LALA 1 soc 230 - Take home exam with questions and answers PDF

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Take home exam with questions and answers...

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LALA #1

1.) According to Charlip, what were the three unique social groups that formed the foundations for what Latin America is today? How did each group contribute to the development of society in Latin America? Compare each groups experience in North and South America. State which you believe was better and worse in each case. Many things were factors into what we know as Latin America today, but according to Charlip there were three unique social groups that particularly contributed to the foundations for what Latin America is today. These include the Europeans, the Africans, and the indigenous peoples. To start off, the Europeans first and foremost transplanted culture and society from their land to that of Latin America. When Christopher Columbus landed in Latin America while looking for a trade route to china, what is known as the Columbian exchange began to commence. This exchange allowed the Europeans to gain new foodstuffs such as corn and new knowledge that aided them in the growing of the crop. They also received more land, as they began to colonize Latin America and utilized it for increased food production and economic stimulation. What the indigenous peoples gained from the Europeans was not as pleasant or useful, for when they came over destruction and devastation took place. Various diseases came rushing into this new land, illnesses that the indigenous had not grown immunities to, and they began dying by the thousands. They also gained a version of the European culture as the indigenous were required to speak western languages, swear allegiance to the king, and convert to Christianity. Lastly, the European men began to mix the cultures genetically it the upcoming generations, and

hence forth cemented the European influences that helped form what we know as Latin America today. Another group that contributed to the foundations of modern Latin America is the Africans. Once the land was colonized and utilized for production in order to benefit the Europeans slaves from Africa were brought over. Since the indigenous peoples were dying in great numbers, the African slaves not only added to the new labor force that the Europeans needed, they practically replaced it. Slaves were brought over in 1502, with three million being sold in Spanish America and five million sold in Brazil alone. The Africans brought with them their culture and some knowledge that was useful to the Europeans. This included martial arts, new foods and religions, different language, and a variety of skills such as carpentry and gold smithing. In general, slaves were poorly treated and greatly abused, but slaves in South America were treated quite differently than those in North America. In North America, the Africans’ culture was ripped away from them and they were less likely to be beaten. However in South America the slaves were allowed to keep their culture, but they were beaten more frequently. Another difference between the slaves in north and South America was the ratio found in each area. In North America there were more females than males brought over in order to breed slaves and use the females inside the houses. In South America, there were males than females and the purchase of slaves was more common, also common in South America was the genetic mixing of Europeans and slaves. The subsequent generations is what contributed population to Latin America, as later these are the people that most likely participate in revolution.

The last group, and arguably the most important that contributed to the foundations of Latin America today, is the indigenous peoples. Among all the indigenous groups scattered throughout the Americas there were many similarities and only a few main differences. The four main societies were the Tupi, Inca, Aztec, and Mayan. All were agricultural societies that displayed great faith in the supernatural, which they believed played a great part in their lives. Also, women had subservient roles and land was distributed based on membership in the society. However the Aztec, Mayan, and Incan societies were much more developed than the Tupi, who were only semi-sedentary and still nomadic. These peoples contributed many things to the society that developed in Latin America, such as foods like potatoes and tomatoes and knowledge of local agricultural techniques. They also offered up supernatural beliefs similar to Christianity, local medicinal practices, labor, as well new culture that included different music and stories. Lastly, the women of the indigenous peoples allowed for the society to keep growing, as the Europeans reproduced with the indigenous to create the society we know today in Latin America. As for who had the easier time, it is hard to tell in every case. As for the Europeans, the conquest in southern America was bloodier, but the land was much richer in resources. In North America the Europeans did not incorporate well with the natives, so they did not gain as much knowledge or even labor from them, however it was not as much of a war. The Africans that came over to be slaves also had quite a different experience depending on where they ended up. Those who were destined for South America were put in undesirable conditions and were more likely to be beaten. Those who landed in North America were not beaten as much and probably ended up as a

domestic slave rather than one in the fields. Lastly, the indigenous peoples in South America were conquered quickly and in a violent way, whereas those in North America were shunned away as savages and were not bothered as much. Therefore, if one wishes to keep their culture in exchange for torture, South America would be the place to pick, but if one values their safety over the retention of their culture then North America would be the better choice. 2.) What were the key institutions in the development of Latin America? What role did each play? Which institution was the most influential? There were many institutions in the development of Latin America, the two that were most intermingled were the crown and the church. These two topped a society that relied on the patriarchal family and servile labor, an additional two institutions that contributed to the development of Latin America. All of these entities drove the economy and the military among Latin America. These six institutions, the crown, the church, the patriarchal family, servile labor, the economy, and the military, were key institutions that went along with the development of Latin America. The crown, the monarchal government that ruled at the time, split the center of attention with the church. It made every major decision that had to do with the people of their land, including the laws and how strictly they were enforced. When Spain and Portugal “split the world,” with Spain getting everything west of 180˚ and Portugal getting everything east of 180˚, each monarch ruled their new colonies differently. Spain was a much more organized government. Those who ruled in place for the king in Spanish territory was much more centralized, well defined, and hierarchal. The Spanish were also stricter about their merchants traveling all the way to Spain in order to pay

tribute to the monarch, before they traveled to the true place they wished to trade. It was quite different when it came to the Portuguese and their colonies. The Portuguese were a much more disorganized government. In Brazil, before the monarch physically moved there, the power was in the hands of very few and the local government, like the senate, played a role. They were also more relaxed when it came to merchants traveling to the mother country before trading in the port they had planned originally. Intermingled tightly with the crown was the church, in fact the two had such a good relationship that the church became quite wealthy in the new world. Its new found wealth was centered in the major cities, while in the rural areas the church played a different role, acting as the center of social services. The priests would visit the houses of the elites and be treated very well by the wealthy families. This relationship also included the church supporting the crown’s decisions and policies, even when it came to their teachings. Therefore, much of the culture came from the church, and the church buttressed the elite, however it was itself the dominating power. In fact, the Jesuits that came over to the new land with the church vowed to convert the heathens, truly the indigenous peoples, to Christianity. The Jesuits also became the main force of education, teaching those who needed to be educated in the ways of the church and the world that they lived in. Probably the most evident in everyday society in Latin America was the patriarchal family. The father ruled all among the family, and even generally the males were the dominant ones in the society. Particularly in Brazil, the men greatly expanded the definition of propriety and family, and expected women to be chaste, even if they were not chaste themselves. As women were legally considered minors, men ruled both

in the household and in business. This way of life was sanctified by religion, as the father of the church, or monsignor, was the person everyone had to answer to, even other priests. The institute that supported the patriarchal family was servile labor, which was provided by the indigenous peoples and the slaves brought over from Africa. These workers provided the wealth the mother countries gained during this time, working in unsafe conditions on plantations, and in mines searching for silver. The economy during this time was solely focused on benefitting the respective mother country of the colonies. Both Spain and Portugal had put into place the policy of mercantilism, which emphasized the creation of wealth from trade in central state. Hence why merchants had to travel to the mother country before going to trade in their port of choice. However only a small elite benefitted from this, and frequently the majority of the wealth left the country. Silver mining was important so that Europe could trade with China, as silver was the only thing the Chinese wanted. Sugar was another important product that was grown on plantations by slaves, because Europeans desired large amounts of it. Lastly, the institution of the military came in two forms. One form was the group of soldiers that were brought over to the colony, who answered to whatever man hired them. These soldiers were not thought highly of, and in fact this was considered a form of welfare. However of all these institutions, the church was the most influential, as it was the main center of culture and education among Latin American society. The church educated society and dominated over the land while only supporting the elite. 3.) Independence from colonial rule had been achieved throughout Latin America by 1825. What were the forces that propelled the colonies to their independence?

Discuss and explain these factors. In your opinion, which was the most important? Briefly describe the process of independence in a selected nation of Latin America. There were many forces that compelled the colonists to fight for their independence. These included a change in mentality among the colonists, the Bourbon reforms, the idea that emerged from the enlightenment, and the changing of external political tides. The first force was the new sense of self among those in Latin America, this changing mentality is what I personally consider the most important force in their fight for independence. The population that began to grow in Latin America became mostly what is known as creole. Those known as creoles were of European descent but were born in the new world. These people were considered lower class, denied access to power and office, and economic opportunity. The fact that they were born in the new land made them see themselves as part of the new land and the new society, not part of Europe or it society. The expansion of universities also contributed to this new sense of self, because they promoted new ideas from native applications of European ideas. These ideas included free trade and the physiocratic doctrine which stated that wealth comes from nature and this wealth expanded with less government. Another force was the Bourbon reforms, which was a way for the crown to make more money. The royal family at the time, the Bourbons, put many restrictions on trade and increased crown monopolies on every product they could, including gunpowder, playing cards, stamped paper, and mercury. They also wished to expand their power in the new land, and began to reform the government to increase their control of the economy. This also meant that the Bourbons wished to diminish the power of the church,

including the expulsion of the Jesuits. However the creoles were devoted to the church and the Jesuits were the ones educating them, so they did not want their influence to go away. The ideas from the enlightenment and the passion from the French Revolution influenced the colonists to fight for independence. Thinkers like Montesquieu, Rousseau, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson brought about rational thoughts and spread them throughout. The idea that everyone has certain rights they are entitled to that don’t come from the king gave the creoles in the new world the passion that brought them to fight for these rights they believed they were entitled to. Lastly, the way the external world was changing politically drove those in Latin America to fight for independence. The fervor that was felt from the American Revolution and the emergence of the constitution brought confidence to those in Latin America. Also after the French Revolution Napoleon took over France, this shift of power caused Spain and Portugal along with most of Europe to turn their heads away from their colonies and focus on what was happening close to home. Throughout Latin America the real changes of independence began when elites began to revolt around government control and trade policy, and these elites were the leaders of the armies. This was around 1810, when the liberation movement began, and was divided into three periods. From 1810 to 1814 was the initial expansion of the liberation movement, from 1814 to 1816 there was a faltering of revolt and a resurgence of the crown, and finally from 1816 to 1826 the completion of independence occurred. Due to the fact that independence was achieved, class and color lines were somewhat blurred amongst society, there was economic disaster because there was interruption of

trade as well as capital flight from the new land, and there was more open trade in ports. Mexico might have had the bloodiest fight for independence, starting in 1810 with Father Hidalgo leading the revolt. He led a march on Mexico City where 80 thousand people were killed, and in 1811 chaos erupted and Father Hidalgo was killed. Father Morelos stepped up to help lead the independence revolution but himself was executed in 1815. This pattern of leaders being executed continued for some time more in Mexico until they finally achieved their goal. 4.) The violence, tension, and economic uncertainty of the pre-independence and independence era had a strong influence on the development of new nation-states. The very idea of a nation-state was problematic. What were four major threats the new nations faced? How did each influence the development of nations in Latin America? Briefly describe the process of nation development in a selected nation of Latin America There were four major threats that new nations in Latin America faced: political forces, economic instability, the clash of cultures, and control by caudillos. As these new nation states were emerging they were still obviously young, but also vulnerable and ignorant about how to run a sovereign nation. Therefore Spain and Portugal, along with other European countries, turned their heads towards the weak areas that were rich in resources and lacking a strong defense. These new nations feared that they would lose their independence in a fraction of the time it took them to gain it, and they were not wrong in thinking this. All over Latin America the old powers, and other powers, began to intervene to try and assert their authority. The most obvious intervention was in Mexico when Napoleon III put Maximillian in charge, only to have him executed

four years later. Not all political threats were external though, as the church was the main internal political threat. The church did not wish to lose its power, or its money, and aided in the making sure that rulers, who would keep the people how they were, were in charge. Although without these mother countries running and ruling the economy, the new nations had little knowledge on how to keep a strong economy. Therefore with the emergence of new nations the economy greatly diminished and in some places it even disappeared. One of the major reasons the new nations were so vulnerable in the eyes of the Europeans. In fact, the economy has always been a paradox among Latin America, for the land is so very rich in resources and land, yet the people there remain poor. Many have agreed that this paradox arose due to the unequal distribution of land, the massive estates, and inefficient agricultural systems. An effort was made by combining estates, however these were inefficient to begin with and only grew exports, and therefore foodstuffs were imported and became more expensive. Besides that, any wealth that came from the products that compiled the economy, like sugar, cotton, coffee, and cocoa, only benefitted a small few, the elites that had remained wealthy and in power throughout the fight for sovereignty. There was no capital gain for the workforce as well as no opportunity for land gain. This was an obstacle because what would be the middle class workforce was unable to progress, even though they were a large part of the population. Also, as already discussed, Latin America became a very mixed race between the Europeans, indigenous peoples, and slaves taking residence there, and those are just the populations that started off there. Soon there were creoles, mesitos, mulattoes, and many other racial classifications. This led to a clash of cultures not only among the different races, but even within the racial classes. For instance, there were obvious tensions

between the Europeans and the indigenous peoples and slaves because the Europeans were the ones benefitting from their misery. Even more problematic were clashes among Europeans and the creoles, as they could very well possibly be the Europeans direct descendants, which could then cause tensions within the family. However within the elites there were clashes over the debate of which European power would carry the day. Amongst all this personal tension, there were even times when certain classes took sides, mainly the indigenous people and the creoles were the ones to stand against the Europeans. The creoles saw a connection with the indigenous peoples, feeling as if they had something in common with them, whereas the Europeans saw the indigenous as heathens, backward, and dirty creatures. Lastly, caudillos were strong men that dominated in the post-colonial era. Basically they were supported by the elites and were not guided by philosophy like a majority of the population was after the enlightenment. Therefore they were not easily accepted by others and although they were expected to provide security and unity, working for the elites made them biased. Therefore, although these new nations technically had their independence, they were still living in a world that was dominated by a few elite who had other people doing their bidding for them. 5.) Modern states, as we would recognize them today, emerged in the late 1800s. Fundamental to the development was political stability, positivism, economic prosperity, and the growth of cities. Comment on the role of each in the emergence of modern states. Briefly describe the process in a selected nation of Latin America. There a few things that are fundamental to the development of modern states, the

ones that we would recognize today. These fundamental aspects include political stability, posi...