Nineteenth Century ‘Latin America’ In Michel Gobat’s The Invention of the Latin America: A Transnational History of Anti-Imperialism, Democracy, and Race, he discusses the social construction of the term Latin America in the 19th century. The term Latin America was used to push against United States expansionism and European imperialism. The emergence of ‘Latin America’ is tied to a race, a democratic-republican government and linked to the idea of modernity, and the pushback against the United States. To be Latin America is to be modern, speak a romantic language, have Iberian ties and to embrace Roman Catholicism. By calling this specific geographical part of the world Latin is to imply the French imperialism within it. “Latin” is linked to this idea of “whiteness”, this means modernity that will allow Latin Americans to compete with the Anglo Saxon race. an argument for coining this term is because the people of current Latin America did not want to call the land America because of it’s association with the United States. They also did not want to call it just Latin because that implies that it is only associated with the French, instead they combined both to incorporate the two different words into one meaning. The Latin American identity also rose with the democratic, republican, and anti-colonial political culture that was shared in both North and South America. Brazil and Haiti are not …show more content…
The sources that are used in Michel Gobat’s The Invention of the Latin America: A Transnational History of Anti-Imperialism, Democracy, and Race are mostly secondary sources. The primary sources he uses are books, printed documents written by elites, government documents, treaties, records, and newspaper. He uses many sources that are of international relations on a global scale in order to get the sense of what Latin America was like before it was officially known as Latin
Models for post-revolutionary Latin American government are born of the complex economic and social realities of 17th and 18th century Europe. From the momentum of the Enlightenment came major political rebellions of the elite class against entrenched national monarchies and systems of power. Within this time period of elitist revolt and intensive political restructuring, the fundamental basis for both liberal and conservative ideology was driven deep into Latin American soil. However, as neither ideology sought to fulfill or even recognize the needs or rights of mestizo people under government rule, the initial liberal doctrine pervading Latin American nations perpetuated racism and economic exploitation, and paved the way for all-consuming, cultural wars in the centuries to come.
The Latino community is a very varied community each with its own unique past and circumstances. In the book Harvest of Empire by Juan Gonzalez the readers can learn and appreciate some of the experiences and history that the different Latino groups had. This book does this with a special emphasis on immigration trends. These points of emphasis of the book are explained thoroughly in the identification of the key points, the explanation of the intersection of race, ethnicity, and class, in addition to the overall evaluation of the book.
Time and rules have been transforming countries in many ways; especially, in the 1850’s and the 1920’s, when liberals were firmly in control across Latin American region. Liberalism can be defined as a dominant political philosophy in which almost every Latin American country was affected. A sense of progress over tradition, reason over faith, and free market over government control. Although each country was different, all liberals pursued similar policies. They emphasize on legal equality for all citizens, progress, free trade, anti-slavery, and removing power from church. Liberals declared promising changes for Latin American’s future. But Latin America had a stronger hierarchical society with more labor systems, nothing compare to the United States societies. Liberals weren’t good for Latin America. What I mean by “good” is the creation of a turning point or some type of contribution towards success. I define “good” as beneficial or helpful. The Latin American economy was stagnant between 1820 and 1850 because of independence wars, transportation and the recreation of facilities. I describe this era as, “the era when Latin America when off road”.
Burns, E. B., & Charlip, J. A. (2007). Latin America: an interpretive history (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Bethell, Leslie. The Cambridge History of Latin America Vol. III. Cambridge University Press, London, England. 1985.
Keen, Benjamin. Latin American civilization: History and society, 1492 to the present. Boulder: Westview P, 1986.
Peeler, John A. Latin American Democracies. Chapel Hill, NC and London: The University of North Carolina Press, 1985. Print.
The historian Ronn Pineo wrote “Beginning in the 1980s nearly all of Latin America began to take part in a great experiment, the adoption of capitalist free market economic policies.” (1) This great experiment began with the promotion of democracy and free market that promised a better future for Latin America. Neoliberalism, the economic ideology that promotes free-market capitalism, laid the foundation for many of the US military interventions and economic policies that caused a dramatic transformation of Latin America. This promise of a “democratic” government came from a policy initiative labeled as polyarchy. Polyarchy is “ a system in which a small group governs and mass participation in decision making is limited to choosing leaders in elections that are carefully managed by competing elites” (Lecture: Polyarchy and Resistance). It, however, was a sales pitch to continue Latin America’s subordinate position in to the global market. As a result, much of Latin America, by the late 1980 through the early 1990s, transitioned into this form of “democracy”. Consequently, Latin America suffered and still suffers today from underdevelopment, high levels of socioeconomic inequality, and immigration. Globalization of capital, off-shore production, and new technologies have created structural barriers and have
Galeano, Eduardo. Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent. Translated by Cedric Belfrage. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1997.
Burns, E. B., & Charlip, J. A. (2007). Latin America: an interpretive history (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Mignolo, W. D. (2005). The Idea of Latin America (pp. 1-94). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Mignolo, W. D. (2005). The Idea of Latin America (pp. 1-94). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Burns, Bradford E. Latin America: A Concise Interpretive History. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2002.
Colonial Latin American society during the 16th and 17th was undergoing many changes. Society was beginning to form lasting institutions and a well defined culture emerged out of it. The Spanish Crown was now beginning to exert more control over their colonies and the Catholic Church was solidifying its place atop an already highly religious society. The Crown’s new found control would last until the independence of the colonies and the Church influence lasts in those societies up until this very day.
Scholars have debated not only the nature of Iberian colonialism, but also the impact that independence had on the people of Latin America. Historian Jaime E. Rodriguez said that, “The emancipation of [Latin America] did not merely consist of separation from the mother country, as in the case of the United States. It also destroyed a vast and responsive social, political, and economic system that functioned well despite many imperfections.” I believe that when independence emerged in Latin America, it was a positive force. However, as time progressed, it indeed does cause conflict.