A Brief History of Humanity: From Ancient Times to the 21st Century

Chapter 29 Latin American Revolutions
Since most of the countries in South America, Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies were colonized by the Spanish, Portuguese, and French, they are called Latin America.Latin America revolted and gained independence in the early 19th century.The revolutions in Latin America came after the American and French revolutions, and to some extent can be said to be the aftermath of both revolutions.

拉丁美洲的历史要追溯到哥伦布第一次航行，可分成四个阶段：（1）发现与探究——1492年至1550年；（2）殖民与盘剥——1550年至1800年；（3）革命与独立——1800年至1825年；（4）主权国与独力发展——1825年至今。

The third phase, the period of revolution and gaining independence, is mainly described here.

[-]. The influence of the United States, France, Spain and Portugal

The reasons for the revolution in Latin America were internal and external, namely, the internal contradictions in Latin America and the influence of the revolutions in Europe and North America.Most of the colonies in Latin America belonged to Spain and Portugal. Excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes were too heavy, and a large amount of land was occupied by a very small number of wealthy landowners with extra political and social privileges.People born in Spain and Portugal enjoy many privileges and privileges in Latin America that Creoles (white natives) do not.Macanese are Spanish, Portuguese, or French people born in Latin America.Of course, people of mixed race and Indians have various reasons to be dissatisfied.They have been enslaved, robbed or oppressed for generations.Therefore, native whites, Indians, and various mixed races in Latin America are very dissatisfied and plan to revolt.

But foreign influences also played a very powerful role in bringing about revolutions in Latin America, chiefly in America, France, Spain, and Portugal.

External Causes of the Latin American Revolution Some of the external causes have been listed above - "exploitation".The policy of European countries, especially Spain, made the colonies serve their own interests.In addition, there were restrictions on trade and other matters already stated, which kept the colonists, especially the native whites, Indians, and various mixed races, ready to fight for liberty.

In 1776 and the years that followed, the 13 Northern Colonies set a good example for them, with their inspiring Declaration of Independence, valiant struggle and successful rise as independent states.

The intellectual revolution embodied in the masterpieces of John Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Adam Smith had a great influence among the more learned classes of Latin America.The French Revolution from 1789 to 1800 set a good example for other countries. Between 1801 and 1803, the blacks of Haiti, a large island in Latin America, fought for freedom and defeated Napoleon's army.

Napoleon Bonaparte Much of what Napoleon inadvertently did in Europe laid the groundwork for the outbreak of revolution in Latin America. In 1807 he invaded Portugal.To avoid him, the Portuguese royal family fled by ship to Brazil, a huge colony in South America.It was the first in a chain of events leading Brazil to independence.Napoleon attacked Spain that year and the following year, deposed King Ferdinand VII, and made his brother Joseph Bonaparte king of Spain.Not long after, when Joseph was established as the king of each major city in Spanish America, the colonial people refused to accept him, and even shouted that they would be loyal to Ferdinand forever.

They began to fight against the power grabbers appointed by Napoleon.In a short time, the war developed into a war for independence.

Most of the leading figures in the revolutions in Latin America were native whites, Indians and mestizos.Some eminent generals were Indians or half-Indians.Many high priests were royalists, but many low priests were active revolutionaries.There was some religious discontent in Latin America at the time, which was somewhat beneficial to the revolution.

[-]. Miranda——Political Forerunner

The revolutions in Latin America, as in British America and elsewhere, were largely sparked by a small number of leaders.One of the best and most influential leaders of the early South American revolutions, Francisco de Miranda was born in Venezuela in 1750 to Spanish parents.

The reason why the colonies of South and Central America were able to achieve their final independence should go to Venezuela and Miranda.

Before Latin America was ready to fight for independence, Miranda was involved in the American and French revolutions.Although he had been a captain in the Spanish army in Venezuela, he left to join Lafayette in the American Revolution.Then he began to plan the independence of Venezuela, which was discovered by Columbus and Cabot during the reign of Henry VII.He was warmly received in various countries of Europe.He welcomed the French Revolution very much, joined the army of the French Republic, and was promoted to the rank of major general.

Responsible for the defeat of the French in 1793, Miranda fled to England while still trying to get help for Venezuela. In 1797 he planned a murder in Venezuela, but failed. In 1803 Miranda went to New York, and he managed to deploy two ships and about two hundred men.He sailed for Venezuela in 1806 with ships and men.He enlisted some help from the English in Trinidad, and led two expeditions along the coast.He captured a town or two along the coast, but was held back by the hostility of the upper classes and the indifference of the masses.

In 1810 Miranda organized another expedition.Because of Miranda and Napoleon's inspiration, the revolutionary desire was stronger at that time.In Caracas, Venezuela's capital, prominent citizens dethroned their governor and installed a revolutionary government.At Miranda's instigation, a revolutionary conference was convened, attended by representatives from all walks of life in the country, which proclaimed Venezuela's official independence in 1811.

Declaration and Controversy This is the first official declaration of independence in the Spanish American colonies.Venezuela's Revolutionary Congress also drafted a federal constitution that attempted to bring several Venezuelan states under the jurisdiction of the central government.This constitution shows the influence of the United States Constitution and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man.But like the British colonies and France, there are factions in Venezuela that embrace the revolution to varying degrees.Disputes between Miranda and the remaining leaders crippled their cause. In July 1812, Miranda was imprisoned by other revolutionaries, and soon fell into the hands of the Spanish government.He was taken to Spain where he was imprisoned and chained to the dungeon wall, where he died on July 7, 1816.

A meaningful day The political forerunner Miranda died in prison because of his freedom, and even the day of his sacrifice is very meaningful. July 7 is the day of French independence, the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille.In Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America, men of lofty ideals have carried on his patriotic cause.

[-]. Bolivar in the North
The young Bolivar in northern South America inherited the old Miranda's mantle.

Simon Bolivar (1783-1830) was born in a wealthy native white family in Venezuela.He studied law in Spain and traveled extensively in continental Europe.In Paris he saw firsthand the French Revolution in its final form. In 1809, he returned from a visit to Europe again and traveled to the United States. He strongly praised the young and thriving republic and decided to join the Venezuelan independence movement.For the next 15 years, he was a fighter and a statesman, sometimes elated by victory and dispirited by defeat.He led the uprising in Venezuela and nearby countries to a long but ultimately triumphant conclusion.

In Caracas in 1812, around the time Miranda was captured, the Spanish took control of Venezuela, and Bolívar fled to an island in the Caribbean.From there, he traveled to Nueva Granada (now Colombia), a country west of Venezuela, where he joined the country's revolutionary army, where he was given command of an army and fought several victories against the Spaniards.Each success allowed his army to expand, so he fought all the way from New Granada to Venezuela, and on August 1813, 8, he successfully entered the capital Caracas.He was warmly welcomed by patriots, and acclaimed as an absolute civil and military despot.

Failure and abandonment In the next year or two, Bolivar defeated the Western Army many times, but suffered defeat in two battles.At that time, the strength of the royalists in Spanish America was recovering. The main reason was that Napoleon could not control Spain in Europe. In 1814, Ferdinand VII regained the throne of King of Spain.As mentioned above, uprisings in various parts of Latin America were initially mainly against Napoleon and his appointed successors.So, when Ferdinand regained the throne in 1814, many rebellious Venezuelans regained their loyalty to him.

After a decisive success and a defeat, Bolívar traveled to New Granada, Jamaica, and Haiti to gather revolutionaries who, like himself, had been expelled from Venezuela. In December 1816 he landed on an island near the mouth of the Orinoco River in Venezuela, held a conference, formed a new government, and continued the struggle, with many successes against the king's generals. In 12 he prepared to unite with the forces of New Granada.He led his soldiers up the Orinoco River to the Andes Mountains where the river originated, and across the majestic Andes Mountains from the dangerous Paya Pass.The snow there never melted all the year round, and the weather was so cold that many soldiers and all the horses were frozen to death.But the small remaining force crossed the snowy mountains in time to reach New Granada, where they dealt the Spanish a fatal blow at Poaca on August 1819, 1819.Bolivar was successfully stationed in Bogota, and was soon elected president of New Granada and Venezuela.

For four or five years after the Liberators, Bolivar supported revolutionaries in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.Until 1825, the power of Spain was driven away.Bolivar resigned from his post as a military dictator and despite opposition from his arch-enemies, was appointed to the top civilian post.People generally praised him as "the liberator" and "Washington of South America".Bolivia, part of the vast territory of Peru, was named in his honor.Five countries, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, remember him with gratitude.

Among his able generals who fought alongside Bolivar in the liberation struggle was a young Indian named Antonio Pais.He was born in 1790, when the revolution rose, he was only 20 years old, but he lived to be 83 years old.He served as Venezuela's first post-independence president. In 1860 he became Venezuela's ambassador to the United States, but within a few years he was driven out of his country, the victim of a riot.He spent the last three years of his life in New York, where he died in 3.

Bolivar and Pais were aided in the struggle for freedom by some 5000 British and Irish soldiers, veterans of the European battlefield who traveled to Latin America after the overthrow of Napoleon and joined the struggle for independence. in battle.

[-]. Saint Martin in the South

When Bolivar, Pais and others led the revolutions in Venezuela, Colombia and other northern South American countries, Argentina and the southern countries of the South American continent also staged uprisings, first against Napoleon and then against Spain.Among the revolutionary leaders in the south, José de San Martin was probably the most capable.

St. Martin in Europe St. Martin (1778-1850) was born in Argentina and was sent to Spain to study in his childhood.He was an excellent soldier in the Spanish fight against Napoleon. In 1811 he resigned his post as lieutenant colonel in Spain and returned to Argentina.The following year, he traveled to Buenos Aires to devote himself to the revolutionary cause. In January 1813, he defeated the Spanish viceroy at San Lorenzo.The following year, he served as the commander of the Peruvian Rebel Army.

San Martin, in Peru and Peru in Chile, was Spain's first core jurisdiction in South America and the last to break away from its rule.Much of Peru remained firmly attached to Spain long after the flames of revolution raged in neighboring countries.

In 1814, San Martin made the decision to liberate Chile first, and then attack Spanish strongholds in Peru from Chile.In the end, he completed the plan.Headquartered in Mendoza, Argentina, across the Andes, San Martin recruited and trained in 1815 and 1816 a force he named the "Army of the Andes."This unit was formed by people from Argentina and Chile.In recruiting and training this group, San Martin had the strong support of Bernard O'Higgins, the son of a former Irish governor of Chile.

Andean Army In January 1817, San Martin led a well-trained force of 1 men and marched westward from Mendoza.They traversed the snow-covered Andes from steep mountain roads.This difficulty is comparable to the Alps that Hannibal and Napoleon crossed. On February 4000, they surprised the Spanish army at Chacabuco, near Santiago, and won.

More than a year later, on March 1818, 3, San Martin suffered the Spanish defeat.But on April 19 in Maipo, a few miles south of San Diego, he scored a decisive success and his fate was saved.The battle ended Spanish rule in Chile, and San Martin devoted all his energies to the liberation of Peru.

From Chile to Peru After the victory in the Maipo battle, San Martin went to Argentina to seek foreign aid.He recruited a fleet of Argentinian and Chilean ships off the coast of Chile, led by the British officer Lord Thomas Cochrane.The fleet consisted mainly of British and American sailors.By August 1820, St. Maarten had also recruited another small force of around 8 men.He and his men set sail from Valparaiso, Chile, in Cochrane's ship, and landed at Pisco on the coast of Peru. In July 4000, San Martin entered Lima, the capital of Peru, and declared Peru an independent republic.

At the beginning of the successful attack on Peru, the Spaniards outnumbered San Maarten's army by about four times, but many Indians in the Spanish army supported independence, so they defected to San Maarten.

Meeting between San Martin and Bolivar In July 1822, San Martin received Bolivar from the north in Guayaquil, Ecuador.San Martin originally thought that Bolivar was a bold patriot and was willing to submit to him, but he soon discovered that Bolivar was very concerned about his origin.Realizing that he could not work happily with Bolivar, San Martin voluntarily relinquished power, resigning from Peru in September 7, handing full power to Bolivar.Until December 1822, General Sucre (a capital of Bolivia was named after him) won the help of Bolivar from Colombia, defeated the last part of the Spanish troops in Peru, and realized the complete independence of Peru.

San Martin's later years After San Martin retired from Peru, he spent some time in Chile and then went to Argentina.Disturbed by political enemies, he eventually traveled to Europe, where he remained for the rest of his life, dying in Boulogne, France, in 1850.Of all the patriots of South America's revolutionary period, he was certainly the ablest and most disinterested.The liberation of Argentina, Chile, and Peru is largely to his credit.Bolivar is often referred to as the "Washington of South America", but some people feel that San Martin deserves this honor even more.

Mexico and Central America When the Mexican Revolution broke out in 1810, two local priests, Hidalgo and Morelos, made excellent leaders.They soon gave their lives for patriotism, but the struggle for independence was carried on by many for years and years until it was finally won in 1821.Not long after, following the example of the government of the United States of America, the United Provinces of China and the United States were formed.

Brazil from colony to kingdom As mentioned above, when Napoleon attacked Portugal in 1807, the Portuguese royal family fled to Brazil. Brazil was proclaimed in 1815 and enjoys the same political status as Portugal. There was a democratic revolution in Portugal in 1820, but surprisingly, the leaders declared Brazil to be a colony again.In defiance, coupled with the incentives of neighboring countries to fight for freedom, the Brazilians declared their liberation in 1822.Although Brazil has a constitution of liberties, it still considers itself an empire, not a republic.

Brazil, by comparison, was very fortunate to have won its independence without much war or bloodshed.

By 1825, Spain, Portugal, and the French colonies in South America, Central America, and the West Indies had all but gained independence.The most notable exceptions are Cuba and Puerto Rico, which were also Spanish colonies.

[-]. Emotions abroad
For the Latin American revolutions that won independence and established republics between 1800 and 1825, there is no doubt that most citizens of the United States expressed sympathy and support.The same is true of liberals in Europe, people who support nationalism against authoritarian systems, and are very excited to see the successful independence and nationalism of Latin America.There was also general sympathy for the revolutions in Latin America in the British Isles, as well as in France.On the other hand, the conservatives and reactionaries represented by the Congress of Vienna, because of their enormous influence in Spain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia, were quite shocked by the democratic revolutions in Latin America from the perspective of maintaining the old order of things.

Revolutions have been ups and downs and extremely dangerous.Those revolutions in America, France, and Latin America were no doubt more dangerous to the despots and nobles of Europe.Every revolution has the potential to end with military despotism, but the first object of attack in a democratic revolution is the kingship and its privileges.

In the shadow of Vienna, not only was the Congress of Vienna once again trying to "put the past on its throne," but the leaders of the Congress did their best to keep "it" intact.In particular Prince Metternich, a very able Austrian statesman, took the helm of the Congress of Vienna.Then, as we shall see below, he made it his life's work to create solid "barriers against the revolutionary tide."He's the most conservative of conservatives.

Quadruple Alliance In 1815, shortly after the Congress of Vienna, the victors formed the Quadruple Alliance, a union between Austria, Russia, Prussia and Great Britain.Metternich wanted to implement the decisions of the Congress of Vienna in this way, and also expected the Quadruple Alliance to prevent or stop the revolution.But the difficulty of this job was beyond his expectation.While the new alliance was formed, the revolution in Latin America was still going on and trying to win.Also between 1820 and 1823, revolutions against despotic dictators broke out in Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sardinia, and Greece.Austrian troops put an end to the revolution in Italy, and French troops suppressed an uprising in Spain, but Metternich's plans did not go well.England was slowly losing sympathy, and in fact Britain had withdrawn from Metternich's system.

Holy Alliance The Holy Alliance is often confused with the Quadruple Alliance in relation to the chain of events that led to the Monroe Doctrine.The Holy League was an alliance formed by Russian Tsar Alexander in 1815 to promote the Christian teachings of justice, peace, and love.At first he persuaded the king of Prussia and the emperor of Austria to join the alliance, and expected the other princes of Europe to join.Most European monarchs joined the Holy Alliance (with indifference from the Pope, the Sultan of Turkey, and the British government), but with the exception of Tsar Alexander, no one seemed to take it seriously.Metternich also regarded the Holy Alliance with near contempt, although he was eager to find ways to use it to further his own plans.

[-]. The Monroe Doctrine

Everyone familiar with American history should have heard of the Monroe Doctrine.Let's take a look at how it is introduced in the international situation we have learned.

In 1822, according to Metternich's plan, the King of France proposed to assist Spain in suppressing its revolutionary American colonies.Britain and the United States expressed their opposition.Trade between the newly established republics in Latin America and Britain was more profitable than it had been under Spanish rule, and Britain did not want them to be ruled by Spain again, nor did they want France to control them.

The United States recognized these new republics as independent sovereign states.In addition, President Monroe also felt that all interventions in the new world by the powers and tyranny originating from the old world would "endanger our security and peace."

Some of the "Monroe Doctrine" that Russia is famous in North America is aimed at Russia.Long ago, Russia controlled Alaska mainly through trading posts. In 1821, the Russian government declared in a decree that it had the right to control all the land along the Pacific coast of North America up to the 51st parallel, that is, Vancouver Island.This demand shocked Britain and the United States, because they also wanted sovereignty over that place.

The characteristics of the Monroe Doctrine Therefore, in 1823, President Monroe declared in his address to Congress that the United States would not interfere in European affairs, but at the same time warned European powers not to interfere in American affairs.European powers must never "colonize" the Americas.Europe must not extend its "system" - Metternich's monarchy system to America.

The great significance of the Monroe Doctrine is that it issued a warning to all despotic countries in the old world. At the same time, the main purpose of the United States is to maintain sovereignty, but its position is the supporter and defender of the new republic of Latin America, the countries of the Continental Confederation The most important reason for attaching great importance to the warnings of the United States and treating this matter with caution is that Britain has also adopted the same attitude.

Since 1823, along with the changes in the world situation, the Monroe Doctrine has undergone major changes.But looking into this period of frequent revolutions, it is easy to see why it started, and why it was declared in 1823.It did play a very important role in guarding the New World Republic.

(End of this chapter)