Maddie Klitz Essays (491 words) - , Term Papers

Maddie Klitz 03-17-15 World 8 th hour Latin America COT Latin America went through many changes through the years 1750 to 1900. These changes included many revolutions, dependence on larger countries, and modernization in an industrializing world . The revolutions are what made L atin America what it is today. T he first country to start a revolution was Haiti in 1791 , a group of slaves revolted and after twelve years defeated the French powers thus becoming a free country. The next countries to start revolutions were Argentina and Chile in 1810 and Ecuador in 1809 by the 1820's all three countries had broken away from Spanish rule. By 1830 all countries were free from either Spain , France, and/or Great Britain. One of the longest wars for independence was Mexico's from 1810 to 1823 when it became the republic that it is today. After the revolutions there were twenty-one new countries with budding economies. Since many of these countries had small economies and few items they produced themselves, they were very economically dependent on the manufactured goods f rom other countries . Most countries were soon being taken advantage of from Europe, Spain, and the United States. An e xamp le of this would be when Spain tried overthrowing many of their lost "colonies" during the 1830s because the countries weren't interested in trading with them. Spain probably would have succeeded if it weren't for the help of Latin America's biggest trade partner Britain. Another example would be the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. This is an example of the United States taking advantage of Mexico because; the US had no right to start a war with Mexico and then take five hundred twenty-five thousand square miles from them . After everything Latin America had been through most of these countries struggled to play catch-up in t he quickly modernizing world. Until the 1970's, the one country that was a driving force in modernizing Latin America was Argentina. By 1862 Argentina was considered the Great Bri tain of Latin America, w ith its busy seaports, many exports , and lots of immigrants. On the other side of the spectrum were Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador who after gaining independence still suffered with unstable economies and little modern growth. As the 19 th century came to a close Latin America had pretty much found their way in the hustle and bustle of an ever evolving world. Some countries took everything in stride and others still struggle today. All these countries started the same way though with revolutions, dependence on larger countries, and modernization. Works Cited http://www.blackpast.org/gah/haitian-revolution-1791-1804 http://www.argentinaindependent.com/insideargentina/history-insideargentina/history/ http://countrystudies.us/chile/8.htm http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/08/09/ecuador-the-cry-for-independence-200-years-ago/ http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mexican-war-of-independence-begins http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/grant-mexican-american-war/ http://history-world.org/latin_america_europe_transplante.htm