Latin America: From Independence to Dependent States
Socioeconomic Consequences of Latin America’s War of Independence The first half of the 19th century was characterized by a general trend toward instability in Latin America (Adler & Pouwels, 2006). In the period between 1810 and 1825, most of Spain’s colonies had declared independence and divided into republics (San Jose Unified School District, n. d.). Bethell (1987) attributes revolutions taking place in Latin America to the fact that Spain was “a durable but not a developed metropolis” (p. 1).
While approaching revolutionary processes in Latin America, the paper concludes that the proclamation of state independence did not end political turmoil and social tensions in the region, and hindered short-term and threatened long-term economic development of Latin American countries.The pursuit for political independence had been brewing in Latin America for years. However, colonies needed some external catalyst to trigger the process. Napoleon’s invasion of Spain in the years 1807 and 1808 can be viewed as such catalyst. When Napoleon defeated the country, he put his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne. It took Spain almost five years to overthrow Napoleon’s protégé.
However, by that time the country realized that most of its colonies proclaimed their independence (San Jose Unified School District, n. d.).The revolutionary wave swept through Mexico, Venezuela, Argentine, and other former colonies. In Mexico, the revolutionary movement was a platform for strategic talents of Jose Maria Morelos, Vincente Guerrero, and Gaudalupe Victoria. In Venezuela, the liberation movement is associated with the name of Francisco de Miranda. In Argentine, the struggle for independence was led by Jose de San Martin.Despite the success of these and other Latin American leaders, it would be wrong to assert that independence opened a new page in the history of the region. The former colonies confronted with old problems, though in their more radical version. Many of the countries that declared their independence from Spain were involved in the disputes over national borders (Landes, 1998). Often these disputes lasted for decades which negatively affected the development of the former colonies. They became platforms for civil unrest that was aggravated by the militarization of society (Donghi, 1985). Very often, the countries were forced to go through long civil wars that heated up social tension and undermined state economies. While approaching the impact of the revolutionary processes on the economic development of Latin America, it is recommended to distinguish between long-term and short-term effects.
The short-term effects were devastating. According to Bulmer-Thomas et al (2006), there was seen a gross decline in per capita income in most former colonies. The independent states were able to return to colonial levels only in the mid-nineteenth century (Bulmer-Thomas, 2006). There was felt an acute economic dependence on Spain that was the major consumer of Latin American goods. Taking into account short-term consequences, it is suggested that wars on independence demonstrated a complete economic dependence of Latin American countries on Spanish economy. However, in the long run, the …
