Latin America Midterm

Latin America Midterm

• 1.
  Latin America inthe 19 th Century
• 2.
  Latin American Independence  Ended Spanish and Portuguese colonial rule between 1807 and 1824  Many Reasons for movements across Latin America:  War with France caused Spain to loosen control in Americas  The war forced Portuguese Royalty and rule to flee to Brazil  Once Independent, Spanish & Brazilian colonies were unprepared for self government
• 3.
  Latin American Independence  Before the Napoleonic Wars, independence movements were already kindling across Latin and South Americas  When Bolivar arrived in Venezuela in 1812, Revolution was already underway  Bolivar assured Independence with the victory at The Battle of Carabobo, on June 24 1821
• 4.
  Latin America atMid Century  The Decade of the 1820s saw reform across Latin America, although much was superficial  The 1830s-1840s were focused on attaining order, as well as moderate questioning of religious, social, and economical policies  General international trade increased five-fold between 1840-1870, and US exports increased 8 fold between 1845-1880 across much of Latin America
• 5.
  Latin America atMid Century  Andre Gunder Frank suggests that liberal reform depends on a country's specialized exports (sugar, coffee, tea) rather than exposure to liberal schools of thought  By Mid-century, a generational shift occurred, which as well contributed to sweeping reformations  Exceptions like Brazil, with its late abolition of slavery yet early religious tolerance, and Ecuador, with its early abolitionism, then dictatorial control under Garcia Moreno, broke the molds but still pushed forward into modernism
• 6.
  Britain's Influence onLatin America  At the end of 1824, Britain looked to trade with the now freed Spanish Territories  Merchants with cargoed goods established themselves on Atlantic and Pacific coasts  At least one third of trade was with Brazil in 1845, and the overall value of trades with Latin America was valued at an estimated 6.0 Million Pounds a year  Britain's economic interest in Latin America peaked between mid 1870s to early 1890s
• 7.
  Britain's Influence onLatin America  Excepting politics, Britain was involved with and treating their Latin American trading partners as if they were British colonies  By mid-20th century, Britain's involvement in Latin America greatly diminished  World War I allowed the United States to step in and take over for Europe's dwindling presence  By the 1920's, the majority of Foreign Investment in Latin America came from New York
• 8.
  Mexico's War ofthe Reforma  The Ley Juarez (November 23, 1855) and Ley Lerdo (June 25, 1856) sparked the conflict dually known as the War of the Reforma, and the Three Years War  Ley Juarez (Juarez Law) abolished special military and clerical priviledge, making all citizens equal in eyes of the law  Ley Lerdo forced sales of all land owned by the Roman Catholic Church  Liberals in Mexico sought to rid themselves of restrictions on economic growth and capitalism in their new republic
• 9.
  French Intervention inMexico  Napoleon III intervened in 1861 in an effort to instill Archduke Ferdinand Maximillian as Mexican Emperor  Juarez' victory in the Three Year War left him 82.2 Million Pesos indebted to foreign powers, and was forced to delay payments to deal with Maximilian  As the war stretched on, Maximilian's dependance on Napoleon's wealth increased  After war's end, thousands of Mexican soldiers skilled in guerrilla warfare were suddenly unemployed, and spread across Mexico and the future American Southwest as banditos.
• 10.
  Mexico  Mexico is the 5th largest country in the world, and in Latin America second in population only to Brazil  Mexico and the United States share a 1900 mile long border, the longest in the world between a fully developed country and one that is still developing  Spanish colonialism converted 90% of the population to Spanish speaking Catholics, with Nahuatl being the second dominant language spoken by 8% of the inhabitants
• 11.
  Mexico  After World War II, Mexico has moved away from Agrarian-based economy, once Mexico's mainstay in economics  Mexico is a leading producer of Crude Oil, as well as one of the top producers of Silver  Mexico is a very important player in United States economics, as a member of NAFTA as well as being the USA's 3rd largest trading partner