The Atlantic World - Unit 8: Latin American Independence Movements and the Mexican Revolution

Indigenous people (Olmec, Aztec, Maya)

The main historical civilizations in South America

conquistadores

the original Spanish explorers that came from the first expeditions. They did a lot of bad stuff, but took down the Aztec’s by inciting discontent with their rule, killing their leader, and spreading disease

hegemony

Cultural, economic, and legal dominance of Europeans in Latin America

transculturation

the process of an in-group and marginalized groups interacting with each other and blending their culture’s together, with the characteristics of the dominant group’s culture generally persisting while being augmented by the others to make new branches of culture

mercantilism

An economic approach that values exports that are generally raw materials or cash crops to a mother nation. The mother nation bases its economy on generating goods from other nations that they would import

Teotihuacan, Tenochtitlan

two massive Latin American cities. The Spanish took control of Tenochtitlan and would eventually massacre the population

coercive features of the Aztec empire

The aztecs demanded taxes in the form of resources and humans to sacrifice for the groups that they conquered

peninsulares, creoles, and mestizos

the three main social groups in colonial Latin America that were seen as more "pure" because they had European blood in them

The creoles would grow discontent with Spanish rule in the 1700s since they felt they should have more power over the colonies

balance of power

The system in which the Aztecs would rule over their tributary states. This stable system was disrupted by the Spanish by calling into the question the legitimacy of the Aztec ruler's leadership

raw materials and institutions for their extraction

The immense amount of metals and environment ripe for growing cash crops in Latin America that demanded large

manufactured goods

goods that were created in Iberian colonies and sent back to the mother countries

Napoleon Bonaparte

The ruler of France after the French revolution. Invaded Spain and instated a king in his place. This invasion destabilized the rule of the crown in Latin America

Ferdinand VII

The king of Spain prior to Napoleon’s invasion of Spain. Abdicated his rule for Joseph Bonaparte, but later regained the throne after Napoleon lost control. He then attempted to regain control of Spanish American colonies that wanted independence through military campaigns but failed

Miguel Hidalgo

Creole priest in Mexico that wanted American born people (creoles, mestizos, indigenous) to unite and oppose the peninsulares without specifically opposing the systemic racism, but he wasn’t able to achieve that target when his rebellion took off because the lower classes turned on the creoles, which lost their support

Jose Morelos

Mestizo priest in Mexico with progressive stances. He wanted land distribution and social equality and was staunchly anti-racist. He didn’t really care about creoles, which created a more successful rebellion but still fell because he never gained the support of the Creoles

Spanish National Assembly

The Spanish government that formed in the absence of King Ferdinand, which drafted a constitution and forced Ferdinand to accept it upon his return. They were far more liberal and wanted more social equality and representative government

Spanish Liberal constitution of 1820

The official constitution that was previously drafted during opposition to Napoleon’s rule became officially instated after a rebellion against King Ferdinand, which called for things like voting rights and social equality

It was again received poorly because conservative Mexicans (mainly creoles) did not want the social order to change

Plan de Iguala

A reaction from peninsulares and creoles as a result of the Spanish 1820 Constitution, which called for an independent monarchy, creoles and peninsulares to still be at the top of the hierarchy, and an official religion of catholicism in Mexico. This plan would succeed when they fought back Spanish forces and gained independence, but it maintained the same social structures of white people in power and cultural structures like religion.

Antonio López de Santa Anna

The most powerful political figure in the early stages of independent Mexican history, becoming a prominent leader in an era where most leaders barely maintained power and governmental power was gained through private military strength

The Caste War of the Yucatán

A rebellion from the indigenous Maya people, temporarily becoming an independent state. The rebellion demonstrates how unstable and weak Mexico was during this period

Mexican Frontier lands

Because of the instability of Mexico, they could not maintain their northern border, which caused lots of settlements from US citizens to be built in these regions. These settlements lead to tensions and skirmishes that eventually caused Texas to declare independence and be subsumed into the US

Later, they also were forced to give up other ares like California and couldn’t really fight back because they were very unstable./

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

The treaty that ended the US Mexico war. It ceded lots of territory to the US and was negotiated because Mexican creoles thought that continuing the war would cause further instability, as opposed to the Mexican public who patriotically rallied behind the war.

The treaty represents another disconnect between social classes, and how Creoles in Mexico simply wanted to maintain the existing postcolonial system

Bourbon Reforms

A unified policy of modernization in Spanish America in the 1700s to increase control of the colonies and increase royal revenue. Introduced more royal officials, increased tax collection ability, and expanded major cash crop industries and trade

Angered the creoles beacsue it signaled a reduction in their power

core/fringe

Areas with high population like major cities that were heavily controlled by Iberian institutions and social hegemony, vs more rural areas that did not have as strict colonial control

King João

The king of Portugal. He escaped Portugal and went to Brazil after Spain and Portugal were invaded by France to avoid getting replaced by a Napoleon-appointed king like with what happened in Spain.

He established an economic trading hub in Rio de janeiro and attracted lots of elites, enforcing a strong colonial and monarchical system

Once he left he created a period of instability where elites felt upset about losing their status from when he was there. This discontent and instability eventually led to their independence

Popular sovereignty

The idea that a government’s power must come from the support of the people, a concept that justified independence in colonial Latin America

Legitimacy

the idea that a governing power is legitimate and rightful from the view of those governed. In Spanish America it was especially key because people began to question the legitimacy of Spain and Portugal when they were deposed and fled the country respectively

The Central Junta and caretaker juntas

A group of regional Spanish governments that opposed Napoleon’s rule formed into one central organization. They drafted a constitution that called for voting rights, representative government, and higher taxes on colonists. This drafted constitution backfired

Also, self-formed governments in Spanish American colonies that opposed colonial rule. They grew after the abdication of the thrown from Ferdinand VII because they gained the opportunity to question Spanish rule

The Grito

Refers to a specific moment where Miguel Hidalgo made a call to arms in Mexico, declaring that Americanos should rebel against white colonists (not creoles) in Mexico. This moment marked the beginning of the fight for independence

Americanos

People who were born in the colony (creoles, mestizos, indigenous people). Nativist ideology was based in uniting these groups and the term was a product of this ideology

Tupac Amaru II

A revolutionary leader in the Andes region that was discontent with Spanish abuses in mining, agriculture, and taxes. He was an example of rural uprisings

He wanted a unified front of all social classes against Spain but his revolt transformed into an attack against the upper classes and white people, and they eventually lost

Llaneros

Common Venezuelan farmers and rural folk. They were alienated and initially supported the crown during the first phase of the Venezuelan revolution because the Creoles treated them like shit, but when the revolutionaries promised better treatment and equality they decided to unite and win independence

Battle of Waterloo

The battle which marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the eventual end of Napoleon's rule over Spain, which signaled a return to the Spanish monarchy

Simón Bolívar

A wealthy Venezuelan Creole elite. He became a revolutionary leader following the declaration of Venezuelan independence as a result of the Napoleonic crisis, but they failed and he was exiled because the Creoles’ poor treatment of the llaneros alienated their biggest base for resistance. His ideas were shaped by his exile in Haiti where he experienced what occurred there.

After he returned, he gained support of the Llaneros and slaves which led to them successfully gaining independence, and he led victories for independence in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia too. He wanted to unify people for an equal society but he realized that his attempts to instate this equality were not working so he made turned more authoritarian

José de San Martín

An Argentinian independence leader that led battles for independence in Andes states (Argentina, Chile, Peru)

He did not push the same claims for radical social transformation as other leaders and was more of a pragmatic leader who simply wanted independence

Battle of Ayacucho

The battle in Peru that cemented Spain’s loss and Peru’s victory in their fight for independence. Was one of the last victories for independence and effectively signaled the end of Spanish colonial control in Spanish America

postcolonial

The idea that, even after independence, the same cultural norms, social structures, political conservatism, and economic systems governed new Latin American states

La Reforma

A historic period in Mexico during the 1850s–70s that focused on government reforms led by reformist liberals after previous unstable periods

They democratized the government and made it based on represented, elected officials

They also made separations between Church and state by taking away Church farmland and urban properties and not giving tax revenues to the Church

But, the government also forced indigenous people to sell their historic lands

This caused a lot of anger in rural areas because the Church provided lots of infrastructure for these regions, and for conservatives who did not want the system to change

Benito Juarez

The leader of an exiled liberal government after conservatives took over the capital in fear of progressive changes during la reforma. These two government had a civil war.

After winning, he became a democratically elected Mexican president. He set up a trade system that focused on foreign investment into infrastructure and an export-based economy, resulting in booming trade but also an increasing reliance on foreign nations, a trend that would continue later.

He also instated education reform by creating public schools run by the state instead of the church making schools

Ejidos

A communal area of indigenous land used for agriculture

During Juarez’s reign, they were confiscated for land reform with the intent of turning them into smaller farms, but in reality they simply led to indigenous land loss

European occupation of Veracruz and Emperor Maximilian

After the US Mexico war, Mexico could not repay its debts to foreign nations, so Britain, France, and Spain took over Veracruz to force them to pay their debts.

France also wanted to install a French monarch, but most Mexicans were very liberal and resisted the new government. With eventual US support, they defeated France and instated Juarez as the president

foreign investors, trade, loans and debt

A common theme in Mexico’s history where other nations got involved in their economy, fueling industrialization but also inequality as the wealth often concentrated in the hands of business owners and foreign owners instead of workers

These would also lead to high foreign debate that led to a debt default for Mexico and crushed their economy

Porfirio Diaz and the porfiriato

A Mexican leader from the late 1800s to early 1900s that led an authoritarian form of governance. He came to power by accusing the current president of violating the constitution, but when he came into power he would instate long term authoritarian rule in the belief it would aid the economy. As a result he would suppress the population, specifically indigenous voices and protests, and took over indigenous land to create large haciendas

He continued Juarez’s policies of encouraging foreign investment, and focused on export based industries to service other nations. He also continued developing infrastructure and put indigenous lands in the hands of private businesses

Overall, his policies increased wealth disparities and benefited the rich at the expense of the poor

Pan o palo

A policy from by Porfirio Diaz where he argued that you should either support him and be rewarded or oppose him and be silenced, representing his authoritarian rule.

Francisco Madero

The leader of a coalition that overthrew Porfirio Diaz but soon was assassinated

His group was unhappy with the inequality in Mexico during the porfiriato. Mexicans formed opposition groups to pursue political reform since they did not like the loss of land and exploitative labor conditions. The middle class wanted minor reforms, while the lower class wanted radical reforms for worker rights, land ownership, and education

Emiliano Zapata and the Zapatistas

A revolutionary leader after the Porfiriato that fought for land reform. He took control of large haciendas and redistributed them to local communities. He united with the Villistas to fight the Constitutionalists

He was murdered by Carranza and the Constitutionalists and became a martyr for unhappy Mexicans

Pancho Villa and the Villistas

A leader of the revolutionary group fighting for peasant and worker rights. They redistributed haciendas and joined up with the Zapatistas to fight the Constitutionalists

Vinustiano Carranza and the Constitutionalists

A revolutionary groups that wanted to reinstate democracy. They received military aid from the US which helped them win the civil war. They defeated a weak coalition between the Zapatistas and the Villistas and became the leading governing force that implemented the Constitution of 1917, following through with many of their promised democratic principles

Constitution of 1917

A new constitution in Mexico that revitalized a strong central government focused on prioritizing the wellbeing of the people

Included moves away from post-colonialism and toward independence like calling education a right, officially excluding the church from the state, and nationalizing the Mexican petroleum industry

Many did not like it because they felt he was either doing too much or not enough, leading to large-scale discontent

land reform

The process of seizing large haciendas and redistributing the land

Under Cardenas, they broke up large farms and gave them to peasants to create new eijdos, which was also seen as a form of justice for oppression

Under Porfirio Diaz, these lands were seized and given to wealthy private foreign~ investors

unions

Labor groups that work to strengthen worker rights. They grew stronger in during the post-revolutionary period because their cause became supported by Cardenas

Plutarco Calles and the National Revolutionary Party (PRN)

A major leader in the post-revolutionary period. He created a massive party that unified hundreds of other smaller parties to bring balance to a state that was unstable. It was based on revolutionary imagery and expanded to subsume all opposition groups until they had a monopoly on political power. It was later renamed under the presidency of Lazaro Cardenas

Lázaro Cárdenas

A leader who was given absolute trust form the Mexican people and controlled Mexican politics. Under his leadership, the government created thousands of new schools to support their nationalist identity and broke up large haciendas and gave them to peasants to support social justice

He didn’t change Mexico’s economic stances and increased their dependence on the US for exports. Because of this dependence, they suffered massively when the US experienced economic decline

The Party of the Institutionalized Revolution (PRI)

The party that controlled Mexican politics for most of the 1900s. They were initially very progressive and engaged in education, economic, and land reform for the people

Eventually, they would go back on many of these policies, encouraging privatization and reliance on foreign investment. They suppressed public discontent and grew more corrupt as they took worse care of the people (worse housing, water, and electricity services) and as inequality increased.

In the 80s, after an oil shock destroyed their economy and caused a debt default, they made later reforms to further increase privatization and did not support their people after the Mexico City earthquake, which weakened support and led to opposition groups. After another economic crisis in the 90s, they lost the election and their control on Mexican politics

cultural revolution and Mexicanization

A move from Cardenas’ government to create national pride through ideologies that supported the revolution in their thousands of newly built schools. The goal was to create a unique Mexican national identity instead of mirroring other nations, and they taught all about these values to unify the nation.

Import Substitution Industrialization

A policy that aimed to aid the economy through developing domestic industry. Mexico increased its domestic manufacturing of national goods like agricultural or raw products. The government set protection in the form of taxes and price caps to help these industries grow

They also nationalized the mining and petroleum industry and seized control of foreign-owned mines after there were worker strikes, a move to economic independence and a boost to his public appeal

nationalize

The process in which the government takes control of a sector that was previously controlled by private investors. Nationalization of industries became population under Cardenas’ policy of ISI in order to grow the strength of domestic production

IMF

An international bank that tried to rebuild Mexico’s economy. The US did not want to re-negotiate NAFDA so the IMF mediated and brokered NAFTA which encouraged privatization in Mexico.

The Mexican people didn’t like it because it increased their dependence on foreign industries and didn’t help other nations and also led to exploitation from other major nations like the US

privatization

The process of transforming sectors of an economy from government-backed to based in private investment

Was prominent during the NAFDA era when the government reduced its control in favor of foreign private companies

the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD)

A leftist party that formed as an opposition group to the PRI in the late 20th century. It worked to defend indigenous rights and social equality

National Action Party (PAN)

a conservative Mexican party that rose to prominence in early 2000s after they won the election over the PRI, which had historically dominated Mexican politics. The PRI grew out of the favor with the Mexican public because they failed to deliver on promises of social welfare and Mexico was economically receding.

Although they promised reforms, they would continue many of the same economic policies as the PRI

Super Barrio

A real life “superhero” that popped up in Mexico after the Mexico city earthquake. He became prominent during times of economic instability in Mexico and focused on housing issues and inequality

undocumented workers

Workers that come to the US without going through official US immigration processes, often going into agriculture, paid low wages, and coming to provide a better life for their family or escape cartel violence

USMCA/NAFTA

Trade agreements with the US that incentivized increased foreign presence in Mexican markets.

These were not beneficial because they meant that other rich companies from the US got to build maquiladores (factories for export) that did not provide good wages for the people living in Mexico.

Moreover, local businesses in Mexico could not compete with American mega-corporations and were pushed out

It also allowed the US to expand their business influence in Mexico. It was later reformed to another trade agreement that exists today

maquiladoras

Factories built in Mexico following NAFDA and the USMCA that were based on exports to the US. They did not provide good wages and exploited the Mexican people

Starbucks, McDonalds, and Staples

Companies that came into Mexico. They represent how Mexico has been taken over by foreign companies from the US and became more privatized with a lesser focus on domestic industry or national culture

The Zapatista Army of National Liberation and The Other Campaign

A militant organization that formed as a result of discontent with the PRI. It is focused on an ideology of indigenous protection, land reform, and economic justice

They launched a program in 2006 to protest mainstream political parties. They toured Mexico and looked to communities to see how they could make reforms

drug trafficking and narcocorridos

The massively destabilizing force of cartel violence is fueled by this industry

There is a genre of music that idolizes this industry and its violent actions

commercial farms/subsistence farms

The contrasting types of farms in Mexico

One is comprised of massive farms that are export-based, growing the most profitable crops

The other is farms that are for local communities and grow more essential foods