Ch' 25 Discussion Questions

1
Ch. 25 Discussion Questions

• AP World History

2
Describe the degree to which Latin American
states were successful in shaking off their
colonial past.

• With independence, most nations had republican
  governments liberal constitutions extended the
  vote. Their economies no longer were under
  European dictation. Slavery, the base of
  exploitative labor, ended by 1888. The colonial
  heritage of a society based on castes of color
  and race was more difficult to overcome. Indians
  continued to be oppressed and remained at the
  bottom of the social structure. Even liberal land
  reforms and redistribution plans discriminated
  against Indians and mestizos. There were frequent
  rebellions of peasants and Indians against
  governments dominated by Creole aristocracies.

3
Compare the relationship of the Latin American
nations with the West at the end of the 19th
century with the relationship of the West to true
colonies created through imperialism.

• Latin America remained independent, did not
  provide military forces to the West, and was
  outside of the imperial scramble. The profits of
  economic expansion were not drained off by
  Western merchants. But Latin America was in many
  ways reduced to an economic dependency typical of
  true colonies economic expansion was based on
  the export of raw materials, and markets were
  dependent on the West. The West provided capital
  for initiation of industry and often owned the
  industries. The labor force often was exploited
  in a manner similar to that of colonial labor
  forces.

4
Trace the causes of political change in Latin
America.

• Four external events had a major effect on Latin
  American political thought. The American
  Revolution provided a model for colonial
  rebellion. The French Revolution offered
  revolutionary ideology. The slave rebellion on
  the French island of St. Domingue, led by
  Franyois-Dominique Toussaint L'Overture in 1791,
  ended in 1804 with the independent republic of
  Haiti. The final and precipitating factor was the
  confused political situation in Spain and
  Portugal caused by French invasion and
  occupation.

5
Contrast the Brazilian move to independence with
other Latin America independence.

• Because of political unrest and invasion in
  Portugal, the king of Portugal was forced to flee
  to Brazil in 1820. In 1822, Brazil was declared
  independent with a monarchy ruling. This
  contrasts from the rest of Latin America's
  colonies as they fought protracted revolutions
  for independence. Ultimately each of these
  colonies became republics.

6
Compare the centralist versus the federalist
controversy.

• There were many differences among leaders about
  the forms of republican government. Centralists
  wanted strong governments with broad powers,
  while federalists favored awarding authority to
  regional governments.

7
Characterize the liberal politics of the period
from 1850 to 1870

• Liberals, influenced by the French and United
  States models, stressed individual rights,
  opposed the corporate structure of colonial
  society, and favored a federalist government.

8
Identify the successes of reform at resolving
problems of race, class, and gender.

• Women, despite participation in the revolutions,
  gained little ground during the 19th century.
  They continued as wives and mothers under the
  authority of men they could not vote or hold
  office. Lower-class women had more economic and
  personal freedom but otherwise shared in
  subordination. Public education became more open
  to women to prepare them for more enlightened
  roles in the home. Most of the new nations
  legally ended the society of castes in which
  status depended on color and ethnicity in
  reality, very little changed for natives and
  former slaves. Control of land, politics, and the
  economy waS' dominated by a small, white, Creole
  elite that displayed rigid social structures.

9
Summarize the economic boom of the period after
1870

• The increasing demand in industrializing Europe
  stimulated Latin American economic growth.
  Political alliances were forged to influence
  governments in their favor at the expense of the
  peasants and the working class. Export products
  fueled the expansion and provided resources for
  imports of foreign manufactured goods and local
  development projects. The developing commerce
  drew the interest of foreign investors. Germany
  and the United States joined Britain as major
  participants. The capital brought in was useful,
  but it placed key industries under foreign
  control, and it influenced the internal and
  external policies of governments.

10
Generalize the ways that the United States
entered the political and economic affairs of
Latin America

• The Spanish-American War of 1898 brought the
  United States directly into Latin American
  affairs. American investment in Cuba predated the
  war, and following it there was direct
  involvement in the Caribbean. Cuba became an
  American economic dependent, and Puerto Rico was
  annexed. When Colombia was reluctant to meet
  American proposals for building the Panama Canal,
  the United States backed a revolution in Panama
  and gained exclusive rights over the canal. Latin
  Americans, as a consequence, became very
  suspicious of the expansionist United States.