Conquest, Colonial Order, and Forging New Nations (Latin American History)

Achievements of Early Americans

• Traditional view on peopling of the hemisphere (via the Bering Strait) has been revised: evidence extends back to at least 10{,}000 ext{ BCE} or earlier, with multiple routes including coastal migration by boats. Migration across the hemisphere occurred over thousands of years and ceased before Columbus arrived.
• Early American civilizations arose in two major regions: Mesoamerica (now Mexico) and the Andean region.
• Social evolution from nomadic to complex settled societies, including:
  • Nomadic: hunting, fishing, foraging.
  • Semisedentary: limited slash-and-burn agriculture.
  • Sedentary: permanent settlements with domesticated crops/animals.
  • Chiefdoms: larger, more complex societies.
  • Cities and empires: monumental architecture, elites, artisans, armies, markets, division of labor, mythologies, priesthoods.
• Core diet developments across regions (core diets still eaten today):
  • Mesoamerica: ext{corn} supplemented by beans, squash, and chiles.
  • Andes: ext{potatoes}.
  • Caribbean and coastal lowlands: ext{manioc}.
• Fully sedentary communities existed by around 3000 ext{ BCE}.
• Material culture: pottery begins as containers, later ritual use; household objects display artistry.
• Domestication patterns: relatively few animals domesticated compared to Eurasia; no wheeled transport; labor/transport primarily human-powered.
• Caral (Norte Chico) in the Supe Valley, ~3000 ext{ BCE}, is regarded as the earliest city or set of cities in the Americas; evidence of agricultural surplus and organized labor (forcible or cooperative) for monumental projects.
  • Caral shows complex urban planning and possible religious/political authority to mobilize labor.
• Table 10.1 highlights early milestones (selected):
  • As early as 30{,}000 ext{ BCE}: first human crossings from Asia (continuing until ca. 15{,}000 ext{ BCE}).
  • 10{,}000 ext{–}8000 ext{ BCE}: Mesoamerica domestication (gourds as containers).
  • 7500 ext{ BCE}: Pacific South America evidence of seafood consumption.
  • 4000 ext{ BCE}: South America cotton domesticated (Peru).
  • 3800 ext{ BCE}: potato domesticated (Peru).
  • 3350 ext{ BCE}: corn domesticated (Mesoamerica).
  • 3000 ext{–}2000 ext{ BCE}: pottery; first human figurines (Peru and Ecuador).
  • 2700 ext{–}2000 ext{ BCE}: Caral—first city.
  • 2000 ext{ BCE}: domestication of llamas and alpacas (Andes).
• Olmec civilization (Gulf of Mexico) served as a ceremonial/hearth of later Mesoamerican civilizations, notable for large stone sculptures and transporting stones over long distances; laid groundwork for calendar, mathematics, incipient writing, and the ball game.
• Chavín de Huántar (Peru) served as a ritual center with long-distance trade evidenced by artifacts from hundreds of miles away; long-distance exchange linked lowland/jungle and highlands.
• Teotihuacán (near modern Mexico City) flourished 100 ext{ BCE} ext{ to } 250 ext{ CE}; by 500 ext{ CE} perhaps ~150{,}000 inhabitants; monumental Avenue of the Dead, Pyramid of the Sun, and Pyramid of the Moon; influential as a trade/arts center.
• Maya Civilization (Classic period: 200 ext{–}900 ext{ CE}) in northern Guatemala and southern Mexico; network of city-states frequently at war; sophisticated writing; calendrics; some cities collapsed around 900 ext{ CE} potentially due to environmental pressures, overpopulation, drought, and warfare, though some sites like Mitla and Mayapán persisted; Tihuanaku (Bolivia) shows similar pre-Columbian complexity and collapse clues due to drought/tribute issues.
• In the Andes, the Inca Empire expanded from Ecuador to northern Chile by the 14th century, establishing a direct governance model and extensive road/administrative networks. The Aztecs (Mexica) built a theocratic empire centered on Tenochtitlán; by 1500 the city held ~200{,}000 inhabitants, with monumental public works.
• In the Amazon, evidence now supports sophisticated civilizations with urban planning and vast networks, including ancient ditch systems and roads; Heckenberger’s fieldwork with the Kuikuro along the Xingu River uncovered a long-occupied landscape featuring walled settlements and dark earth (terra preta) indicating intensive human management; ancestral towns may have supported population densities far higher than today and extensive trade networks.
• Columbus’s arrival brought a vast array of languages (est. ~2{,}000 languages) and peoples; precolonial diversity was immense, with a wide spectrum of sociopolitical organizations across the hemisphere that Spaniards encountered.
• The broader takeaway: pre-Columbian Latin America hosted multiple, sophisticated civilizations with varied governance, economies, and cultures that informed the larger story of humankind.

Conquest and Colonial Order

• The encounter of the Iberian world with the Americas followed a brutal, four-stage pattern: Caribbean, Mexico, Peru, and beyond, lasting decades and long subjugating native populations.
• The encounter was linked to Iberian reconquest efforts and the fall of Granada in 1492, the same year Columbus set sail.
• Superior weaponry and disease, allied with native rivalries and strategic partnerships, enabled rapid European conquest.
• Caribbean phase (1492–ca. 1500s): Hispaniola established in 1493; the Caribbean center became the hub for further exploration.
• Mexico phase: 1519–1521 Cortés encroaches into Tenochtitlán via alliances with subjugated peoples; Moctezuma II captured; fall of the Aztec Empire.
• Peru phase: Francisco Pizarro’s 1532–1533 campaigns against the Inca culminate in the capture of Cuzco and the fall of the Inca Empire; the Spaniards used strategic alliances and exploited civil strife within the Inca realm.
• Brazil: Initial discovery by Pedro Álvares Cabral (1500); early colonization focused on sugar and later gold discoveries (Ouro Preto) in the late 17th century; by contrast, there were few immediate civilizations to conquer in early Brazil.
• The conquest was accompanied by cultural and religious change: the destruction of native temples, suppression of indigenous religions, and suppression of Mayan writing; the Aztec, Inca, and other rulers were killed or deposed, leaving social and political collapse in the wake.
• Demographic collapse: Indigenous populations plummeted, with estimates around a dramatic decline—often cited as around 85–90% in some regions—due to disease, violence, and social disruption.
• The colonial era saw the consolidation of wealth and power in the hands of European (peninsular) elites and colonial church institutions; labor systems, religious institutions, and governance were heavily shaped by the Catholic Church and its orders.

Colonial Society: Economy, Governance, Religion

• The colonial economy centered on mining (especially precious metals) and plantation agriculture (sugar, later other crops) with a heavy emphasis on extractive and export-oriented activity.
• The Iberian Crown’s central aim: extract wealth via precious metals, and later diverse commodities; the Crown monopolized trade and extracted a fixed share of precious metals (a fifth) for itself.
• The slave system: Africans and their descendants were forced into labor on plantations and in mines; long distances and forced labor led to severe downturns in populations and forced community formation and resistance later on.
• Slavery and the African diaspora: an estimated 12–15 million Africans transported; formation of quilombos (freed slave communities) such as Palmares (Brazil) that resisted for extended periods; free black communities arose elsewhere along the Pacific coast of Colombia.
• Indigenous labor and land tenure: colonial regimes gathered indigenous people into pueblos de indios (Indian towns) to control labor, tributes, and Christianization; land tenure and forced labor were central to the colonial economy.
• Demographic and cultural transformation: the mixing of populations produced mestizaje; religious and educational institutions were the primary avenues for shaping social life.
• The Catholic Church emerged as the largest landholder and financial power in the colonies; it exercised control over education, marriage, and cemeteries, and enjoyed a tax revenue stream (tithes).
• Reductions and missionary activity: Jesuits in parts of the Americas established reductions (e.g., in Paraguay) where Guaraní communities lived under Jesuit governance, learned crafts, and produced goods; these reductions protected indigenous people from predatory colonists but also sought to pacify and control indigenous life.
• The church and religious orders built a large architectural footprint in colonial cities (e.g., Quito’s center; Jesuit churches; Franciscan sites); religious orders were the key agents for education and social welfare (hospitals, schools).
• Notable defenders of indigenous people within the church included Bartolomé de Las Casas (Dominican) who advocated for indigenous rights and contributed to the New Laws of the Indies (1542); António Vieira (Jesuit) in Brazil; later Jesuit reductions in Paraguay offered a controversial, yet humane, model of indigenous life under religious governance.
• Reductions (Paraguay): around thirty reductions; life organized around a strict daily schedule; residents learned crafts and music; the Jesuits protected the indigenous from predatory colonists; these reductions endured until the 1760s.

Proto-globalization and the Columbian Exchange

• The encounter set off a broader expansion of global trade, often called proto-globalization, linking the Atlantic via new maritime routes to Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
• The Columbian Exchange describes the reciprocal transfer of crops, animals, and diseases between the Americas and the Old World.
• From the Old World to the Americas: domesticated animals and crops such as horses, cows, pigs, sheep/goats, chickens; rice and wheat; citrus; grapes; onions; turnips; beets; apples; bananas; sugar; cacao; copper; tobacco; etc.
• From the Americas to the Old World: major crops like maize (corn), potatoes, beans, tomatoes, peppers, manioc; cacao; cotton; tobacco; and other goods.
• Diseases: the exchange included devastating diseases to which indigenous peoples had no immunity (e.g., smallpox, measles, etc.); other diseases traveled back and forth over time (e.g., syphilis in the reverse direction).
• The exchange reshaped diets, economies, and population patterns globally, and helped fuel a globalized trading system centered on European imperial markets.
• The period also featured the early globalization of maritime trade networks, driven by Spanish and Portuguese expansion and later European rivals.
• The 18th century Bourbon reforms attempted to tighten administration in the colonies and reassert control over colonial trade, while enriching the Crown and reconfiguring the power balance among peninsulares and criollos (native-born whites).

The Late Colonial Period and Reform Efforts

• The 17th–18th centuries saw European powers contesting for influence in the Americas; Bourbon reforms (in the Spanish Empire) aimed to strengthen centralized control, increase tax revenues, expand public works, and curb church power; Portugal implemented similar reforms in its possessions.
• Trade restrictions gradually relaxed under the Crown’s control, but trade still largely occurred through designated ports; local governance remained top-down: Council of the Indies (Spain) → viceroys (Lima, Mexico City) → audiencias → municipalities; peninsulares (Spaniards born in Europe) dominated upper levels; criollos (American-born people of European descent) were common at lower levels.
• The colonial system culminated in a long period of relative stability but with social and economic tensions brewing under the surface, including resentment among criollo elites who felt excluded from upper-level governance.
• The Bourbon reforms spurred a new sense of local nationalism and facilitated liberal ideas, setting the stage for independence movements in the early 19th century.
• The social and economic order in the colonial period left lasting legacies: a top-down political culture, strong church influence, and race/ethnic hierarchies that persisted long after independence.

The Nineteenth-Century Struggles: Independence, Order, and Caudillos

• Independence movements erupted across the region after Napoleon’s collapse of the Iberian monarchies (1808–1814). Local elites refused recognition of French rule and formed militias to challenge Spanish and Portuguese authority.
• Mexico, Central America, and much of South America pursued separate paths to independence; Brazil moved toward independence with a monarchical system under Pedro I in 1822 after the royal court fled to Rio de Janeiro during the Napoleonic era.
• By 1825, most Latin American nations had achieved independence, establishing new political orders that fused liberal and conservative elements.
• The initial period of independence did not produce stable, egalitarian democracies for the majority; rather, it produced durable elite rule and the emergence of caudillos—strong men who commanded loyal followers and controlled politics across much of the region.
  • Examples: Antonio López de Santa Anna (Mexico), Juan Manuel de Rosas (Argentina), Francisco Morazán (Honduras), Rafael Carrera (Guatemala), Dr. Francia (Paraguay).
• In Brazil, Pedro I ruled as emperor after independence in 1822; Brazil remained a monarchy for most of the 19th century, achieving relative stability compared with many neighbors.
• The era was framed by the motto “order and progress” in the late 19th century, especially in Brazil, reflecting a belief in stability and modernization tied to European/US models.
• constitutions were typically modeled on the US framework; liberal and conservative political currents shaped party systems; the Catholic Church remained a potent political force.
• Slavery persisted in most Spanish-speaking countries until the late 19th century; slavery ended in most Spanish-speaking nations after independence, while Cuba (1886) and Brazil (1888) ended slavery later in the century.

Commodity Economies and International Integration

• A major theme of the post-independence era was the commodity-export economy: economies specialized in one or two primary products (monoculture) and integrated with global markets.
• Examples of export specialization (ca. 1913, table 11.1):
  • Argentina: first product Maize; second product Silver; exports heavily concentrated in a small number of commodities.
  • Bolivia: first product Tin; second product Coffee.
  • Brazil: first product Coffee; second product Bananas.
  • Chile: first product Nitrates; second product Coffee.
  • Cuba: first product Coffee; second product Sugar.
  • Mexico: first product Coffee; second product Coffee (and others).
• The export boom was accompanied by the expansion of railways that connected mines and plantations to ports, with infrastructure tailored to export rather than domestic development.
• Rubber boom in the Amazon (late 19th–early 20th century) spurred urban growth (Manaus, Belém) and extravagant projects (e.g., Manaus opera house); the boom collapsed around 1912 when rubber from Asian sources (Malaysian seeds) hit the market, triggering a long economic downturn in the region.
• Bananas: U.S.-backed transnational companies (United Fruit, Standard Fruit, Cuyamel) controlled production and export from Central America, shaping the Caribbean economies and entangling governments with foreign corporate interests.
• While some elites embraced “progress” and modern urban life (Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City), most rural populations remained largely excluded from these benefits.
• The late 19th–early 20th centuries saw a strong tilt toward export-led growth and a corresponding reliance on foreign capital, machinery, and manufactured goods, while local manufacturing remained limited.

Population, Culture, and National Identity in the Long 20th Century

• By the mid-19th to early 20th centuries, large waves of European and Asian migration (esp. Italians, Spaniards, Japanese in Brazil, Jews to Argentina and southern Brazil) reshaped demographics and urban culture.
• Argentina, by 1914, had a large foreign-born share (~30% of the population); in the Southern Cone, immigration left a lasting imprint on culture and economics.
• Urbanization and modernization created tensions between elites and rural populations; new cultural movements embraced hybrid identities that fused Latin American and cosmopolitan influences.
• Cultural nationalism and modernist movements emerged, including music, painting, and literature that sought to reflect and shape national identity in modern, urban societies.
• The arts and media (film, music) helped forge a sense of national identity, while continuing debates over the balance between European influence and “Latin American” authenticity.
• Notable cultural milestones include the Mexican muralist movement (Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros) and the broader wave of cultural nationalism, including Jose Vasconcelos’s la raza cósmica concept (cosmic race) promoting unity and education, as well as modernist art and cinema across the region.
• The period also witnessed a renaissance in music and film, with regional industries (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina) developing national cinema and vibrant music scenes (tango, bolero, etc.), contributing to a shared but diverse regional cultural landscape.

The United States and Interventions in Latin America

• The United States asserted influence over the hemisphere beginning in the 19th century with the Monroe Doctrine (1823), signaling a hemispheric policy against European intervention.
• US interventions spanned throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, often justified by protecting American interests:
  • 1847–1848: Mexican-American War; large land cessions from Mexico.
  • 1850s: William Walker in Central America briefly held power in Nicaragua.
  • 1898: Spanish-American War; US gains Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines.
  • 1903: US-supported Panama independence from Colombia; the canal zone granted to the United States.
  • 1912–1919: US Marines occupy Nicaragua; a long-term US presence and influence.
  • 1914–1917: US troops in Veracruz and broader interventions in Mexico; 1915–1934 in Haiti; 1916–1924 in the Dominican Republic.
  • 1954: CIA-backed coup in Guatemala against Jacobo Arbenz—this event symbolized rising US power and intervention in the region.
• Rubén Darío (Nicaragua) and José Martí (Cuba) expressed anti-imperialist Latin American sentiments, contrasted with powerful US hegemony; these cultural voices framed debates about sovereignty, national identity, and anti-colonialism.
• Over time, the United States shifted toward the Good Neighbor Policy (1930s–late 1940s) to reduce direct intervention and prioritize diplomatic and economic engagement, particularly as Cold War tensions rose.

A Revolution and the Rise of Nationalism

• The Mexican Revolution (began 1910) had deep roots in the mid-19th century liberal-conservative conflicts and culminated in a prolonged social upheaval that reshaped land ownership, labor rights, and state power.
• Key phases:
  • 1910: Díaz’s repressive election; Madero’s opposition; Díaz’s exile; Madero’s presidency; eventual radicalization.
  • 1914–1920s: Conflicts among Mexican leaders (Zapata in the south; Villa in the north) and United States interference.
  • 1917: Constitution establishes reforms (land reform, restrictions on the Catholic Church, labor rights, national ownership of natural resources, prohibition of reelection).
  • 1920s–1940s: Institutions under the PRI (initially under Obregón and Calles) consolidate power; land reform expands under Lázaro Cárdenas (1934–1940); nationalization of oil in 1938.
  • 1940s–1950s: Post-revolutionary state strengthens, but transitions toward more moderate or corporatist governance rather than radical socialist reforms.
• In other countries, nationalism and reform movements paralleled Mexico’s trajectory but varied in degree and outcome; broader regional nationalism emerged alongside United States influence and the pressures of modernization.

Forging New Nations (Independence and Aftermath)

• The independence wave reached most of the region by the mid-1820s, but the new nations faced serious challenges in building stable, inclusive political systems.
• Mexico and Central America: Hidalgo’s 1810 call for independence; Morelos’ efforts; 1821 Iturbide’s imperial experiment; gradual shift to republican orders; Guatemala’s eventual independence in the Central American republic pattern.
• South America: Bolívar’s vision of a united Spanish-speaking America met with local resistance and divergent national consolidations; San Martín’s campaigns and eventual victory in the Ayacucho battle (1824) ended Spanish rule in South America.
• Brazil: Independence in 1822; Pedro I as emperor; Brazil avoided a full republic early on, maintaining a monarchy for much of the century and stabilizing under imperial rule.
• Caribbean: Cuba and Puerto Rico remained under Spanish rule for longer; Haiti’s independence (early 19th century) occurred amid slave uprisings and revolutionary turmoil.
• The new nations faced internal divisions and external pressures, with elites shaping political trajectories through constitutions, liberal reforms, and conservative resistance.
• In many cases, independence did not immediately translate into broad-based democracy; caudillo leadership and elite domination persisted for decades, shaping the political culture and governance styles across the region.

Democracy, Populism, and State-led Development (Mid-20th Century)

• The later 19th and early 20th centuries saw the emergence of export-led growth, urbanization, and social inequality. Demands for broader political inclusion and social welfare began to cohere into new political movements.
• State-led development and populism emerged in the mid-20th century, with leaders like Juan Perón in Argentina and Getúlio Vargas in Brazil defining a new political model:
  • Populism linked the state to the urban poor and organized labor; labor rights, state-led industrialization, and protectionist policies underpinned a three-way alliance among the state, labor, and domestic industry.
  • Populists tended to rely on charismatic leadership, mass media, and direct appeals to the people; they often co-opted or controlled labor unions and political parties to consolidate power.
  • In Brazil, Vargas’s Estado Novo and subsequent administrations fused nationalism with social policy and industrial growth; in Argentina, Perón created a similar political economy that prioritized labor benefits and social programs, often at the expense of rural sectors.
• Costa Rica’s unique path: abolition of the army in 1948 (December 1) and a political culture focused on education, health care, and environmental protection; a strong civil society and lack of a standing military shaped a distinctive path toward social development with relatively high human development indicators.
• The postwar period also saw new industrial policies (import-substitution industrialization, ISI) in many Latin American countries, aimed at reducing dependence on imported manufactured goods and stimulating domestic industry.
• The 1950s–1960s also saw a move toward greater electoral politics, although many regimes remained authoritarian and prone to coups; liberal and conservative forces continued to shape party systems and policy directions.
• Brasília (1956–1960) symbolized a major modernist project of state-led development, designed to shift economic activity inland and demonstrate national progress; the city was designed by Lúcio Costa, Oscar Niemeyer, and Roberto Burle Marx and represented a milestone in Latin American urban planning.

Population Growth and Demographic Transitions

• Population growth continued across the 19th and 20th centuries, with significant urbanization and shifts in demographics as countries industrialized and integrated into global markets.
• The demographic transition contributed to changing labor markets, education demands, and social welfare needs; urban centers expanded rapidly, transforming political and cultural life.
• Historical population trends are captured in population graphs, illustrating growth from the 1830s through 1960s.

Final Reflections and Connections

• The Latin American historical arc from conquest to independence to modern nation-states shows a recurring tension between elite interests and popular demands for social justice and political inclusion.
• The long arc includes cycles of liberal and conservative governance, caudillo rule, populist mobilizations, and efforts at state-led development and social reform.
• The region’s integration into a global economy under export-led growth created cycles of boom and bust, with commodity dependence shaping fiscal and political dynamics.
• Cultural nationalism, including art, music, and literature, played a central role in shaping national identities and offering counter-narratives to elite power.
• The United States’ influence in the region evolved from overt military interventions to more nuanced forms of political and economic pressure, shaping the region’s strategic alignments during the Cold War and beyond.
• Key numerical anchors and references:
  • Population at the time of Columbus: perhaps 5 imes10^{7} people in the Americas.
  • Languages: estimated around ext{≈}2000 languages spoken.
  • Teotihuacán population around 150{,}000 by ca. 500 ext{ CE}.
  • Aztec/Tenochtitlán population around 200{,}000 by 1500.
  • Caral dated to 3000 ext{ BCE}.
  • Silver discovery at Potosí: 1545; the city grew rapidly and became a major imperial center.
  • The Columbian Exchange involved major shifts in crops, animals, and diseases across the Atlantic; key exchanges included maize, potatoes, beans, tomatoes, cacao, coffee, sugar, copper, and horses, cattle, pigs, and chickens.
  • Wars among Latin American states (1836–1839; 1865–1870; 1879–1884; 1932–1935).
  • Population and demographic transitions from the 19th to mid-20th centuries with migration flows (Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Jewish) shaping urban centers.
  • 1948 Costa Rica abolishes its army; 1950s Brasília project completes in 1960; 1958 onward, several countries adopt more democratic practices while maintaining variable levels of authoritarian rule.

References and Further Readings

• Representative one-volume histories: Herring (1972); Burns (1994); Chasteen (2007); Martin and Wasserman (2005); Eakin (2007).
• Primary sources: Keen (1986); Dawson (2011).
• Ordinary life: Bauer (2001).
• Slavery and society: Klein and Vinson (2007).
• Extending reading on slavery and later developments: see the cited works in the chapter.
• Galeano trilogy (1985–1988) for vignettes on the hemisphere’s history in chronological order.
• Slavery and the African diaspora: literature covering Palmares and other notable communities.
• Population growth and demographic shifts: population graphs and related demographic analyses in the chapter.