Geschiedenis van de Amerika’s: lessen
Les 1: Introduction (10/02)
Term Latijns-Amerika
- 1860s onder Napoleon III: nadruk op Frans invloed in Amerika
- Centraal en Zuid-Amerika
Geografie
- Zeer divers
- Amazon basin: largest rain forest in the world + lot of biodiversity
- De Andes: second highest mountain, very active so lot of earthquakes
- La Paz in Bolivia: highest capital in the world
- Lima: city build in the desert, lot of problems for water
- Caribbean coast
- Lake Titicaca: biggest lake in Latin America
Race and indigeneity
- Race as a conflicted category
- Indigenous majority: Bolivia and Peru
- Impact colonization and transatlantic slave trade
- After abolishment of slavery: migration from Asia and Europa during 19 th and 20th
century
Indigena
Mestizo/Ladino (mixed race)
Afrodescendiente
Criollo
- Caribbean: mixed
- South America: people who have direct European descent
Economies
- Inequality as major concern
o Legacy of colonial system and exploitation
- Large informal economy
o Big impact from the pandemic
- Big contrast with natural resources in Latin America
o 15% of global oil and natural gas resources
o A lot of mineral exploitation
- Free Trade Agreements:
o NAFTA (1994) => onder Trump: USMCA (2020)
o DR-CAFTA (2005)
o Mercosur (1991): with EU: cheaper goods to Europa
o CAN (1969): Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
- Neoliberalism and the Washington consensus
o Set of neoliberal reforms that were forced on Latin American countries
o With support of US
1
,Politics
- Wide variety of political regimes since end of colonialism
- Social/armed conflicts because of inequality
- Women for president: big difference with other continents
- Power of Catholic Church
- ‘Pink Tide’ early 2000s: trend of soft forms of socialism
- Last decades: return to authoritarianism, but also leftist governments still
o Very much about populism
Art and culture
1. Latin America in 1970: Colonialism, Resistance and the road to independence
12 oct 1492: Discovery by Columbus
- The Bahamas
- Didn’t think he was in Latin America, wanted to get to India
- This day is still celebrated under the name: Dia de la Hispanidad
o Picture: protest against monuments by social movements that remember the
discovery of the Americas (linked with colonialism)
The colonial system
- Division between Spain and Portugal of the colonies
- Encomienda/hacienda/latifundia
o System of institutionalized forced labour
- Crown + Catholic Church = power
o Indigenous population: ‘providers’ of labour and ‘receivers’ of the Catholic
faith
- Administration:
o Pensinsulares
o Caciques: indigenous leaders between colonial administration and the people
o Corregidores: representatives of the Spanish crown
- Huge impact of the enslavement of indigenous people
o Mostly sickness, diseases from Europe and labour
- Land as commodity
o Determinant of wealth and status
o Restricted access for indigenous population
Formation of powerful elite families
Role of women: politics of marriage
1.1. Bartolome de las Casas
Tekst: ‘In defense of the Indians’ (1550)
Why is he writing this text?
- To defend the indigenous people, says you cannot force people and use violence
against the indigenous people
2
, - Reference to the rules of war: there was no provocation or aggression of the
indigenous people against the conquistadores
How is de las Casas depicting the indigenous population?
- Full of contradictions
- Says that they are ignorant and also not ignorant
- Has respect and admiration for the political systems and culture of the indigenous
people
How is de las Casas depicting the Spanish conquistadores?
- Emphasizes that they are violent men and their greedy behavior
1.2. Bourbon and Pombaline reforms (1759-1808)
Habsburg replaced with Bourbon dynasty
Number of reforms, most important:
- Jose de Galvez
- Marques de Pombal
Onder invloed van de Verlichting
Centralization and rationalization (1)
- More direct control in the colonies
- Visitatores: went to supervise the colonial law
Breaking of trade monopolies (2)
- Opened different places for trade
Reorganization of tax collection system (3)
- Because of a lot of corruption
Expulsion of the Jesuits (4)
- Claimed big influence in the colonial system
- Seen as a direct threat to the colonial authorities
Short term impact: ‘a second conquest’
Long term impact: introduction of new ideas on commerce, politics and philosophy
- Seeds for rebellion
1.3. Disorder and rebellion
Alberto Flores Galindo, The Rebellion of Tupac Amaru II
- Armed rebellion against the Spanish occupation
Jose Antonio de Areche, ‘All must die’
3
, 1.4. On the road to independence
Influence of revolutions in the US and France
Enlightenment thinking: growing debates about colonialism
Increasing calls for freedom BUT freedom for whom?
- Creole landowning, merchant and planter elite vs. servile peasants and enslaved
people of color
Emergence of creole nationalism
Les 2 (17/02): Independence and nationalisms
1. Independence
1.1. Why now?
Enlightenment thinking
- Ideas about liberty of men and political liberty
Emergence of creole nationalism
- Started their own way of living and thinking, separated from the influence of the
Spanish crown
American independence war
French Revolution
Napoleonic Wars
1.2. Colonial society
The Crown (in Europe)
- They had representatives that handled the plantations on their behalf
Pensinsulares and creoles (white landowners) – 10%-20%
Enslaved black and indigenous people (workers) – 80%-90%
1.3. Five paths to independence
Saint-Domingue: revolt of enslaved workers
Brazil: an empire in America
Mexico: indigenous uprising surpressed by Creole elite
South America: military officers vs Crown
- Creole officers against the Spanish crown
- Supported by the indigenous people
Cuba and Puerto Rico: pushback from Creole elite
- End of 19th century
- Creole elite refuses to join the revolution, because safeguarding their own interests
4
Les 1: Introduction (10/02)
Term Latijns-Amerika
- 1860s onder Napoleon III: nadruk op Frans invloed in Amerika
- Centraal en Zuid-Amerika
Geografie
- Zeer divers
- Amazon basin: largest rain forest in the world + lot of biodiversity
- De Andes: second highest mountain, very active so lot of earthquakes
- La Paz in Bolivia: highest capital in the world
- Lima: city build in the desert, lot of problems for water
- Caribbean coast
- Lake Titicaca: biggest lake in Latin America
Race and indigeneity
- Race as a conflicted category
- Indigenous majority: Bolivia and Peru
- Impact colonization and transatlantic slave trade
- After abolishment of slavery: migration from Asia and Europa during 19 th and 20th
century
Indigena
Mestizo/Ladino (mixed race)
Afrodescendiente
Criollo
- Caribbean: mixed
- South America: people who have direct European descent
Economies
- Inequality as major concern
o Legacy of colonial system and exploitation
- Large informal economy
o Big impact from the pandemic
- Big contrast with natural resources in Latin America
o 15% of global oil and natural gas resources
o A lot of mineral exploitation
- Free Trade Agreements:
o NAFTA (1994) => onder Trump: USMCA (2020)
o DR-CAFTA (2005)
o Mercosur (1991): with EU: cheaper goods to Europa
o CAN (1969): Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
- Neoliberalism and the Washington consensus
o Set of neoliberal reforms that were forced on Latin American countries
o With support of US
1
,Politics
- Wide variety of political regimes since end of colonialism
- Social/armed conflicts because of inequality
- Women for president: big difference with other continents
- Power of Catholic Church
- ‘Pink Tide’ early 2000s: trend of soft forms of socialism
- Last decades: return to authoritarianism, but also leftist governments still
o Very much about populism
Art and culture
1. Latin America in 1970: Colonialism, Resistance and the road to independence
12 oct 1492: Discovery by Columbus
- The Bahamas
- Didn’t think he was in Latin America, wanted to get to India
- This day is still celebrated under the name: Dia de la Hispanidad
o Picture: protest against monuments by social movements that remember the
discovery of the Americas (linked with colonialism)
The colonial system
- Division between Spain and Portugal of the colonies
- Encomienda/hacienda/latifundia
o System of institutionalized forced labour
- Crown + Catholic Church = power
o Indigenous population: ‘providers’ of labour and ‘receivers’ of the Catholic
faith
- Administration:
o Pensinsulares
o Caciques: indigenous leaders between colonial administration and the people
o Corregidores: representatives of the Spanish crown
- Huge impact of the enslavement of indigenous people
o Mostly sickness, diseases from Europe and labour
- Land as commodity
o Determinant of wealth and status
o Restricted access for indigenous population
Formation of powerful elite families
Role of women: politics of marriage
1.1. Bartolome de las Casas
Tekst: ‘In defense of the Indians’ (1550)
Why is he writing this text?
- To defend the indigenous people, says you cannot force people and use violence
against the indigenous people
2
, - Reference to the rules of war: there was no provocation or aggression of the
indigenous people against the conquistadores
How is de las Casas depicting the indigenous population?
- Full of contradictions
- Says that they are ignorant and also not ignorant
- Has respect and admiration for the political systems and culture of the indigenous
people
How is de las Casas depicting the Spanish conquistadores?
- Emphasizes that they are violent men and their greedy behavior
1.2. Bourbon and Pombaline reforms (1759-1808)
Habsburg replaced with Bourbon dynasty
Number of reforms, most important:
- Jose de Galvez
- Marques de Pombal
Onder invloed van de Verlichting
Centralization and rationalization (1)
- More direct control in the colonies
- Visitatores: went to supervise the colonial law
Breaking of trade monopolies (2)
- Opened different places for trade
Reorganization of tax collection system (3)
- Because of a lot of corruption
Expulsion of the Jesuits (4)
- Claimed big influence in the colonial system
- Seen as a direct threat to the colonial authorities
Short term impact: ‘a second conquest’
Long term impact: introduction of new ideas on commerce, politics and philosophy
- Seeds for rebellion
1.3. Disorder and rebellion
Alberto Flores Galindo, The Rebellion of Tupac Amaru II
- Armed rebellion against the Spanish occupation
Jose Antonio de Areche, ‘All must die’
3
, 1.4. On the road to independence
Influence of revolutions in the US and France
Enlightenment thinking: growing debates about colonialism
Increasing calls for freedom BUT freedom for whom?
- Creole landowning, merchant and planter elite vs. servile peasants and enslaved
people of color
Emergence of creole nationalism
Les 2 (17/02): Independence and nationalisms
1. Independence
1.1. Why now?
Enlightenment thinking
- Ideas about liberty of men and political liberty
Emergence of creole nationalism
- Started their own way of living and thinking, separated from the influence of the
Spanish crown
American independence war
French Revolution
Napoleonic Wars
1.2. Colonial society
The Crown (in Europe)
- They had representatives that handled the plantations on their behalf
Pensinsulares and creoles (white landowners) – 10%-20%
Enslaved black and indigenous people (workers) – 80%-90%
1.3. Five paths to independence
Saint-Domingue: revolt of enslaved workers
Brazil: an empire in America
Mexico: indigenous uprising surpressed by Creole elite
South America: military officers vs Crown
- Creole officers against the Spanish crown
- Supported by the indigenous people
Cuba and Puerto Rico: pushback from Creole elite
- End of 19th century
- Creole elite refuses to join the revolution, because safeguarding their own interests
4
