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Post Independence Latin America/Caribbean - Coggle Diagram
Post Independence Latin America/Caribbean
Change and Continuity in Post Independence Latin America
Division between Latin America and Caribbean in political organisation during the national period
BUT much overlap in themes such as race
Latin America was incredibly progressive during the national period
Playing with constitution and 'democratic franchise'
Not necessarily democracy as we understand today, however
Abolition of the normal social hierarchy which governed society in the colonial period (gender, caste/race)
Formal divisions are abolished
Abolition of slavery
A Historical Puzzle
Latin America after independence suffered chronic problems of governance
Descends into political instability
Civil war
Military coups
Descends into authoritarianism
Why?
The colonial legacies of Latin America
A slow acting poison which cultivated the environment in Latin America that prevented countries from creating and maintaining stability
Certain colonial legacies which made it difficult for Latin American cultures to become stable democratic states
BUT arguably does not work as the only cause for the failures after independence
Latin America's colonial legacies were complex
Some hindering and some favouring the development of a liberal civic culture
The ideology of liberalism itself contains internal tensions that in post-independence Latin America helped create instability
Illiberal
Slavery
Racially-inflected social hierarchy
Lack of political experience
Habits of deference and domination
Proto-liberal
Elements which seemed to work in favour of a civic culture aligning with liberal/democratic values
Logic of inclusion or incorporation
Culture of justice-seeking
1 more item...
Culture of civic participation
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Domination and Subordination in the Late(r) c19th
New Rights and Freedoms
Political independence for most Spanish colonies, Haiti, and Brazil
End of slavery
End of 'Two Republics' system (of Spanish and Indians)
Electoral politics
BUT not full adult suffrage
Liberalism: in the End of Status Rights and Obligations (in theory)
Mainland Spanish America
End of the Two Republics system
Abolition of slavery
Indigenous communities no longer have to provide tribute to the state/crown
Cuba and Puerto Rico
Dud not join the Spanish-American independence movements
These were the societies in Spanish-America most dominated by slavery
The elites in these colonies looked to what was happening on the continent and saw that revolutionary activity was incredibly unstable for societies so based on control
Spanish rule ends in 1898
British Empire
No liberal revolution
Retained a system of monarchy, nobility etc
Gradual liberalising in Britain during this period
Reform Act 1832
Passed as a result of rapid expanded franchise
Led to the abolition of slavery
French Empire
Haitian Revolution
Independence of Haiti
Abolition of slavery
France retains some other colonies in the Caribbean and slavery is maintained there until 1848
Ended via a liberal revolution
Brazil
Conservative independence
Retains monarchy and slavery util 1888
1888: Brazil overthrows the monarchy and becomes a republic
Declared itself the Brazilian Empire
Did not overturn many hierarchies
E.g. maintained nobility
What happens next?
Regina Grafe, 'Latin America 1700-1870' in
The Cambridge Economic History of the Modern World
Removals of explicit hierarchies don't always have beneficial outcomes for those governed by those systems
Creating more vulnerabilities by removing protections
The Banana Industry: An example of development in the aftermath of change
With the invention steam ships and refrigeration, bananas could be exported to North America and Europe
American investors interested in expanding banana production
Two systems created
System 1
Caribbean
Small-holding/scale banana production
<--- Ex-slaves could get hold of land (previously belonging to Spaniards who had left and invested money elsewhere) and sell bananas to exporters
Once they had monopoly, they could control price and growth
People initially did very well by these businesses
Until it became a system in which people were subordinate to banana companies
System 2
<--- Companies acquire huge amounts of land and establish banana plantations
Pay wage, but hire those with little other choice (often imported from the Caribbean)
Often acquired land by promising to build infrastructure (also built by hired Caribbeans)
Led to the establishment of black nationalism and unions
Implications
Large-sclae foreign investment could not have occurred during the previous colonial system
The expansion of market in land led to concentration of landholding and increased inequality
Economic change interacted with earlier racial hierarchies
The power of capital was never absolute, facing much struggle and resistance
E.g. unions