Lecture 2 - History of Americas Flashcards
(27 cards)
The main backgrounds to inpendences in Latin America
- Influence of enlightment (aspirations about freedom from spanish crown)
- Emerging creole nationalism
- More independence from the spanish crone
- American inpendence war
- French revolutionen
- Napoleonic wars
What is Creole nationalism?
is an ideology that emerged among Creole populations (descendants of European colonizers) in Latin America during the early 19th century. These groups sought independence from European powers, especially Spain and Portugal, as they felt they were not being properly represented and were subject to political and economic oppression. The term “Creole nationalism” is frequently associated with the independence movements in the Americas
3 main components in the Colonial society?
- crown in Europe
- Peninsulares (personer födda i Spanien eller Portugal som hade de högsta positionerna i administration och kyrka) and Creoles (ättlingar till européer men födda i Latinamerika. De var ofta rika jordägare, handelsmän eller intellektuella, men de var utestängda från de högsta maktpositionerna eftersom de inte var födda i Europa)
- Enslaved black and indigenous people (80-90%)
Creole elite?
(eller criollo elite på spanska) på den samhällsklass av personer med europeiskt ursprung, främst av spansk eller portugisisk härkomst, som föddes i kolonierna i Latinamerika.
Enslavement of indigenous people and its interruption (year) + its consequense
- Debate if you could see them as rational people
- 1544: crown forbids enslavement of indigenous people (in all spanish colonies)
- Start of Translantic slave trade
- Biggest qvantity to Brazil (who already started before)
Explain Transatlantic slave trade, key points
- Most slaves went to Brazil and Caribbean
- Big affect on economy and the demography of society
- Peak during 18th century
- Women also worked as slaves
- Complicity of church (becoming christian)
- Most african born, weren’t able to have kids, therefore new slaves were needed
- A gradual process
When was slaves abolished?
1854 –> Spanish America
1888 –> Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico
Resistance agaisnt slavery?
- Evidence of organized resistence
- Importance of preserving african religion
Haiti’s path to inpendence: timeline
1791 = first uprisings of Fatiman (a mulatto that had freedom) and Boukman (priest)
1794 = leadership of Toussaint L’Ouverture: lead the revolution, former slave, could write, militar strategy
1802 = Intervention General Charles Leclerc (svärson Napo)
1803 = L’Ouverture imprisoned in France
Jean-Jacques Dessalines new leader
1804 = Haiti inpendendent (but imperial boycott from US, paying to France, political caos etc)
How did the major powers react to the revolution in Haiti?
Spain (ville vinna tillbaka för sockret, ekonomi)
Britain: supports whites, US: afraid
France: invasion
What was Haitis main commodity?
Largest sugar producer (Saint domingue)
How was the population divided at the time? (Haiti)
Divided into 3 classes:
1. Whites (petits et grands)
2. Mulattos (freed man)
3. Blacks
In what ways was the Haitian revolution unthinkable?
M.R Trouillot (1995)
= it challenged deeply held western assumptions.
= a profound challenge to the ways history is conceptualized in the west
= The west had symbolic order in which the man is ranked, white at the top..
CLR James (1989)
= Big scale organization of revolution that the white authoritites underestimated
Brazil’s path to independence - timeline
15th century = colonalisation starts by Portugal
1807 = Napelon invades Spain –> Portugese government flees to Brazil
1815 = Dual kingdom status
1833 = Dom Pedro (son of Jao VI) declares inpendence, and becomes emperor, kingdom
–> No wars, little combat, small uprisings during period
–> Economic hardship
–> Class tensions
–> Inpendence from within the elite
1831 = Pedro I abdicates –> Pedro II –> Inpendent empire until 1889
How was the Haitian revolution important?
→ Demonstrates the limitations of the revolutionary ideas of the creole elite
→ Enslaved insurgents securing their own independence
→ Brake on independence movements in other to slaveholding societies
What happened in 1888 in Brazil?
= Abolishment of slavery –> Military officers seizes power –> republic replaces the empire
3 important names in the path to independence in South America
- Simon Bolivar : Liberator of the north; Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia. Created Gran Colombia, inspired by french revolution
- Jose de San Martin : Liberator of the south; Argentina, Chile, Peru
- Antonio Jose de sucre : Bolivia; Bolivars closest general, first president in Bolivia
Battle of Ayacucho (1824)?
- Lead by Antiono José de Sucre
- Against spanish colonisateurs
What characterized the newly free South America?
…in ruins, no united states of latin america, economic hardship, political instability, unequal access to land…
Cuba and Puerto Rico: path to independence
- Both gains “independence” after intervention from US
- Still partly colonilized
- Impact of Haitian revolution: Spain tightens grip –> Slavery persists
1869-1898 = Cuban war of independence: remarkable coalition of whites, color, enslaved
1902 = Cuba inpendent
1917 = Becomes US territory
What is Martis idea on good government in our America?
Balances countries natural element, ensure welfare etc for everyone, democratic - multi class republic, universal suffrage. “Must originate from its own country”, “Its structure must conform to rule appropriate to the country”, “Good government is nothing more than the balance of the countries natural elements”
What does Marti say about the legacies of colonalism in Our America?
denounced colonialism, esp spanish rule in Cuba, unnatural + oppressive, as Cuba has a unique identity, giants with seven-league boots
Which expressions of American identity can you find in Our America (José Marti)
LA identity: rooted in cultural, historical, uniqueness - separate from Eu and US, solidarity, there are no races
What are Caudillos?
- A term for describing authoritarian leaders, that dominate their region through personal power + loyalty, can be seen as dictators
- Former military officers from independence wars, regional bosses and landowners
- Typical populist
