The Consolidation of Latin America

1830-1920

Part III

Argentina:
The Port and the Nation

The economy of Argentina was divided between the commercial port of Buenos Aires and pampas and the surrounding territories.

The United Provinces of
Rio de la Plata

The United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata declared independence in 1816, but did not stay together very long.

Liberal efforts to create a strong central government provoked a federalist reaction which gained power in 1831 under Juan Manuel de Rosas.

Weakness and the Gauchos

A weak central government and local autonomy followed that favored the merchants of Buenos Aires and the surrounding ranchers called gauchos.

Campaigns against the Indians opened new lands in the south.

Rosas ruled in a populist, authoritarian manner and exiled the opponents.

The Argentine Republic

Liberals and regional caudillos joined to overthrow Rosas in 1852.

After a confused decade of political turmoil opponents compromised to create a unified republic called the Argentine Republic.

Domingo F. Sarmiento

Between 1862 and 1890 Domingo F. Sarmiento and other able leaders initiated wide political and economic reforms.

Results of Sarmiento’s Reforms

Political stability brought foreign investment; a great boost in exports brought prosperity.

The population tripled as many European immigrants came to take advantage of the good times.

Increased revenues allowed infrastructure development.

National unity and pride grew after a successful war against Paraguay and the defeat of the southern Indians.

The Brazilian Empire

Many problems were present behind Brazil's facade of 19th-century political stability.

Pedro I issued a liberal constitution in 1824 but still acted as an autocrat.

He was forced to abdicate in 1831; regents then ran the country in the name of his young son Pedro II - he came to power in 1840 - in what really was an experiment in republican government.

Monarchy vs Republic

Internal disputes between liberals and conservatives were complicated by arguments for and against the monarchy.

Fazendas

The development of coffee as an export crop brought economic resurgence.

Coffee estates, called fazendas spread into the Brazilian interior between 1840 and 1860 and caused an intensification of slavery.

The Abolition of Slavery

The abolitionist movement gained strength, and slaves increased their resistance to their status.

Slavery was abolished in 1888.

New political currents included the growth of urban and middle class groups less tied to landholding and slavery, and the arrival of thousands of European immigrants reduced dependence on slaves.

Enter the Republic

Support for the monarchy waned.

A long war against Paraguay brought the military into politics, and state quarrels with the church drew them into the opposition.

Planters turned away from slavery to positivist ideas.

The Republican Party, formed in 1871, won wide support and a coup replaced the monarchy by a republic in 1889.

However, Social and political problems caused by modernization remained unresolved.

Societies in Search of Themselves

Tension remained in cultural life between European and American influences, and between elite and folk ways.

Social change for the masses and for women came slowly.

Cultural Expression after Independence

Independence opened up Latin America to direct influence from other European nations.

The elite followed Europe's examples in intellectual and artistic life.

In the 1830s romanticism became important and turned interest to Indians and local customs.

Positivism

By the 1870s the focus changed; a new realism came to the arts and literature along with the ideas of positivism (Auguste Comte’s philosophy that stressed observation and scientific approaches to the problems of society)

Mass culture was not affected by elite trends; traditional forms flourished but were ignored by most of the elite.

Old Patterns of Gender, Class, and Race

Women, despite participation in the revolutions, gained little ground during the 19th century.

They continued as wives and mothers under the authority of males; they could not vote or hold office.

Lower class women had more economic and personal freedom, but otherwise shared in subordination.

Woman’s Rights

Public education did become more open to women to prepare them for more enlightened roles in the home.

New occupational opportunities opened for women in teaching.

Educated women, by the end of the century, actively demanded increased rights.

Natives and Former Slaves

Most of the new nations legally ended the society of castes where status depended upon color and ethnicity.

In reality, very little changed for Indians and former slaves.

The expansion of the export economy in many ways intensified old patterns.

Personal liberties were sacrificed to economic growth.

Control by only a few

Control of land, politics, and the economy was dominated by a small, white, Creole elite.

Latin America entered the 1880s as a predominantly agrarian group of nations with rigid social structures, dependent on the world market.


	The economy of Argentina was divided between the commercial port of Buenos Aires and pampas and the surrounding territories.


	The United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata declared independence in 1816, but did not stay together very long.

	Liberal efforts to create a strong central government provoked a federalist reaction which gained power in 1831 under Juan Manuel de Rosas.


	A weak central government and local autonomy followed that favored the merchants of Buenos Aires and the surrounding ranchers called gauchos.
	Campaigns against the Indians opened new lands in the south.
	Rosas ruled in a populist, authoritarian manner and exiled the opponents.


	Liberals and regional caudillos joined to overthrow Rosas in 1852.
	After a confused decade of political turmoil opponents compromised to create a unified republic called the Argentine Republic.


	Between 1862 and 1890 Domingo F. Sarmiento and other able leaders initiated wide political and economic reforms.


	Political stability brought foreign investment; a great boost in exports brought prosperity.
	The population tripled as many European immigrants came to take advantage of the good times.
	Increased revenues allowed infrastructure development.
	National unity and pride grew after a successful war against Paraguay and the defeat of the southern Indians.


	Many problems were present behind Brazil's facade of 19th-century political stability.
	Pedro I issued a liberal constitution in 1824 but still acted as an autocrat.
	He was forced to abdicate in 1831; regents then ran the country in the name of his young son Pedro II - he came to power in 1840 - in what really was an experiment in republican government.


	Internal disputes between liberals and conservatives were complicated by arguments for and against the monarchy.


	The development of coffee as an export crop brought economic resurgence.
	Coffee estates, called fazendas spread into the Brazilian interior between 1840 and 1860 and caused an intensification of slavery.


	The abolitionist movement gained strength, and slaves increased their resistance to their status.
	Slavery was abolished in 1888.
	New political currents included the growth of urban and middle class groups less tied to landholding and slavery, and the arrival of thousands of European immigrants reduced dependence on slaves.


	Support for the monarchy waned.
	A long war against Paraguay brought the military into politics, and state quarrels with the church drew them into the opposition.
	Planters turned away from slavery to positivist ideas.
	The Republican Party, formed in 1871, won wide support and a coup replaced the monarchy by a republic in 1889.
	However, Social and political problems caused by modernization remained unresolved.


	Tension remained in cultural life between European and American influences, and between elite and folk ways.
	Social change for the masses and for women came slowly.


	Independence opened up Latin America to direct influence from other European nations.
	The elite followed Europe's examples in intellectual and artistic life.
	In the 1830s romanticism became important and turned interest to Indians and local customs.


	By the 1870s the focus changed; a new realism came to the arts and literature along with the ideas of positivism (Auguste Comte’s philosophy that stressed observation and scientific approaches to the problems of society)
	Mass culture was not affected by elite trends; traditional forms flourished but were ignored by most of the elite.


	Women, despite participation in the revolutions, gained little ground during the 19th century.

	They continued as wives and mothers under the authority of males; they could not vote or hold office.
	Lower class women had more economic and personal freedom, but otherwise shared in subordination.


	Public education did become more open to women to prepare them for more enlightened roles in the home.
	New occupational opportunities opened for women in teaching.
	Educated women, by the end of the century, actively demanded increased rights.


	Most of the new nations legally ended the society of castes where status depended upon color and ethnicity.
		In reality, very little changed for Indians and former slaves.
		The expansion of the export economy in many ways intensified old patterns.
	Personal liberties were sacrificed to economic growth.


	Control of land, politics, and the economy was dominated by a small, white, Creole elite.
	Latin America entered the 1880s as a predominantly agrarian group of nations with rigid social structures, dependent on the world market.