Wars of Independence
I.
Core vs. Periphery
A.
Clear
distinctions in colonial period
1.
Urban
vs. rural
a.
Urban areas more
European and creole, commercial, manufacturing, centers of church and government
b.
Rural areas more
racially diverse, minimal government and church influence, less cosmopolitan
2.
Central regions
vs. Peripheral regions
a.
Empires focused
on most commercially exploitable regions
i.
Mining districts
of Mexico, Peru/Bolivia, Brazil
ii.
Sugar (and other
commercial crops) zones in islands, Brazil (primarily)
iii.
These areas had high levels of Europeans and creoles, deep connections to
imperial power, high levels of church and government activity
b.
Peripheral
regions got less attention
i.
Some developed
own trading economies, generally through smuggling, primarily with British
ii.
Some areas
became largely autonomous, like Paraguay
iii.
Independence
area initiate here, notably in Argentina
and Venezuela
3.
Regional
capitals vs. outlying areas
a.
In peripheral
zones, support or opposition to independence often hinges on local power
struggles
b.
In southern
South America, some provinces resist a revolution led by Buenos Aires. Similar
issues in New Granada
B.
In general, core
areas defend the empire, peripheral areas fight it, but always tempered by local
politics and interests
II.
Economic Systems
A.
Late commercial
centers start revolution
1.
Imperial
monopolies had concentrated trade in certain core areas
2.
This results in
late commercial development for many peripheral areas, notably Venezuela and
Argentina
3.
As such, these
regions build commercial economy in “modern” era, supplying
raw materials to major
industrial-commercial regions in Europe, notably Great Britain
4.
Saw their
interests lying outside the controls of the imperial systems
5.
Not all
peripheral zones have same interests
a.
Uruguay, with
similar economics to Argentina and Venezuela, joins revolution quickly
b.
Isolated Chile,
with a small but prosperous elite, resisted independence
c.
Central America
needed trade badly, but only Mexican independence would enable their
independence (and make it inevitable)
B.
Core regions
depended on imperial system for wealth
1.
Capital centers
prospered not only from trade, but from taxation and control of monopolies
2.
Greatest
resistance to revolution came from oldest capital centers – Mexico City and Lima
III.
Politics of Race and Class
A.
Elites resisted
revolution when threatened by large non-white populations
1.
Peruvian and
Mexican elites feared Amerindian uprisings
2.
In islands and
Brazil, main fear is slave revolts
3.
Gran Columbian
elites react based on local conditions
a.
Complex racial
dynamics produces elite resistance in Venezuela
b.
A more
homogenous population in Columbia leads to greater elite support
4.
Hidalgo
deliberately ignites a race war in Mexico as a means to break elite resistance
and bring about independence
B.
Racial
homogeneity eases path to revolutions, notably in Paraguay and Columbia
C.
Brazilian elites
need royal power to control non-white majority; arrival of royal court in Brazil
opens up possibility of independence
IV.
Role of Caudillos and other power
elites
A.
Breakdown of
imperial system creates power vacuums
B.
Bolivar, San
Martin, others, step into that void
C.
Charismatic
caudillos can alter political dynamics
1.
Boves leads the
cowboys (llaneros) of Venezuela to support the Spanish
2.
Paez will later
bring them over to the side of independence
D.
Presence of
Portuguese royalty in Brazil eases transition to independence