Spanish America
To know more about the political emancipation in Spanish America, we must remember how was your colonization. You have to understand how society behaved and remembercommercialism , exploitation of colonies , etc., so we can say that even becoming independent, the structure of these companies has not changed.
Colonization of Spanish America
Spain was a mercantilist metropolis, this means that the colonies only served to explore.The settlement would only make sense if the colonies could provide profitable products.Thus most of the Spanish colonies (and Portuguese) were colonies of exploitation, which depended on the rules imposed by the metropolis.
The most important factor for the Spanish colonization in America was mining. The base of the Spanish economy were the riches that came, especially from Bolivia, silver and gold also from other colonies. It was this activity, mining, responsible for the growth of others who were linked, as agriculture and cattle needed for the consumption of those who worked in the mines.
When mining declined, livestock and agriculture, have become the basic activities of Spanish America.
The Labour Exploitation
In some places such as Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, there was exploitation of black slave labor, but in general the production system in Spanish America was based on the exploitation of indigenous labor.
The natives were uprooted from their communities and forced into temporary work in the mines, for which he received a miserable salary. How they were poorly fed and treated with violence most indigenous died very fast.
The Colonial Spanish Society
The vast majority of the population of the American colonies was made by the Indians.The black slave population was small, and was used as labor, especially in the West Indies.
Who really sent and exploited the native population were the Spanish, whites who were the minority but, were the rulers.
So we divide society in Spanish America between white (dominant) and non-white (dominated).
Even among the white population had divisions as:
Chapetones - white settlers born in Spain, were privileged.
Creoles - whites born in America and descendants of Spaniards. They were rich landowners but did not have the same privileges as Chapetones.
Furthermore, the mixture of white and Indians created a layer of mixed race.
The Spanish Administration
The first conquerors, were also the first administrators. They received the Spanish Crown the right to rule the land they had discovered.
With the growth of wealth, as discovered gold and silver, the Spanish Crown was diminishing the power of these early managers and has itself to manage.
Thus, he began to monopolize trade and created bodies to make laws and control colonies.
Emancipation Policy of Spanish America
You can only understand how the Spanish colonies in America have managed to break free, if we turn back and recall theEnlightenment .
At the beginning of the 19th century, Spain still dominated most of its American colonies, but France came new ideas. It was the time of Lights! The air was of freedom, the Enlightenment philosophers preached that freedom of Man was up for anything. They did not accept that the kings could use his authority above all. After all, the Enlightenment valued reason, saying that the man was master of his own destiny and should think for themselves.
Publications made in France and England containing these ideas were coming to the colonies hidden from the authorities. Ideas of freedom also came through educated people traveling and outside, discovered a little more of Enlightenment philosophy. But who were these educated people?
When we saw the Colonial Spanish Society, the study CRIOLLOS. They were white, born in America, who had farms, could also be merchants or tenants of the mines. They had money but did not have access to the highest positions because these positions could only be the CHAPETONES. Then the Criollos used the money to study. Many went to the American or European universities, and they were thus aware of the ideas of freedom that ran the world with the Enlightenment.
The Criollos, exploring the work of mestizos and blacks and were owners of most of the means of production and were becoming a major danger to Spain. Therefore, the Spanish crown decided to create new laws:
- taxes were increased
- the colonial pact became more severe
(The colonial pact was the agreement by which the business activities of the colony were the exclusive domain of a metropolis)
- restrictions on industries and colonial agricultural products competing with the metropolitan worsened.
(Thus, the colonies could not develop their trade freely)
The Criollos had the US example that had been released from England. And England itself was interested in helping Spanish colonies because he was in full industrial revolution. This means that, needed to find out who bought the production of its plants and also to find out who sell him raw material to work with. Thus, the Spanish colonies received British help against Spain.
When was the French Revolution, the French, who had always been enemies of the British, they saw rise to power Napoleon Bonaparte .That's when the fight between France and England increased. Because of the Continental Blockade, imposed by France, Britain could no longer make trade with continental Europe (the continent).
Because of this, Britain needed more than ever for new markets to trade, helped so how could the Spanish colonies to become independent.
France also helped because Napoleon Bonaparte with his armies invaded Spain and put as king in Spain, his brother. So automatically, dependent on France, Spain also became enemy of England. This was the reason that Britain wanted to put their ships in the Ocean Atlantic and prevent Spain made contact with their Spanish colonies.
The Criollos then took advantage of the situation and deposed rulers of colonies and began to rule by establishing immediate free trade.
Even after the Spanish king came to power, the struggle for independence continued and England continued help, because without freedom there would be no trade.
Conclusion
So we can see that perhaps because of the way it was dominated and exploited, Spanish America has struggled to become independent. The interference of England and even France were basic, though self-interest.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aquino and Ronaldo - Making History - Ed the book Technician.
Marques, Berutti, Faria - The Human Paths - Ed Lee.
Silva, Francisco de Assis - General History - Ed Modern.
Encyclopedia Countries and Peoples - Ed. Abril Cultural
Encarta Encyclopedia 96 - Microsoft
Marques, Berutti, Faria - The Human Paths - Ed Lee.
Silva, Francisco de Assis - General History - Ed Modern.
Encyclopedia Countries and Peoples - Ed. Abril Cultural
Encarta Encyclopedia 96 - Microsoft
Category: General history
0 komentar