Latin American economies were dependent on cash crops, and national economies were often reliant on a single cash crop. A fundamental problem of all the new Latin American nations was the domination of society by the landed elites. Landowners generally controlled the political and economic systems of the nation, and their devotion to cash crops left little tillable land for farming food products.

13. Change in Latin America Many Latin American governments patterned their new constitutions after the United States Constitution. The United States began to intervene in Latin America by making Cuba a protectorate and annexing Puerto Ricoin 1898. In 1903, President Roosevelt supported a rebellion that allowed Panama to separate from Colombia in return for the right to build the Panama Canal.

14. Change in Latin America As Americans invested in Latin America, they demanded that these investments be protected. American military forces intervened in Cuba, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. In some instances, U.S. military forces stayed for decades, as in Haitiand Nicaragua, leading to Latin American resentment of North American intervention.

15. Change in Latin America In Mexico, the conservative government of Porfirio Díaz (1877–1911) was ousted by the liberal landowner, Francisco Madero. In northern Mexico, Pancho Villa’s armed bandits swept the countryside. Emiliano Zapata called for land reform, and began to redistribute the land to the masses but refused to work with Madero.

16. Change in Latin America Between 1910 and 1920, the Mexican Revolution caused great damage to the Mexican economy. In 1917, a new constitution was accepted. Mexico would be led by a president, land reform would be enacted, and foreign investment would be limited.

17. Change in Latin America The prosperity of trade after 1870 led to an emerging middle class comprised of teachers, lawyers, doctors, merchants, and businesspeople. The middle-class Latin Americans became a stabilizing force in the region, and once given the right to vote, often sided with the landed elite.