History 307 – Latin American History – October 9, 2003

 THE WARS OF LIBERATION

 I.  Review:  remember that we’ve explained the radical explosions of the early 1800s in Latin America something like this:

 

DISCONTENT ·          Creoles v. Peninsulars ·          Native Peoples ·          Enslaved Africans

 

            è

       

LIBERAL IDEALS both cause more discontent, and give discontent a clear agenda

 

                                    è

                       

EXAMPLES OF AMERICAN & FRENCH REVOLUTIONS à discontent can be solved!

 

                                                              è

                       

1808 CRISIS IN SPAIN à obey new French-appointed King Joseph Bonaparte, or rebel against him in the name of the exiled King Ferdinand?

 

                                                                        è

                                   

FOREIGN ATTACKS ·          When Spain was Napoleon’s ally, in 1806, the British attack Spanish Argentina ·          Then Napoleon attacks Spain! ·          The USA wants Spain & Portugal out of the New World ·          So does Britain

 Now – let’s review the Keen readings on the Wars of Liberation.

 1.        Why was there such tension between Creoles and Peninsulares?  (#1, #2 – Belgrano)

2.       THE key figure was Simón Bolívar.  What sort of person was he? (#3).  What was his great campaign of Boyacá (1819) like? What was the “Congress of Panama” all about (#6)? 

 3.       The other great hero was José de San Martin.  What was he like?

 4.       The Mexican situation was incredibly complicated.  Who were Hidalgo and Morelos? (#7; #8).

 5.       Was Iturbide a “radical” or was he actually a “conservative”?

 6.       Finally, how did Brazil win its independence (#10).

 7.       Finally:  Latin America has had chronic political trouble.  Jack Pizzy thought that three factors contributed to this: (a) a tendency to rely on military chieftains for leadership; (b) a tendency to keep ordinary people out of politics and a tendency on the part of ordinary people to stay out of politics – thus leaving politics open to crooks; and (c) severe economic weaknesses, such as having an economy keyed not to local needs but to a very fickle world market; economies that produce only one product for the world are extremely vulnerable to world markets.  Now:  any signs of any of this in our reading?

 

Queens University of Charlotte  1900 Selwyn Avenue  Charlotte, NC  28274
Modified by:  H.  Kamerling