HIST1455 - Independence and Revolution in Latin America: Crises and Crossroads

Was it inevitable that the countries in Latin America would become independent, republican nations? What was the impact of revolutions throughout the region from Mexico to Buenos Aires? This course studies the main social, political, economic, and cultural tensions that shook Spanish and Portuguese America during the first decades of the nineteenth century. Through close readings of primary and secondary sources, we will reflect on the meanings and implications of independence and the rise of new republican nations throughout the region. The course is expansive across time and space as we explore topics including the Tupac Amaru Rebellion in Perú, the Comunero Revolt in New Granada, and how the French and Haitian Revolutions, as well as U.S. independence, were perceived throughout Spanish and Portuguese America. We will also delve deeply into the diversity of independence movements. Why did a monarch hold onto power for years after independence was proclaimed in Brazil? How were societies divided during the struggle and who fought on which side? The course culminates with a study of the impact and legacy of independence and revolutions on the region in the mid-19th century and thereafter.