Author: d.balchand

Posted on by d.balchand Final Timeline Project

Latin American Revolutionaries

Works Cited:

Dawson, Alexander. Latin America since Independence: A History with Primary Sources. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2022.

Crivelli, Camillus. “Miguel Hidalgo.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 16 (Index). New York: The Encyclopedia Press, 1914. 13 Dec. 2022 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/16045a.htm>.

Simon Boliver: Thinker, Liberator, Reformer – Crf-Usa.org. https://www.crf-usa.org/images/pdf/simonboliver.pdf.

“Cornelio Saavedra.” DBpedia, https://dbpedia.org/page/Cornelio_Saavedra.

Donald E. Worcester; Bernardo O’Higgins and the Independence of Chile. Hispanic American Historical Review 1 November 1969; 49 (4): 765–766. 

“Donquijote.” May Revolution – Don Quijote, https://www.donquijote.org/argentinian-culture/history/argentina-independance/.

“José De San Martín.” Visit the Main Page, https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Jos%C3%A9_de_San_Mart%C3%ADn.

Cova, Antonio de la. Jose De San Martin Knight of the Andes, https://www.latinamericanstudies.org/argentina/sanmartin-knight.htm.

Posted on by d.balchand Module 4 assignment: Latin America in the media

Mexico defies the United States, again?

The article published on June 6, 2022 titled “Mexico’s Lopez Obrador to skip Summit of Americas over Cuba, Venezuela snub” was a major event regarding the relationship between the Latin American countries and the United States. President Joe Biden called for the Summit of the Americas, which is a conference that gathers the leaders from North, South, Central, and the Caribbean. It aims to enable warm and friendly relations between the US and Latin American nations. However, the Mexican President decided to boycott the event because the Biden did not leave an invitation for Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. He claimed that the summit cannot be conducted when not all of the countries are present, stating “That would be to continue with the old interventionist policy of lack of respect for nations and their people”. The gathering was set to take place in Los Angeles, which is home to the largest Hispanic and Latino community across the United States. Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House Press Secretary said that President Biden must follow through with his policy of not engaging with dictators or corruptive leaders. This has led to many Latin American nations decided to following in Mexico’s footsteps and boycott the summit. The President of Honduras and Guatemala, Xiomara Castro and Alejandro Giammattei respectively, decided to not go which is not a good look for the United States. Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador and Bolivian President Luis Arce also followed through and decline the invitation. According to the Press Secretary, President Biden had some pressing concerns to discuss with the Mexican leader. Issues such as climate change, COVID-19, and most importantly the migration crisis occurring. The rise of migration has been a growing concern for the United States, as they wanted to discuss methods to reduce the number of migrants among the Northern Triangle nations, which include Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala. When Donald Trump was president in 2019, he stopped foreign aid towards those countries and claimed that over $450 million was being stolen by the corrupt leaders. Trump had also changed the NAFTA agreement established in 1994, in which he raised tariffs and nearly closing the Mexican border for the lack of migration prevention. The nations of Latin America and most importantly Mexico are still feeling the effects of the laws established during Donald Trump’s term. President Joe Biden is ultimately trying his best to overturn those regulations in place while also benefiting the United States, therefore it is hard to blame the Mexicans and other Latin American nations for pulling out of this summit.

Works Cited:

https://nypost.com/2022/06/06/mexicos-lopez-obrador-to-skip-summit-of-americas-over-cuba-venezuela-snub/

Posted on by d.balchand Module 3 assignment - Latin America in the Cold War

Probable Soviet MRBM Sites in Cuba, The Cold War.

The image I selected demonstrates one of the most famous events to have taken place throughout human history, the Cuban Missile Crisis. Spoiler, it didn’t happen. Nevertheless, the image displays arguably the location and range for the potential launch of the weapons planted in Cuba by the Soviets. As seen in the image, the scale of the weapons launching targeted nearly half of both the United States and Mexico, and completely affecting all of Central and Latin America. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) conducted a meeting within the White House on October 16, 1962 alongside President John F. Kennedy and his numerous advisors. They conducted several meetings primarily focusing on the methods of either destroying or removing the weapons out of Cuba. 

At this point in time, communism was the primary threat originating from the Soviet Union. The United States and Russia were deemed as the two strongest forces across the world, resulting from the aftermath of World War II. The US understood that the relatively newly established countries in Latin America had no chance of combating the oncoming threat of communism as they were. The rise of Fidel Castro to power made matters worse, who was determined to lead the Cuban government straight through the hands of communism. The Cuban Revolution, which took place from 1953 – 1959 was the elimination of President Batista by the revolutionary government led by Fidel Castro. He gained immense fame and likability within the Cuban population through his discontent with the United States. During his speech at Havana, where they dethroned the reign of Batista, doves flew down on the podium and perched on Castro’s shoulder. (Dawson 209) Due to that instance, the people deemed him as the savior of Cuba, in which he promised real change and the emergence of Cuba as a world power. This ultimately came at the hands of establishing his own dictatorship and the introduction of a communist government, due to Castro making ties with the Soviet Union. The United States’ failed attempt to bring his reign to an end at the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion resulted in the Soviet Union secretly planting nuclear weapons on the coast of Cuba directly aiming towards numerous US cities.  This aided the growth of Castro’s communist regime, as the missiles were to prevent any US intervention in the affairs within Cuba. During the meeting between the CIA and President Kennedy, they deemed this action as the Russian displaying their determination of spreading communism throughout Latin America. The United States military leaders and government officials urged JFK to make a decision, in which he knew that military action could lead to the Soviets retaliating by launching the missiles or something elsewhere. Ultimately, the result came to the US installation of their own missiles pointed towards Russia located in Italy and Turkey. President Kennedy and Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev both agreed to remove their respective weapons, as both did not want to essentially cause the start of World War III and perhaps, the end of the world itself.

https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/29165-oct-16-first-cia-memo-soviet-missiles-cuba-1962

Wood, James A. and Anna Rose Alexander, editors. Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations. 5th ed. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.

Dawson, Alexander. Latin America since Independence: A History with Primary Sources. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2022.


Posted on by d.balchand Module 2 assignment - Visual sources of late 19th-century or early 20th-century Latin America

Port of Buenos Aires

The late nineteenth century displayed a widespread reform of modernity across the newly independent Latin American nations. The image provided above by the Howard Tilton Memorial Library at Tulane University demonstrates a panoramic view of the lately established Port of Buenos Aires. This docking port became extremely prominent because the city was located directly on the Rio de la Plata. This enabled the city of Buenos Aires to become a prime position for the transportation of many goods. 

Following the fight for independence and abolishment of slavery, economies throughout the world competed to obtain the abundant goods within the newly formed Latin American countries. It began to usher in a new era, often referred to as “the golden age of export”. The Northern manufacturers; in particular those coming through New Orleans, had offered a wide range of variety including steam engines, automobiles, telephones etc. Goods that the citizens of Latin America had never seen before enabled them to completely change their ways of living for the better. (Dawson 100) The exportation of native goods such as sugar, tobacco, coffee and many others allowed for a safe and equal exchange of services. The constant flow of exports in and out of Latin America allowed for the construction of railroads through the land and docking ports in major cities along the water. Those including Buenos Aires, Medellin, and others used the profits from the exportation division to develop not only better working and living conditions, but also created new levels within the social class system. (Dawson 104) The introduction of middle managers, small businessmen and others were able to contribute and ultimately increase the overall GDP of Latin American nations. In an unprecedented situation, the steep rise in exportation profits enabled women to enter the working class, leaving behind their primary duty of household care. They inducted themselves into the working class, donning managerial roles for their newly established family businesses and led to the rise in the women’s suffrage and equal rights movement. 

Eventually, Argentina had a strong claim to belonging as one of the richest countries in the world by the early twentieth century. The port of Buenos Aires is without a doubt the prime reason the Argentinians were able to make this bold statement. The influx of not only goods but also people through the port, showcasing a population of around 1.5 million people adding more than 5 million immigrants from Europe. (Dawson 107) This also didn’t just allow the changing of how people live physically, but also through a social standpoint, enabling the reduction of racial standards and introducing more diversity with European immigrants. The establishment of the port of Buenos Aires, alongside many others throughout Latin America, guided their rise in power to become a booming economy across the globe.   

WORK CITED:

Dawson, Alexander. Latin America since Independence: A History with Primary Sources. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2022.
Posted on by d.balchand Module 1 assignment - Late Colonial and early Independence Latin American sources

Simon Bolivar. Liberator of Colombia & Peru; and Founder of Bolivia.

Simon Bolivar, arguably one of the most influential and prominent figures throughout not only Latin American history, but across the world. The image provided by the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University displays a painting of Bolivar created by Jose Gil de Castro, a Peruvian artist who was praised by Bolivar himself for producing the most realistic depiction of himself. Donning his full length military attire alongside the swords and spurs, qualities that exhibit a man of intellect and seasoned veteran on the battlefield.

Being born into an aristocratic family, even though he was provided with a privileged upbringing, Bolivar was very adamant about what he wanted to achieve from a young age. Like many other revolutionaries, he viewed George Washington and the American Revolution against the British as sources of inspiration in order to attain his own goals. He envisioned the lifestyle of the Latin American colonies to be different than what the Spanish Empire wanted. After playing crucial roles in the Peninsula War against France and having a successful career serving as patriot military commander in Venezuela, Bolivar began to push even further for independence among the Spanish-American colonies through intellectual and public speaking means. (Wood 32) In 1819, he delivered his Address to the Congress of Angostura in which solidified Gran Colombia’s freedom from prejudice and slavery of the Spanish. Using similar political laws and legislation as the newly developed United States, Bolivar made it clear regarding the direction of where the Latin American countries should go. Regardless of the fact that the North Americans continued to use the slavery system, Bolivar still admired their fight for independence. He strongly opposed slavery and preached ideals of a democratic government for the newly independent Latin American countries. However, he similarly expressed a strong interest in a dictatorship for the newly developed Gran Colombia; which was to consist of present-day Venezuela, Columbia, Panama and Ecuador. This plan didn’t follow through which led to the establishment of individual countries. Ultimately, this is the case where many people tend to view Simon Bolivar’s motives as very contradictory at times. (Dawson 16)

Regardless of the conflicting views on Bolivar’s political agendas, it doesn’t undermine the fact that he was an extremely distinguished revolutionary who fought hard for his beliefs. Growing up in a wealthy family didn’t prevent him from acting on what he thought was right, the idea that millions of people were suffering from the likes slavery and racial prejudice from the Spanish Empire. Following in the footsteps of George Washington and other Latin American revolutionaries such as Miguel Hidalgo and Toussaint L’Ouverture, Simon Bolivar stopped at nothing until he achieved what he wanted. As he stated in his letter from Jamaica, “we march majestically toward that great prosperity for which South America is destined.”(Dawson 20)

WORK CITED:

Dawson, Alexander. Latin America since Independence: A History with Primary Sources. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2022.

Wood, James A. and Anna Rose Alexander, editors. Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations. 5th ed. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.