Latin Americ The United States

     Latin American Independence was the drive for independence from Spain and France by the Latin American people. There were many contributing factors that ultimately led to the uprising of Latin American colonies. Europe's strong hold on the economic and political life of Latin America, was creating friction between the Latin Colonies and the European nations. Eventually, this would become enough for the Latin American people and the drive for independence from France and Spain would begin.

Illnesses such as smallpox killed the majority of Native American populations significantly weakening the Naive Americans allowing for Europeans to more easily conquer them. The transfer of crops from the Americas to Europe allowed for a more population growth and shaped their cuisine to this day. Potatoes and native to the Americas yet they are and were a staple of European diets, most notably the Irish. European discovery of resources in the Americas led to millions of African slaves being shipped to the Americas to work in mines or plantations. This widespread slave trade has influences race relations to this day.

One can see this by looking at France. Even after going through the Reign of Terror, the nation still ceased to successfully change their government. The revolution wasn’t completely over until after Napoleon took reign. Although it was considered to be over, the country was still uneasy after the death of Napoleon. The Latin American Revolution was resolved clearer. They had successfully won independence from Spain. This is how these revolutions differ. How is it that France is so unsuccessful compared to the Latin American Revolution which had similar causes? To answer this, the style of the revolutions must be analyzed. The French Revolution wanted to change the style of government, while the Latin American Revolution was more focused towards gaining independence from a government. This proposes the question of why is it easier to create a new government than to change an old one. The revolutions truly are the same scenario played out in different

Culture wasn’t the only thing that the Europeans brought over to the Americas. Along with their customs and rules, came the diseases that the Native American’s have never been exposed to. The Europeans brought many communicable diseases such as small pox and measles which were transmitted to the Native Americans through trade goods or someone infected with them. This quickly annihilated most of the Native American population.

From 1750 to 1914, several important revolutionary processes occurred in the Americas, including those of North America and Latin America. The North American and Spanish American Revolutions were similar in that they both shared the common goal of liberation from the foreign colonial governments that ruled over them. However they differed in that there was no goal for social reform in the American Revolution, but in the Haitian Revolution the slaves had the goal of social reform of the rigid social class system. Another difference between the revolutionary processes in the two regions is that the American Revolution was successful and had stable and positive long-term outcomes, but the Haitian Revolution and Latin American Revolution were

Both Latin American revolutions and the American revolution were different in term of cause and the result it brought with it. For example, it was much easier for the Americans to gain independence than the Latin Americans because of the unity they manage to take and keep despite the discontent each colonist had against each other. Both of these revolutions were fighting for independence from the Old World because they could not stand the strict systems, applied to them by their mother countries, that prevented the development of a rapidly growing colonial economy. These policies were designed to maximize the trade of a nation to bring money into the suppressing powers but not for the colonists themselves.

The Latin American revolution did not fulfill the goals of the revolution. Although they gained independence from Spain, the social construct did not change. This is the opposite of the Haitian Revolution. In Haiti, the slaves fought against slavery in many violent protest including burning of plantations. Ultimately, the whole social construct reversed from French officials and les grands blancs on top and the slaves on the bottom to les grands blancs not being a part of society and the slaves on top. In the long run, the large plantations supported the whole economy of Haiti and once slavery was abolished, the small farms did not come close to the same profit. In this way, the economical impact of the revolution was not successful, but the

These epidemics occurred in areas with extensive Spanish contact and slaving networks (pg. 14). Reséndez credits the conquest of the native tibes and the Indian slave trade with the depopulation of the Caribbean and the introduction of European diseases to the New World (Reséndez, conversation in HIST 900, 2017). The Spanish were the devastation that all but wiped out the native populations in the Caribbean and along the Caribbean costs of North America. They were the epidemic that depopulated the New World.

What once was a relatively free and peaceful place started to feel the wrath of the cruel invaders. After decades of the Spanish rule, the Latin American colonies decided to finally take back what once was theirs. Latin America, under the rule of Spanish forces, faced problems. The revolutions that took place during this time were influenced by the ideas from the Age of Enlightenment.

As the Europeans set up colonies in America, they brought the plantation ideas with them, which led to the need for labor hence they tried to enslave the Native Americans to work in their mines and fields. The Native Americans were prone to diseases hence most of them died as a result of diseases and overworking. Apart from the ones who died, a number rebelled and formed alliances forcing the Europeans to look for other sources of labor. They started to acquire African slaves due to a number of reasons: The African slaves were more stronger and immune to a number of diseases in Europe and America; the Africans had no friends and family in America hence it was not easy for them to form alliances or to escape; they provided a permanent and a cheap source of labor; and most of them had worked on farms before in their

Prior to its independence Latin America had been controlled by external forces for hundreds of years. To be freed of control from these outside interests did not in any way guarantee Latin America a return to the status quo. In fact, the inhabitants of Latin America had done very well in assimilating their in house controllers. They adopted European language, religion, color, and just about everything else that the European culture had to offer them. Although they were free to do as they please and run their own affairs in the global neighborhood as we know it, they struggled to create an entity for themselves. They embody too much of what is not native to their region, yet the people that used to represent their land 500 years earlier

In processes of Independence in South American and Brazil happened very differently. In the Spanish American process of revolution there were lots of movements for rebellion (Chasteen:93). Many of the movements were set in motion when the king of Spain, Carlos IV, and Prince Fernando, were captured by Neapolitan (Chasteen:92). The colonies questioned the leadership of the Spanish crown. In Mexico, two priests sparked different rebellions. Father Miguel Hidalgo gained support from indigenous and mestizo people with the phrase “Americans versus Europeans” (Chasteen:96). This turned into rebellion against the Peninsulars and, unintentionally, creole since it was difficult for the fighters to tell them apart (Chasteen:96). Father José María Morelos

American attitudes towards Latin America can be summed up as an extension of larger global directives, and the exclusion of foreign powers in the region. This was highlighted especially during the Cold War as US involvement was essentially in competition with the USSR. Latin America was therefore a mere pawn in the larger context of US-Soviet competition for global dominance. The actions and methods used are also characterized by the lack of an international authority, or an atmosphere of inter-state anarchy, which shaped their calculations in the endeavor to increase their influence over Latin America. When one analyzes the situation, it seems only rational that the United States treated its southern neighbors so, due to the geographical

When looking at the history between the United States and Latin America, you see many interactions between them, all that aided the relationship that they have today. Despite that the United States and Latin America are in the same part of the world, the beliefs in which they govern may differ. This difference has often been seen playing a major role in the disputes that have occurred in past. The United States and Latin America have faced many social, economical and governing barriers in forming a strong and positive relationship in the early twentieth century, this is due to the differences that the two had between cultures and the constant demand for power. However, the two countries have found ways to meet in the middle of their cultural differences, to form an equally fair relationship.

The Latin American postcolonial history is longer, it had more intellectuals and educated people who would tackle exploitation and dependence - Fernando Henrique Cardoso who was elected a president of Brazil 1994 was a prestigious social scientist who wrote important works about dependency in Latin America, also Latin America witnessed the downfall of many democracies that were replaced by authoritarian and military rule.