Category: Module 2 Assignment: Analyzing Visual Sources of Latin America in the 19th and early-20th Centuries

Tulane University Howard-Tilton Memorial Library. “Colon Theatre”. The Latin American Library. https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane%3A11605

 

During the rise of liberalism throughout Latin America in the late 19th century, some nations adopted European ideologies that later will greatly influence in politics and society. Leaders and social representatives believed the idea that the best way to create a more organized and centralized government was by following the ideals of European thinkers. One of the strategies used to achieve this was to encourage Europeans to migrate to Latin American cities and making the society homogeneous implementing at the same time a new identity. The proposal was to create a modern and unified government which will extend major changes in politics, infrastructure, and culture in these nations under the principle of social evolution.

 

One of the places that is the representation of this new era of progress is the Colon Theatre. The Colon Theatre is an opera house located in Buenos Aires, built in the year 1857. It operated from its opening until 1888, closing its doors temporarily to be renovated and later reopened in 1908. As seen in this image dated from the end of the 19th century, the Colon Theatre or Teatro Colon has a sophisticated style never seen in an architecture built in Latin America. Its façade and gardens reflect the Parisian style and resemble any of the big opera houses of Europe. I had the great privilege when I was younger to visit this imposing place so important for the Argentine culture and to learn what a great symbol it has been to the history of the country. Every decoration and structure inside the opera house imitates the European aristocratic style creating a perfect atmosphere for Buenos Aires elites. At the end of the 19th century, one of the manifestations of superiority and progress for a country was when its cities were architecturally like Paris. In the case of Buenos Aires, new constructions were changing the geography of the city causing it to lose its native roots to give way to a new cosmopolitan city. From the social standpoint, the new doctrines of progress acquired by the government denoted racism towards indigenous people and mestizos. Under these new doctrines, the indigenous and mestizos were marginalized considering them second-class citizens and forbidding them to live in the city and depriving them of their lands. Instead, the government offered European immigrants to populate the city and its surroundings. This period of development and economic prosperity for Argentina was reached by austere measures that mainly affected the most vulnerable social groups. In turn, the country opened its doors to capitalism by trading with countries like the United States and England and industrializing its resources. The construction of railroads throughout the country and telegraph lines made the country to climb to a level of modernization unique for its time. In a few years, Argentina had been transformed through radical policies into one of the most prosperous countries in the world, although at great cost to its citizens.

 

Two faces can be seen in this period of Argentine history. On the one hand you can see the development and opulence achieved through progressive political ideas that led the country to prosperity as we see represented in the most important building in Buenos Aires, the Colon Theater. However, what little is said is that the cost to society was very high, racism, segregation, genocide, and slavery.

 

Work Cited

• James A. Wood and Anna Rose Alexander, “Problems in Modern Latin American History”, 5^th edition, pages 131-135.
• https://teatrocolon.org.ar/en/theater/theater

Naturally, when one ideology begins to grow more predominant in society, other competing views and ideology tend to slowly lose its influence and influence. Latin America proved to be no exception to this common pattern when liberalism first started to take hold in the 19th century and grew into the 20th century. As liberalism became more and more popular among the people, the exact opposite party, the conservatives, began to push back to regain more power. While we can discuss and analyze the complex struggle between the liberals and the conservatives, I will focus primarily on the role of the Catholic Church and the tension with the liberals during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The image above is of an early 20th-century church in Latin America. Judging by the dirty walls and the immense amount of weeds on the floors and stairs, we fairly assert that this church seems run-down and poorly maintained. Ironically, the image of this church starkly contrasts the typical image of immaculate and well-kept catholic cathedrals and churches of the time. While the poor state of this church can likely be attributed to the financial state of the area in question, it can also very well be indicative of the waning power and influence of the Church due to the rise of liberalism. 

Prior to the explosion of liberalism in Latin America, the Church controlled or had an immense influence on even daily and mundane parts of people’s lives. However, with the rise and emphasis on the individual and their freedom and control on their own lives, the Church began to lose influence and even resources. On the more extreme level, there were some radical liberals who held intense hostility toward the Church, going as far as demanding the complete abolition of the Church and its influence in Latin America. However, the majority of liberals in Latin America were more moderate in their beliefs and adhered to a few key ideas. While these essential values and goals of liberalism such as a more modernized economy, equality, citizenship, etc. did not seem like direct threats to the Catholic Church, liberal progress inevitably involved the departure from past institutions such as the Church. In order to combat liberalism in Latin America, the Catholic Church aligned itself with the conservatives who believed that the church was an integral part of society that acts as an established order, preventing the potential anarchy that may result from liberal ideas. However, the Church’s strategy proved to be ineffective as liberalism continued to rise to become the predominant ideology of Latin America, pushing the Church and its influence to a more minimal role in the life of someone living in Latin America.

The station master is the person in charge of a railway station. Throughout many years it was considered a male occupation. It was rare for a women to hold a position as a station master. The station master is responsible for the management of other station employees and holds responsibility for safety and the efficient running of the station. The term was historically employed across stations of all sizes, leading to variation in the role. At a major city terminus, with potentially hundreds of employees, the station master’s duties would focus on personnel management. At smaller town and country stations, with a more limited staff, the station master would have far more customer interaction with traveling passengers, and would commonly deputise for other members of staff in their absence.

The number of employees at a railway station varied according to size. A historic station master would typically manage a number of booking clerks , porters, and often ancillary staff in catering, left luggage, and maintenance roles.

This imagine stood out to me because this job was very important in the 19th century. They were highly respected in their communities. Most came from backgrounds of farmers, sailors, and civil servants.

 

 

The photo below is the “Opening of Congress” from Arturo W Boote & Company c.1850-1910. Latin America is infamous for maintaining their sovereignty throughout the later 19th and early 20th centuries. Liberals took power of Latin America in the 1950s. Latin America’s liberal export boom was a really important period of time for Latin America. Liberalism in Latin America had many pros and cons for the nations, as well as the citizens. The “Opening of Congress” image shows opening ceremonies in front of the Casa Rosada in Argentina which we know at this time was completely run by Liberalists. This picture of people gathering around this government facility allows us to analyze what was happening in this time period, how the government was being ran, and how citizens were affected. 

Liberalism in Latin America was effective and while Latin American rulers didn’t always have the best interests of its citizens in mind, the nation was greatly impacted, economically. Latin America’s liberal export boom was a period of large and successful economic growth from around the 1870s to 1920s. Liberalists believe in theories of positivism and “freedom”. But in Latin America, the government prioritized modernization, free trade etc rather than freedom for the citizens. One major development during the boom was an increase in railroads, vital for the economic boom. Latin America did a great job of maintaining sovereignty and financial freedom due to their liberal style of governing especially since during this time period, a majority of other nations were being put under US or European imperialism. Latin America’s governing held strong through this.  

Though Latin America prospered financially, its citizens got the negative backlash from their prior governing. For example the period of caudillos rule was a very difficult time for the people of Latin America. “The Ribbons and Rituals of Rosismo” by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento tells an excerpt from Sarmiento on caudillo Juan Manuel de Rosas in Argentina, where my chosen photo was also taken. This excerpt gives us insight on the people gathering in this photo, and what they had previously been through. The hope they had outside of the congress building at this time. “Yoked to the coach by cords of red silk are the men who, with criminal impunity, have kept the city in a state of continual alarm since 1833” (Wood,Chapter 4). Rosas’ men had implemented fear in the citizens, forced them to wear red ribbons to prove their loyalty. Blood was shed for many citizens. But worse, they had celebrations for months. Fake celebrations, to manipulate the people’s minds and eventually created a disease in the society that spread without even any action from Rosas and his men. Analyzing this photo is different and more beneficial when we have an insight of what was going on with the people in this photo as well as their past trauma, from the Caudillo Rule that came just before.

Beginning in the early 20^th century, we begin to witness the rise in neocolonialism throughout many Latin American countries such as Honduras, Guatemala, and Costa Rica for example. One prominent example of neocolonialism would be the United Fruit Company which at its greatest heights, had a complete monopoly over banana exports across the globe, primarily in the United States.

In the photo selected above, we see massive amounts of bananas being boarded onto a United Fruit train car for exportation in Costa Rica. The exploitation of cheap labor, abundance of fertile lands, and weak governments paved the way for United Fruit to establish almost complete control of the countries It did business in through influencing local and national elections to ensure that they would remain the only exporter of bananas in Central and South America which would later coin the term “Banana Republics”. Without a doubt, countries that did business with United Fruit were the losers in this deal as they rarely reaped in any of the profits made on their land since United Fruit was a U.S. based corporation. This went on for much of the first half of the 20^th century in which over time, the United Fruit Company would go on to become one of the biggest landowners in Central and South America by promising job creation and investing in infrastructure in the countries it operated in. Most notably, United Fruit was responsible for expanding railroads, radio and telegraph systems throughout the regions which was initially built to keep in constant communication with its ships and plantations.

While the legacy of the United Fruit Company is anything but controversial and its impact can still be seen today in the nations it operated in. It did provide many of the impoverished nations with up to date infrastructure on roads and railways while also unintentionally teaching local plantation owners and laborers on more sustainable agriculture techniques.

https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane%3A11664

Banana or tropical agricultural products were one of the main symbols that leads to the heyday of Latin America’s export-oriented economy. It also represented the rising of neo-colonialism through the practice of using economics, globalization, cultural imperialism, and conditional aid to influence a country instead of direct military control or indirect political control.

Firstly, after the period of colonialism, the new governments of the Latin America region found it difficult to break the traditional export model of development which had been established under colonialism. For that reason, an export-oriented economy was a goal of the government. The export economy of tropical agricultural products in Latin America accounts for 14.2% of world exports, of which bananas account for a large proportion. Following the tendency, the United Fruit company became one of the largest corporations and landowners in Latin America. It is an American corporation that traded tropical fruit grown in Latin America and sold in the United States and Europe. The picture described the worker moving bananas out of the United Fruit Company banana groves in Limon (Costa Rica) – one of its main farms in Latin America. As we can see in the image, bananas were produced on a large scale, and the pulley system representing the application of machines in industrial production. United Fruit company was using the method of exchanging land for infrastructure or the railroad in specific. Besides Limón in Costa Rica, Guatemala was a real gold mine for the company like United Fruit. Under the Guatemalan dictator Jorge Ubico, the United Fruit Company gained control of 42% of Guatemala’s land and was exempted from paying taxes and import duties. At peak, United Fruit became a monopoly of the industry by selling ninety percent of banana in the United States.

Secondly, besides the contribution to the economy, the United Fruit multination company is also known for its influence on the internal politics of the “banana republic”. The corporation is described as “el pulpo” or octopus in Spanish because of the long reach of its tentacles all over central America. The Guatemala government gave the company the right to transport postal mail between Guatemala and the United States. Besides controlling land transportation, the United Fruit Company was also given control of the port in return for money and arms. Moreover, the company invested in the tropical radio and telegraph company then used it for propaganda their ideas. United Fruit Company was a typical example of neo-colonialism in the 20th century which using economics to influence a country instead of direct military control. Despite the destitute condition that people in colonized countries were suffering, we cannot deny the contribution of colonialism to the colonized economy. For example, between 1880 and 1910, the total length of the railroad in Brazil increased from 3.4 to 21.3 thousand kilometers or 12.7 to 31.1 thousand kilometers in Argentina. Furthermore, people in colonial countries benefited from cultivation and mining techniques taught by the colonist.

In conclusion, the image of the banana farm has a profound description of a society in the late 19th and beginning of the 20th century. It not only represents the economy that focused on export but also the rising of neo-colonialism.

Cite:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCXW26UUWeU
• https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane%3A11673
• Dawson, Alexander. Latin America since Independence: A History with Primary Sources. 2nd ed. Taylor & Francis, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central.

The photo above, called “Gaucho Portrait”, shows a gaucho, or an Argentenian cowboy, leaning on his horse. This drawing belonged to a postcard and was drawn in black and white using mainly the stipple method. The Gaucho is proud, but comfortable, and dressed effectively for his long hours in the Argentenian sun; a hat over his head, a long coat and tall boots with a heel. Tools, including the rope draped over his horse’s hind quarters, are present for him to utilize when needed during his work day. His horse shares a similar expression; proud and tall, but looking in the same direction. The horse is not overly well-kempt, but practical. His tail is bang-cut very short while his mane and forelock are left naturally. 

The rise of the gaucho was a product of Latin America’s win in the war for independence against Spain. Much like the ranchers in Mexico, or rancheros, they sought to keep their communities safe from any outsiders during the years following the newly won war. They refused to define themselves by race, as many of them weren’t strictly white or European, but believed that they shared similar distinctive qualities which gave them the right to defend by arms if necessary. In addition to defending their communities, they worked long hours raising, breaking and training horses, raising, buying and selling cattle, tending to their land, and maintaining any structures or fencing that are likely to have wear and tear with animals. This lifestyle was rugged and strenuous, but gauchos became iconic symbols for independence and freedom. Their presence has become that of an Argentinian ideal for nationalism and tradition.

National Geographic has covered the gaucho lifestyle, which still lives on in Argentina with about 150,000 remaining members. Many are born into the lifestyle. Their overall appearance in comparison to the drawing above has remained almost entirely identical. The clothing of the gaucho has not evolved like mainstream fashion over the past two centuries, but it has remained the same in style and is just utterly practical. The tack used on their horses is also simple and practical, using minimal leather and mostly thickly padded cloth underneath the leather to improvise for the lack of modern flocking materials, like wool or foam. This “no frills” lifestyle that remains in “el campo”, the countryside, makes for tough, durable horses that require minimal maintenance to stay both fit and healthy–an uncommon occurrence for many horse breeds today. They live off the land and adapt to the changing seasons, which is a struggle often described by gaucho as “beautiful”. 

 

Guachos | National Georgraphic. Youtube, uploaded by National Geographic, 2007, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7KovwMiHJ4.

Dawson, Alexander. Latin America since Independence: A History with Primary Sources. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2015.

Church Dome

1850?-1900?

I chose this painting because it shows the meaning of how the Church played an important part in how the people lived their lives, especially the conservatives, and how the Church also played a political role in how things should be done, as well as, having control throughout countries. However, there were other people that were against the Church/conservatives, those were the Liberals.

The difference between the Liberals and the conservatives is that the Liberals believe that people should be free in what they can do and use their voices in any means possible, instead of having a controlled environment. The conservatives believe the church has the power to control what fits best for the people and have control over what people can or cannot do. The conservatives and the liberals were always feuding with one another because of their political beliefs and the belief that the people can or cannot be dependent on one control decision that people make, as well as, making your own decision. Furthermore, the Church believed the only decision that needed to be done is by God and God only, as well as, the religious text. The conservatives only went by that rule and made people believe that was the only way.

The conflict between the conservatives and the liberals is that they always managed to somehow find holes in the political system, as well as, the laws of that the Church wanted to use amongst the people because the Catholic church was heavily involved in Latin-America and Spain. There were various types of reforms in order to stabilize the government and these reforms wanted the Church to be overthrown as a controlled government because the people who did these reforms wanted to have its own government and wanting the church not to have a whole lot of control of everything in its power, as well as, having people to have more freedom to do what that a free person should have. 

 

Dawson, Alexander. “Latin America SInce Independence:  A History with Primary Sources”. 2nd Edition. Taylor & Frances 2015.  Routledge.

“Church Dome”, Church Dome. Tulane University Digital Library, https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane%3A11454