Consolidation of Latin America

Consolidation of Latin America 1810-1930

• Latin America in the 19th century faced internal divisions, threats from foreign imperialism, cross-border disputes, and political leaders who tended to begin as liberals and democrats but ended up as dictators.
• New nations inherited problems from their colonial past and were largely dependent on the international economic system, facing issues with voting rights, representative governments, and the position of the Roman Catholic Church.
• Political fragmentation was seen in Central America, with Mexico quickly abandoning its experiment with monarchy and establishing a republic in 1823. Attempts to form a unified government failed, giving way to individual states in 1838.
• Caudillos dominated local areas in Latin America, sometimes seizing national governments and operating out of self-interest, while political parties representing different viewpoints sprang up in many new republics.
• Great Britain and the United States played significant roles in the region, with Britain becoming the largest trading partner and the US investing heavily in Latin America after the Civil War.
• From 1820 to 1850, Latin America permitted state development of infrastructure, with roads and railroads built to export from the interior. After 1850, the economy remained stagnant and was strictly dependent on the world trade network.
• The tension in Latin American culture between Indian and Black cultures remained marginalized, and the end of Spanish colonial dominance opened Latin America to other European influences, such as French neoclassical tradition and Romanticism.
• Women played an active role in the independence movements but gained little power during the 19th century, while slavery was abolished during independence but social and economic equality was not gained.
• The Latin American export economy produced a social and political alliance between large landowners, miners, and export merchants, leading to complete dependence on commerce for prosperity and vulnerability to shifts in markets.
• Exports dramatically increased between 1870 and 1900, attracting capital from abroad and placing regional industries and transportation in foreign hands.
• The Spanish-American War between 1895 and 1898 resulted in the US gaining possession of former Spanish colony Puerto Rico and reducing Cuba to a dependency. The US backed Panama's independence movement in 1904 in return for extensive rights to build a canal in the new nation.
• Latin American nations became increasingly critical of US intervention in the region, including military, cultural, and economic penetration, despite maintaining ties to the West and experiencing growing influence from the US.