LATI 50INTRODUCTION TO

LATIN AMERICA

WHY HISTORY?

HOMILIES AND BROMIDES

“I hated History… just a bunch of facts and dates… Ugh!”

“Who needs it? Stuff that happened so long ago!”“History is bunk.” (Henry Ford)“History repeats itself.”“Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it.”“We should be looking forward, not backward…”

HOMILIES AND BROMIDES

“I hated History… just a bunch of facts and dates… Ugh!”

“Who needs it? Stuff that happened so long ago!”“History is bunk.” (Henry Ford)“History repeats itself.”“Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it.”“We should be looking forward, not backward…”

A SIMPLE IDEA

History can help us understand the present--how and why the present came to be.

It can illuminate crucial choices in the past that still affect the present.

In particular, differences in historical paths can help explain differences within the present.

Seen this way, some of those ancient and irrelevant “facts” can be intriguing provocations for our imaginations.

A SIMPLE IDEA

History can help us understand the present--how and why the present came to be.

It can illuminate crucial choices in the past that still affect the present.

In particular, differences in historical paths can help explain differences within the present.

Seen this way, some of those ancient and irrelevant “facts” can be intriguing provocations for our imaginations.

DIMENSION I: DEMOGRAPHY

Key: racial mixture (European, African, indigenous)

Spanish America: view of indigenous: incorporation, not elimination Source of labor Special laws for alleged “protection” Extensive mestizaje Comparison with North America/United States

DIMENSION I: DEMOGRAPHY

Portuguese America/Brazil: No indigenous civilizations like Aztecs, Maya, Incas No large-scale mining (at first) Large land tracts to encourage settlement Eventual reliance on slavery

Importation of African slaves Plantation societies Caribbean and later Brazil

Gender imbalance: men > women, patterns of interracial liaisons

RACIAL COMPOSITION:AMERICAS, 1570-1825 (%)

Spanish Portuguese 1570 1825 1570 1825

White 1.3 18.2 2.4 23.4

Mixed 2.5 28.3 3.5 17.8Black - 11.9 -

49.8Indigene 96.3 41.7 94.1

9.1

DIMENSION 2: POLITICS

Spanish monarchy: Momentum of empowerment 1492- Religious mission Mercantilist economics

Portuguese monarchy: Prior imperial experience Low priority for Brazil Reliance on exports Less pervasive presence

British monarchy: Late start (Jamestown 1607, Massachusetts 1620) Ambivalent relationship to settlers Reliance on taxation

DIMENSION 3: INDEPENDENCE

Spanish America: Resistance to Napoleon Lengthy and destructive wars (1810-26) Quest for “democracy” Military legacies, military rulers

Portuguese America: Court move to Brazil Question of “recolonization” Little military conflict Continuation of Bragança monarchy

British America: Opposition to monarchy and policies Medium-scale military conflict (1776-83) Installation of democracy (by/for elites)

AND SO….

Why is Latin American society the way it is? And why is Brazil so different from Spanish America?

Why has there been such political instability in Latin America? And authoritarian rule?

Why the differences from the United States?

Suggestion: Take a look at history…