Latin American Independence Essays (737 words) - Americas

Latin American Independence Latin American Independence The Spanish amassed great wealth and power in their American colonies through oppression, slavery and racism. An amazing variety of classes developed and created a social gap in the people. At the turn of the nineteenth century, the American-born population began to advance towards independence. The process did not happen over night. Instead, it developed slowly due to social, political, ethnic, and economic factors, and the often bloody war for independence raged for fifteen years. Enlightenment radically altered the ideas of people in Europe and America. Ideas that challenged old truths began to develop; ideas that praised individual rights such as the notion that ultimate authority in society resides with the people, not with the king, or that all people are created equal in nature and possess equal rights. The French and American revolutions were strongly influenced by these new, bold beliefs. Inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment and the wars for independence in other parts of the globe, Latin American gained momentum to began their own revolution. America was a mixing of many different races and each caste held specific rights and limitations. Natural born Spanish had access to the advantages and held the majority of power. The wealthy Creoles were able to ascend to positions of authority, but were always a step down the social ladder from the natural Spanish. Social inequality in America caused tension among the native population. When Spain, in an attempt to centralize their administration (spurred by the Enlightenment), began replacing Creoles with Spaniards in judicial and legislative offices, the tension was escalated even further. This challenged the position and comfort of wealthy Creoles, and motivated them to support independence. The antagonism and bitter feelings between American Creaoles and those Spaniards born in the Iberian Peninsula who came to Latin America, helped ignite the emotional tinderbox that flared in 1810. (Clayton & Conniff, 20) Creole unrest was widespread when Napoleon invaded Spain and Portugal in 1807. For the Latin American revolution, the timing could not have been better. The monarchs were disposed and Napoleon installed his brother as king. Spanish rebels fought the illegitimate Bonaparte in a civil war for six years. This left the colonies isolated and they rejected the authority of Spain. As a solution, they created local governments, of juntas, primarily filled with Creoles to rule in the kings absence. Dissatisfaction had been given ideological form by the Enlightenment, awhile the crown and peninsulares had thoroughly antagonized Creoles for decades by denying them what they considered their legitimate aspirations. Napoleons invasions of Spain, by suspending colonial loyalty to the Spanish sate, touched off the fuse to the powder keg. (Clayton & Conniff, 22) Independence took different courses between regions. Some, such as Brazil, were relatively peaceful, but others, such as Peru and Mexico, were bloody. The wars for independence distinguished many brave and courageous soldiers. The names of patriots such as Bolivar, Hidalgo, San Martin, and Artigas among many others, inspire pride in the Latin America. After the revolutions began, success did not come smoothly. Counterrevolutions took back many of the initial successes from the patriots, but tenacity and devotion finally, after fifteen years, won Latin America its freedom. Independence brought new problems and challenges. The struggle to create new legitimate forms of government created differences, and political turmoil created confusion and tension. The church was attacked for being conservative and suffocating. Revolutionaries wanted to take the churches power and lands. This created clearly defined battle lines that caused enduring problems for the new nations. One of the basic ideals of the revolution was freed for all people, but this created unexpected problems. Tributes were eliminated and Indians were given rights as citizens, but the national governments quickly realized they depended on the income obtained from the tributes. Thus, the tribute was restored. The revolutionaries also sought to give the Indians freedom, and they gave them individual property rights. The Indians who were not familiar with private ownership were easily taken advantaged. As a result of freedom and the end of the communal system, many Indians were left without protection and they slid even further down the economic ladder. Political disorder and powerful leaders attempting to regulate authority marked the period

Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress Essay Example

Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress Essay Example Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress Paper Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress Paper Spain, being recently unified, wanted spices and gold. The gold to them could purchase anything. So they offered Christopher Columbus ten percent of the profit, if he would bring back gold and spices. Christopher Columbus was sent to Asia with three ships: the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Columbus sailed for thirty-three days not sighting land. It wasn’t until early October of 1492 that he and his crew finally landed. He supposedly was the first to sight land and received a ten thousand maravedis as his reward. It was not him, but a member of his crew who first sighted land, Rodrigo. But Columbus got the credit. As Columbus and his crew approached the island, they were greeted by the native inhabitants of the island. The natives were the Arawak Indians, and the island they were on was the Bahama Islands. The Arawaks gave them food, water, and incredible gifts. Columbus took some of the natives as prisoners so they could show him where the gold was. They took him to Hispaniola. Hispaniola, as Columbus reported, was beautiful, fertile, filled with gold and other metals. Columbus had promised Spain and investors gold, but there wasn’t much gold to be found. He ordered that Indians ages fourteen and over to collect gold. After the Indians collected the amount of gold required, they were given copper token necklaces to prove that they had collected the gold. Later, it was obvious that no more gold was left to collect, so the Indians were taken to work on estates. They worked hard and many died. None of the original Arawaks were left on the Bahama Islands. Bartolome de las Casas transcribed Columbus’s log. He wrote a multivolume History of the Indies. He wrote that the Indians had no temple, if not a religion. Las Casas writes of how the Spaniards were becoming more conceited as the days passed. The Spaniards killed for fun. They considered themselves to on top of the world. After collecting gold for about 6-8 months, the gold was melted. This was such hard labor, that many died. According to Casas, over three million died. The women were so malnourished that they could not produce milk for their babies. The babies were often killed out of the mother’s desperation. The men worked so hard in the mines, stressed killed them. Samuel Eliot Morison wrote that we shouldn’t accept the atrocities so easily, but to not make a big deal about it either, because it was in the past. It didn’t happen to us in the present. No point in grieving for the victims or judging the villains, because it won’t make a difference. It’s much easier to bury the truth than hide it. Columbus did it to the Arawaks, and others did the same. Such as Cortes to the Aztecs, and Pizarro to the Incas. They all took advantage of the natives and abused everything they received. Were these massacres really necessary for the progression of the human race? Of course this question can easily be debated, but remember the key word, necessary. All the gold and silver Spain received, it didn’t make it richer, but a little more powerful in the combat area. What was the point of being a little stronger if you lost the wars to come? Everything became worse than it was before. Even though Columbus referred to the natives as Indians, we do so because there is the possibility that they originated from Asia. Indians have become more evolved. Around the time of Christ, there was a culture of Indians, also known as Moundbuilders. They built many gigantic sculptures. Many Indian cultures had their own laws, poetry, and tales to tell on to future generations. The main point being this: is it right for someone to take another’s life just to progress in life and tell the story as if they were the heroes?