World History Notes: Latin America Unit

1: SPAIN BUILDS AN AMERICAN EMPIRE

The Voyages of Columbus
Christopher Columbus sailed in order to find Asia. His three ships were called Nia, Pinta,
and Santa Mara. However, he accidentally sailed to the Caribbean, landing on the island of
San Salvador, which he later claimed for Spain. Mistakenly, Columbus called the peoples of
San Salvador "los indios" as he thought he was in Asia. However, the group he met were
actually natives to the Bahamas, who called themselves the Taino. Columbus couldn't find
any gold on San Salvador, so he moved on to new ones, claiming each one for Spain as he
went.
1493: Columbus returned to Spain, where the Spanish rulers agreed to finance three more
voyages to the Americas.
September 1493: Columbus embarked on his second voyage to the Americas. The Spanish
planned to turn the Americas into Spanish colonies.
1500: Pedro lvares Cabral (Portugal) found and claimed Brazil.
1501: Amerigo Vespucci (Italian explorer in the service of Portugal) traveled the East Coast
of South America and claimed it was a "New World"; 1507, German mapmaker renamed
the "New World" America in honor of Amerigo Vespucci.
1519: The King of Spain funded Ferdinand Magellan to travel to the Pacific Ocean; in
Guam, Magellan was killed in a war; 18 men and one ship made it back to Spain in 1522;
they were the first persons to have circumnavigated the world.
Spanish Conquests in Mexico
1519: Hernando Corts landed in Mexico---he and his crew, called conquistadors, created
colonies in the areas that would become Mexico, South America, and the United States
The Aztecs believed that Hernando Corts was a god; however in June 1520, the Aztecs
rebelled and attacked Corts and his men. Corts and his men overpowered them and
conquered them in 1521. The Spanish had three advantages: (1) superior weaponry, (2)
help from various native groups, and (3) the Spanish brought diseases with them, which
devastated the natives' population.
Spanish Conquests in Peru
1532: Francisco Pizzaro kidnapped the Incan ruler, Atahualpa; after receiving the ransom
for Atahualpa, the Spanish strangled him and marketed on and captured the Incan capital in
1533.
Since most peninsulares (Spanish settlers in the Americas) were men, a large mestizo
(mixed Spanish and Native American population) arose
Under the encomienda system, Natives worked in harsh conditions for Spanish lords
Brazil remained out of Spanish control; Portugal used Brazil for the production of sugar
Spain's Influence Expands
During the sixteenth century, Spain was the most powerful country in the world
1513: Juan de Len landed in Florida and claimed it for Spain
1540-1541: Fransisco Vsquez de Cornado led an expedition throughout Arizona, New
Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, but found no advanced or powerful civilizations
there; instead priests used it
Opposition to Spanish Rule
1609-1610 Pedro de Peralta built a special capital called Santa Fe in New Mexico
Priests disliked harsh treatment of Native Americans and the encomienda system;
Bartolom de Las Casas spoke out against the encomienda system. At first, Las Casas
promoted African slavery but later changed his mind and denounced African slavery
Some natives resisted Spain's domination: November 1493, the natives of St. Croix resisted
Columbus's attempts of colonization
At the end of the 17th century, natives in New Mexico fought Spanish rule. Spanish priests,
trying to spread the Christian religion, burned their sacred objects and prohibited native
rituals; sometimes, the Spanish physically abused and forced the natives to work for them
1680: Pop, a Pueblo ruler, led an organized revolt against the Spanish; the native fighters
drove the Spanish back into New Spain. The land belonged to the Natives for the next
twelve years.
2: THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTIONS
Enlightenment Thinkers and Ideas
During the 17th and 18th centuries, an intellectual movement called Enlightenment
developed. Enlightenment thinkers tried to apply all the principles of reason and the
methods of science to all aspects of society.
The Scientific Revolution of the 1500s and 1600s was a huge source of inspiration for the
Enlightenment. The Scientific Revolution taught thinkers to rely on rational thought rather
than to just accept traditional beliefs.
Enlightenment thinkers hoped to use reason to discover natural laws that governed society
just as scientists had used reason to discover physical laws.
Thomas Hobbes stated in Leviathan (1651) that people were by nature selfish and
ambitious; he believed in absolute monarchy to control these selfish ambitions. He believed
in a social contract, or agreement among members of society, in which people submitted to
an authoritarian ruler to prevent disorder.
John Locke argued that the English people had been justified in overthrowing James II.The
government had failed to protect the rights of the people. He said that all human beings
had, by nature, the right to life, liberty, and property. They formed governments to protect
these natural rights. Locke said a government's power comes from the people, not from
God; therefore, he challenged the divine right of kings.
Voltaire was an 18th-century French historian. He argued in favor of tolerance, freedom of
religion, and free speech.
Jean-Jacques Rosseau advocated democracy. Unlike Hobbes, he called the social contract
an agreement among free individuals to create a government that would respond to the
people's will. The only legitimate or authentic government came from the consent of the
governed.
Baron de Montesquieu also recognized liberty as a natural right. Montesquieu pointed out
that any person or group in power will try to increase its power. He concluded liberty could
be best safeguarded by a separation of powers, by dividing the government into three
separate branches. The branches were (1) a legislature to make laws, (2) an executive to
enforce them, and (3) courts to interpret them.
The Beginnings of Democracy in America
1754, Britain and France went to war for North America. They also fought in Europe. This
was known as the Seven Years' War. The American colonists helped defeat France in the
French and Indian War (ending in 1763). The war had been very costly, so Britain began
taxing the colonies. However, the colonies grew angry about "taxation without
representation". They rebelled and won their independence on July 4, 1776. In the
Declaration of Independence, the U.S.A. declared why they should be free of British rule.
The ideas of the Enlightenment--especially Locke's ideas that governments were created to
protect people's rights, influenced the writers of the Declaration. In 1781, after five more
years of war, the British army surrendered.
The Articles of Confederation, which were what governed the U.S., were weak, so they
drafted and passed a constitution in 1787. The framers set up a representative government,
as well as a federal system with three branches and separations between federal and state
governments.
James Madison was a major U.S. Enlightenment thinker
The French Revolution
The French were in a bad state and almost bankrupt in 1789, when the ruler, Louis XVI,
called the Estates-General, into assembly. However, they were dissatisfied with class
representation, and left, forming the National Assembly. The National Assembly made
reforms and drafted and approved a new constitution for France, limiting monarchy. In 1791
they disbanded so the Legislative Assembly could take over.
Countries went to war with France over their new republic, trying to prevent the spread of
democratic ideas. In 1792 the royal family was imprisoned. The country went into chaos
until 1799 when Napoleon Bonaparte came into power. Democracy did not develop in
France until the mid-1800s.
3: THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE
The Causes of Slavery
Slavery had existed in Africa for centuries. Around the 1500s Europeans began using
enslaved Africans for labor. In Africa, slaves had some rights and social mobility. They
could escape bondage many ways, including marrying into the family.
There were a few advantages to using Africans. (1) Many Africans had been exposed to
European diseases and therefore developed immunity (2) Africans had experience in
farming (3) Africans couldn't escape because they didn't know the lay of the land (4) skin
color made it easier to catch if they escaped.
The buying and selling of Africans for work in the Americas became a huge trade.
About 9.5 million Africans were sent from Africa to the Americas.
Slavery Spreads Throughout the Americas
England began to dominate the slave trade. They imported nearly 1.7 million slaves to the
West Indies. Roughly 2 million slaves were brought to the U.S.
Some African rulers resisted the slave trade, but many merchants and rulers were willing
dealers of the slave trade.
A Forced Journey
Africans transported to the Americas were part of a transatlantic trading network called the
triangular trade.
The voyage that brought captured Africans to the West Indies and later to the Americas was
known as the Middle Passage. It was considered the middle leg of the transatlantic trade
triangle.
Slavery in the Americas
Many slaves were auctioned off to the highest bidder. They were often starved and beaten.
They used their cultural heritage to cope with the horrors. Slaves also made themselves
less productive or ran away.
1522: Slaves on Hispaniola attacked and killed several Spanish colonists.
Consequences of the Slave Trade
In Africa, generations of their fittest members were lost. Many African families were torn
apart and never reunited.
The slave labor helped to contribute to the culture and upkeep of the Americas; without
them the Americas may not have survived. They also brought expertise, art, music, religion,
and food with them. They also contributed to large mixed-race populations across the
Americas.
4: LATIN AMERICAN PEOPLES WIN INDEPENDENCE
Revolutions in the Americas
Haiti was the first black colony to free itself of European rule; August 1791 slaves rose up in
revolt, led by Toussaint L'Ouverture
January 1802, French troops arrived to remove Toussaint from power. Toussaint agreed to
halt the revolution if the French would ends slavery. Though they agreed, they seized him
and left him in the French Alps where he died April 1803
Toussaint's lieuteant, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, took up power. On January 1, 1804, he
declared the nation an independent country
Creoles Lead Independence
Creoles brought back ideas from the Enlightenment with them when they returned from their
education in Europe. When Napoleon removed the Spanish king and replaced him with his
brother Joseph, creoles revolted.
Simn Bolvar's Venezuela declared independence from Spain in 1811. In August 1819,
Bolvar defeated the Spanish army in Bogot. They won independence in 1821.
San Martn's Argentina had declared independence in 1816. In 1817, he trooped across the
Andes to Chile. He freed Chile.
On December 9, 1824, Bolvar and Martn combined armies and defeated the Spanish at
the Battle of Ayacucho (Peru). Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador were united
into Gran Colombia.
Mexico Ends Spanish Rule
In 1810, Miguel Hidalgo rang the bells of his village church crying for rebellion against the
Spanish. This was called the cry of Dolores. The army defeated Hidalgo's troops in 1811.
Jos Mara Morelos led the revolution for four years. In 1815, a creole officer Agustn de
Iturbide defeated him.
In 1820, a liberal group took power of Spain and Agustn de Iturbide proclaimed
independence in 1821, along with several other Central American states, who proclaimed
their independence from Mexico as well. Iturbide refused to accept the declarations of
independence.
In 1823, Iturbide was eventually overthrown. Central America declared its full independence
and took the name the United Provinces of Central America.
Brazil's Royal Liberator
In 1807, because Napoleon invaded Spain and Portugal, the Portuguese Royal family fled
to Brazil. Rio de Janiero became the capital of the Portuguese Empire. In 1815, the
Portuguese government returned to Portugal. However, Brazil did not want to become a
colony again, so Dom Pedro, King John's son, became the ruler of Brazil. On September 7,
1822, Brazil's bloodless independence was announced.
Colonial Society Divided
5: TURMOIL AND CHANGE IN MEXICO
Santa Anna and the Mexican War
Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna was a leading figure in Mexico's independence from Spain in
1821. In 1829, he fought against Spain, and in 1833, he became Mexico's president. A
revolt against Mexico occurred in 1835, as conflict over Texas. Santa Anna won a few
battles, but a the Battle of San Jacinto, his troops were defeated and he was captured.
When he returned to Mexico in 1836, he was ousted from power.
Santa Anna fought for Texas, but in 1848, they signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Santa Anna returned as dictator in 1853, but died in 1874, poor, blind, and forgotten.
Juarez and La Reforma
Benito Jurez came from a poor ethnic background, and worked for a reform movement
called La Reforma from the 1840s and early 1850s. Its major goals were redistribution of
land, separation of church and state, and increased educational opportunities for the poor.
In 1853, Santa Anna sent Jurez and other leaders of La Reforma into exile.
Jurez became the President of Mexico in 1861. He established La Reforma.
In 1862, Napoleon III plotted with exiled conservatives to reconquer Mexico. Archduke
Maximilian was appointed to rule Mexico. In 1867, French troops withdrew and Jurez was
reelected President. However, he died in 1872.
Porfirio Daz and "Order and Progress"
In 1876, Porfirio Daz ousted the President and took control of Mexico. Daz became a
dictator, stopping elections and free speech. He managed to stay in power until 1911. He
called for "Order and Progress." Under his rule, however the rich became richer and the
poor became poorer.
Revolution and Civil War
In the early 1900s, many Mexicans began to protest Daz's harsh rule. Francisco Madero
ran for presidency in 1910. Daz had him arrested. Madero organized revolution from exile.
Francisco "Pancho" Villa became a strong leader in the north, with a Robin Hood policy.
South, Emiliano Zapata was powerful. Zapata wanted to see land returned to peasants and
farmers. By Spring 1911, Daz stepped down.
Madero was elected President in November 1911. Some, like Zapata and Villa, took arms
up against Madero, whom they had originally supported. In 1913, Madero resigned,
realizing he could not hold on to power. The military General Victoriano Huerta then took
power. Madero was soon assassinated.
Huerta was unpopular with many people, including Zapata and Villa, who joined with
Venustiano Carranza, another politician wanting to overthrow Huerta. Huerta was
overthrown fifteen months after taking power.
Carranza took control and then turned on Zapata and Villa. In 1919, Carranza lured Zapata
into a trap and murdered him. The civil war then ended.
Carranza began a new Mexican Constitution, which was adopted in 1917. It promoted
education, land reform, and workers' rights. In 1920, Carranza was overthrown by one of his
own generals, Alvaro Obregn. Obregn was a good President, even supporting everything
detailed in Carranza's constitution. He was assassinated in 1928.
1929: A new political party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) arose. It instated
peace and stability in Mexico.
6: DEMOCRACY
Democracy As a Goal
Democracy is always a work in progress, and is hard to achieve in the first place;
democratic institutions may not ensure stable, civilian government if other conditions are not
present. Citizen participation, education and literacy, and a stable economy are all essential
to democracy.
Democracy: government by the people for the people.
Case Study: BRAZIL
Brazil became a monarchy after independence in 1822. In 1889, Brazilians instated a
republican government. In the 1930s, Getulio Vargas became dictator. He suppressed
political opposition, but helped Brazil turn into a modern industrial nation.
Juscelino Kubitschek continued to develop Brazil's economy. He built a new capital city,
Brazlia, but the nation's foreign debt went up because of his many projects. In 1964, the
military seized power in a military coup.
For two decades, military dictators ruled Brazil. They began development projects in the
Amazon jungle, and as a result, the economy went up. The government then froze wages
and cut back on social programs, causing a severe decrease in the standard of living. The
government imposed censorship.
By the early 1980s, a recession occurred. Elections were opened. In 1985, Jos Sarney
was elected. He was unable to solve the country's problems and lost support.
In 1994 and 1998, Fernando Henrique Cordoso was elected. He achieved some reform. In
October 2002, Jos Serra ran as Cordoso's successor. He ran against Luiz Incio Lula da
Silva, of the Leftist Workers Party. Da Silva was elected, and Brazil continues on the path
of democracy.
Case Study: MEXICO
From 1934 to 1940, President Lzaro Crdenas tried to improve life for peasants; he
imposed land reform and labor rights. After Crdenas, presidents turned away from reform.
In 1946, the main party changed names to Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). The PRI
controlled Congress and won every presidential election. The country went into debt.
In the late 1960s, students and workers called for economic and political change. On
October 2, 1968, protesters gathered at the site on an Aztec market. A massacre occurred.
In 1980, huge natural oil was found. In 1981, the world's oil prices fell. Mexico's economy
declined.
In 1988, PRI candidate Carlos Salinas won the elections. He signed NAFTA, the North
American Free Trade Agreement. In early 1994, rebels in Chiapas staged a major uprising.
Luis Donaldo Colsio, the PRI candidate for the next election, was assassinated.
Ernesto Zedillo, the new PRI candidate, was elected in 1994. In 1997, opposition parties
won a large number of congressional seats and in 2000, 71 years of PRI rule was ended
when Vicente Fox was elected.
Fox advocated reforming the police, rooting out political corruption, ending the rebellion in
Chiapas, and opening Mexico's economy to free-market forces.
In 2002, Fox created a cabinet to lobby for immigrant worker's rights in the United States.
Mexico's democracy continued to strengthen.
Case Study: ARGENTINA
In 1946, Argentine workers promoted Juan Pern, a military officer, who won the presidency
before establishing a dictatorship. With the help of his wife Eva "Evita" Pern, who was very
popular, the Perns established a welfare state. After Evita's death in 1952, Pern lost
popularity and in 1955, the military ousted him. Pern returned to power once again in
1973, but ruled only a year before dying in office in 1974.
In 1976, the military seized power again and established a cruel dictatorship. In 1982, the
government went to war with Britain and lost. In 1983, Ral Alfonsn was elected. It was the
country's first free election in 37 years.
Alfonsn worked to rebuild democracy and the economy. Carlos Menem became president
in 1989, and continued the process.
In December 2001, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) refused to provide financial aid to
Argentina. President Fernando de la Rua resigned. Eduardo Duhalde succeeded him. In
2003, Argentina struggled to regain political footing. Nestor Kirchner became president.
The country had an unemployment rate of 24%. They defaulted on a $132 billion debt, the
largest debt default in history. Its currency was devalued.