Crash Course World History: Revolution and Independence in Latin America

Introduction

• Presented by John Green.
• Focus on revolutions and independence in Latin America.
• Challenges include:
  • Large and diverse region.
  • Influences of Napoleon.
  • Not all revolutions were revolutionary.

Pre-Independence Latin America

• Three Controlling Institutions:

  1. Spanish (or Portuguese) Crown
     • Main goal: Revenue through a 20% tax on gold, the Royal Fifth.
     • Efficient government administration.
  2. Catholic Church
     • Controlled daily life, time, and enforced a seven-day workweek.
  3. Patriarchy
     • Husbands had control over wives.
     • Property and purity concerns impacted women's rights.
     • Example: Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, a talented woman restricted by patriarchy.

• Transculturation

  • Cultural blending: Whites (peninsulares and creoles), Native Americans, and African slaves.
  • Influences seen in Christianity, food, music, and fashion.

• Racial Diversity and Hierarchy

  • Four racial categories: White, Black, Mestizo, and Mulatto.
  • Mixed-race individuals could become legally white through Gracias al Sacar.

Independence Movements

Brazil

• Independence from Portugal:
  • Portuguese royal family moved to Brazil in 1807 due to Napoleon.
  • In 1822, Brazil declared an independent constitutional monarchy under King Pedro.
  • Maintained social hierarchy with plantation owners on top.
  • Last New World country to abolish slavery in 1888.

Mexico

• Peasant Uprisings and Creole Influence:
  • Triggered by Napoleon's appointment of his brother as Spanish king in 1808.
  • Two peasant uprisings led by priests (Hidalgo and Moreles).
  • 1820: Spain's liberal revolution led Mexican elites to join Creoles for independence.
  • Independence achieved, but did not benefit peasants.
  • Iturbide became King, later overthrown for a republic.

Venezuela

• Simón Bolívar's Leadership:
  • Revolutionaries formed a junta in Caracas, but faced resistance from llaneros.
  • Bolívar united class divisions with a South American identity.
  • Captured Bogotá, Caracas, and Quito by 1822.
  • José de San Martín key in defeating Spanish at Lima.

Consequences of Independence

• Enshrined Popular Sovereignty

  • Latin America free from permanent European control by 1825.

• Modern Themes

  • Independence movements prefigured the 19th-century European nation-state development.
  • Introduced multiculturalism.

• Limitations and Issues

  • Social hierarchy and Church power persisted.
  • Strong patriarchy; women gained voting rights late (Mexico in 1953, Peru in 1955).
  • Independence wars were long, bloody, and destabilizing.
  • Continued military dictatorships.

Conclusion

• Freedom and revolution's meanings vary by context.
• Latin American independence shaped modern political and social structures but retained many inequalities.