September 2020 – Page 2 – History 3072, History of Modern Latin America

La Virgin de Guadalupe

La Virgin de Guadalupe holds a special place in Mexico’s religious life and is one of the most famous religious devotions. The origin of La Virgin goes back to December 12, 1531. The Virgin Mary, with native features and dressed in Aztec attire, first appeared to a native man named Juan Diego, who had converted to Christianity. In his indigenous language, she asked for a shrine in her honor on the very spot where she appeared, Tepeyac Hill, located just outside of Mexico City. When he approached the town bishop with his vision, the bishop demanded a sign before he would approve such a task. Mary then appeared a second time to Juan Diego and ordered him to collect dozens of roses. When he met with the bishop again, Juan Diego opened his cloak, letting the roses fall to the floor, revealing Mary’s image imprinted on the inside of the cloak.

Guadalupe’s brown skin and native features drew similarities to Tonantzin, a goddess worshipped by the Aztec people. Her visual representation also suggests traditional Catholic imagery. Her eyes look down with humility and compassion. She is human, not God. She wears a cloak covered with stars to show that she comes from heaven. The constellations are in the exact position as they were the morning of December 12, 1531. Her robe is usually covered with Aztec flowers, symbolic of an Aztec princess.

From the sixteenth century on, her image served as a symbol of freedom for the oppressed native populations. It spontaneously welded together all the different layers of the Viceroyalty of Nueva España. The criollos, distrusted by the Peninsulares, were treated as second-class citizens and given lesser positions at every professional level. With their growing numbers, intensely dedicated to the colony’s success, the criollos would become essential characters in Guadalupe’s spreading, aiding their ambition to create a Mexico out of Nueva España.

Miguel Hidalgo, a father of Mexico, was a Catholic priest and a criollo who envisioned an independent kingdom. He took up Guadalupe’s banner, gave the Virgin the title of “General Captain,” and paraded her image in every city he entered on his march to Mexico City, declaring independence on September 16, 1810. Hidalgo used her image as a catalyst for his nationalist goals and a focus for anti-Spanish sentiments. Guadalupe attracted a wider following for his rebellion, propelling her to become the symbol of the movement. “When they rallied behind the flag of rebellion, Mexicans followed the image of The Virgin of Guadalupe” (Dawson). They defined themselves as fundamentally distinct from the Spanish and celebrated their national cultures.

In 1811, Jose Maria Morelos, a catholic priest but of mixed ethnic background, joined Hidalgo’s rebellion and later became a leader after his execution. Inspired by Hidalgo’s actions, he created a preemptive piece that laid the bases for a future national constitution. This document became known as The Sentiments of the Nation and consisted of twenty-three articles. In the nineteenth article, he calls for the constitution to establish December 12, the day of La Virgin de Guadalupe, patron saint of Mexico, as a holiday to be celebrated (Wood, Alexander 36).

La Virgin de Guadalupe has played a vital role in Mexico’s history and remains a powerful symbol of Mexican identity and faith. To honor her, people light a candle and say a prayer in her name. Today, her image is associated with everything from motherhood to feminism to social justice and has come to embody Mexico’s modern reality as a melting pot. Serving as a reminder of the power of Mexico and the Mexican people.

Palace & Great Square in Rio de Janeiro

The colored etching presented above is of the great square in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The time period being 1823 when slavery was still legal is very evident on the lower right portion of the painting where we see a row of chained slaves and what appears to be a female slave washing clothes at a public tub. Aside from the slaves and few other characters in the background, we are shown just how vast and opulent the palace is with the church right alongside, being the tallest building with the cross on top as a way of showing respect to the Christian religion

A notable takeaway from the painting is how relatively quiet and peaceful the scene is, especially considering this is shortly after Brazil had declared independence from Portugal on September 7^th, 1822. While skirmishes with the Portuguese empire persist for a few more years after, Brazil is relatively left intact from its declaration of independence. An anomaly compared to most of Latin America during the same time period. Most countries that fought for independence from the Spanish empire faced a lot of damage in not only infrastructure, but in human death toll as well. Knowing how much destruction had taken place to the countries across the continent, it’s possible that Brazil and Portugal took a much less bloodless revolutionary war with most buildings and churches left intact to avoid the destruction Spain and its colonies took as damage (Wood 28).

One interesting fact about the artist himself, John Mawe is credited as the first foreigner in Brazil to be granted access a license to visit the rich mining areas of Minas Gerals. There he was able to witness firsthand and describe in detail about the diamond and gold mines of Brazil.

1: Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations, edited by James A. Wood, and Anna Rose Alexander, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2019. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/baruch/detail.action?docID=5743856.

Colonial Life in Saint Domingue

Bombardopolis or Bombarde in the island of St. Domingue

Colonial Life in Saint Domingue

Bombardopolis ou Bombarde dans l’isle de St. Domingue is an ink on paper illustration that depicts the town structure and life in the northern part of what is now modern day Haiti. Bombardopolis, as stated by the image notes, was a colonial town run under the control of German settlers that were given power by the French after a “disastrous French expedition… to colonize Kourou in French Guiana” (JCB notes). This image appears to show a well established town of enslaved people performing daily activities that exist outside of plantation work, pointing toward a sense of self-sufficiency and ability to exercise personal freedoms.

It is speculated that this image was illustrated by Nicolas Perignon, a famous French painter who was best known for his depictions of various European cityscapes and rustic landscapes. If this painter was indeed the illustrator of this photo, the date of its illustration could be put somewhere between Bombardopolis’s settlement in 1765 to the date of Pérignon’s death in 1782 (Art Institute of Chicago). This information is crucial to the image as this would place the scene before the August 21st, 1791 Saint Domingue rebellion that swept the northern part of Haiti in a violent yet successful slave uprising. The image notes state that this illustration does in fact depict enslaved black people but the location appears to be calmer and more laid back than a plantation settlement.

The image itself depicts a small colonial town in an impressively organized, grid-like structure that differs from a traditional plantation environment. Some clues point toward this community existing outside of plantation work and enslaved labor as the townspeople seem self sufficient in their daily activities. There are structurally sound and uniform houses placed on dirt roads with small plots of land resembling independently run farms, perhaps to sustain the townspeople rather than for agricultural economy purposes. This area of Saint Domingue was best known for sugar and coffee production, a crop that is usually tall and unruly, therefore the plots of land surrounding the houses do not point towards being a part of plantation labor. These settlements are also constructed in a way that makes a central plot of land resembling an orchard the focus of the town, just large enough to feed the town but not for export purposes. Outside of farm work, there appear to be multiple towns people holding sticks approximately 5 feet long, suggesting that this community is within walking distance of a water source that provides adequate fishing. The movements of the people in this image seem sporadic and free unlike the heavily uniform and controlled behavior of those enslaved on plantations.

The people in the image are dressed in clothing of various occasions, with some in full length dresses and casual suits and others in simple linen clothing. In the left foreground, there are a group of men and women in lightweight working clothes that contrast to those on the right who wear more formal attire. The group on the left appear to be walking into town with fishing poles and bags, only stopping to study the group of children on the right who are dancing and playing music. It is in this activity that you can see some semblance of secrecy in this society as this freeform activity takes place in the more remote, mountainous side of the town that is free from the eyes of elders and German settlers. The use of punishment on Bombardopolis may come less from corporal forms but more so from the presence of Christian doctrine and institutions. A church is located in the mid-ground just across from the orchard-like town square, its central location suggesting the significance of Christianity to the community. The children that are dancing appear to be dressed modestly, in line with Christian beliefs, and could be receiving religious teachings from the institution.

Works Cited

Bombardopolis ou Bombarde dans l’isle de St. Domingue, John Carter Brown Library, Box 1894, Brown UNiversity, Providence, R.I. 02912

“Nicolas Pérignon.” The Art Institute of Chicago, www.artic.edu/artists/100684/nicolas-perignon.

Upper-Class Indigenous Women in Colonial Latin America

©John Carter Brown Library, Box 1894, Brown University, Providence, R.I. 02912

Towards the early 19th century, a multitude of factors were in play that would eventually lead to and signal the coming of the independence movement of the Spanish colonies in Latin America. In order to ease some of the discontentment of both the colonial and indigenous people of Latin American colonies, a number of reforms were enacted to adjust the social, economic, and political issues in the colonies. Among the many reforms, the financial reforms and situations at the time seem to have given those who were once proletarian in nature, a large degree of upward social mobility. In the image above, there are a few important things to note. As both the description on the bottom of the image and the color of her skin indicates, this is an image of an Indigenous woman of Lima. Judging by her Spanish-style clothing, we can glean that this woman was also of the middle or upper class in Lima. While the details of the image are quite straight-forward and easy to discern, it seems that the image itself is contradictory. Yes, we can easily see that this is an indigenous woman of a higher social class in the Spanish colony of Lima, but the question is How is it even possible for an indigenous woman to be of the middle or upper class in a Spanish colony?

In order to answer this question and to make sense of the possibility of indigenous women in higher social classes, we must first examine the context of both why this is surprising and how this is possible. To begin, it seems that for the time period, the phrase “high-class indigenous woman” seems to be at odds with conventional standards. In the colonial era, the indigenous people of a colonized region were at best, considered of a “lower class” than the settlers of European blood; and in many cases, indigenous people were often forcibly migrated or outright eradicated. On top of this already low-standing position on the social hierarchy, women were further down the chain as they were disparaged in the patriarchal society that existed not only in the colonies but around the world. However, despite the systematic discrimination in place for indigenous people, trade patterns and financial reform in the Spanish colonies of Latin America brought something completely maverick for its time, a large amount of social mobility, especially for indigenous women.

To fully grasp this unorthodox financial rise of indigenous women in the Spanish colonies as seen in the image above, we must first acknowledge and analyze the vital role of the declining Spanish-Colonial trade. In the beginning of the 17th century, there seemed to be a sharp decline of trade between Spain and its colonies, a pattern that would continue on to the 18th century and beyond. While at face-value, this decline in trade may seem to have hurt both Spain and the colonies economically, on the contrary, it actually helped solidify the colonial economy. The absence of trade between Spain led to the bolstering and increasing the presence of the local colonial market, which not only allowed the colonies to operate more independently but to thrive economically. In addition to the solidification of the colonial market, Kris Lane, in his writing on Indigenous Quito Labor, mentions a tax reform enacted in the early 17th century that exempted indigenous people from sales taxes. This new tax reform prompted a surge of indigenous women working as merchants in common areas such as flea markets. In addition, the rise of the local market would produce many indigenous women who have made a fortune and moved up the social ladder, perhaps like the one in the image above.

Module 1

Dom Pedro also known as the King Pedro IV of Portugal became a great leader of Brazil. In 1807, Napoleon conquered Portugal and Pedro led his family on their journey to Brazil. Pedro gained the position of regent and held it for more than 20 years. Pedro was known and liked by his people. Pedro was an advocate for independence, and surrounded himself with like-minded people. The Portuguese Cortes wanted Brazil to remain in colonial status and demanded that Dom Pedro returns to Lisbon. Dom Pedro denied the Cortes’ demands, and publicly announced that he will remain in Brazil. This day became a Brazilian holiday, “Dia do Fico” which translates to “I shall remain”.

Many important people with political position agreed with Dom Pedro and his attitudes towards the Portuguese. Dom Pedro urgently issued a declaration of Independence for Brazil, effective on September 7th, 1822. Within three months, Dom Pedro then became the emperor of Brazil. This photo displays a town in Brazil on the day that Dom Pedro became emperor. As you can see, people fill the streets and are thrilled to have a new leader. Dom Pedro had been loyal to the Brazilian people thus far and they were under the impression that he would continue to have their best interest in mind. However, his first doing was clearing out Portuguese loyalists, maintaining his secret agenda. He made no changes economically or politically to benefit the Brazilian people in any manner. As Dom Pedro continued to neglect his people, they became very dissatisfied with him. Dom Pedro now had both the Brazilian and Portuguese against him. As tension continued to grow, Dom Pedro abdicated in favor of his young son Dom Pedro II on April 7th 1831, making him the second emperor of Brazil. Dom Pedro I returned to Portugal and immediately restored his daughter Maria II throne which had been captured by his brother Miguel. In 1834, Dom Pedro died of a ravaging tuberculosis infection.

Indian Slave Marches

In this image, we see the Spanish army marching to Indian slaves.
There are three important things to notice in this image. One is a variety of the people, meaning that in the image we can see male, female, and children. This showing how the Spanish included all native peoples in their system of slavery. Another thing to notice is that in the image there is only one Indian slave with a feathered headdress, this shows that he would very likely have been royalty or upper class since no other Indian slaves dons such as a headdress. What this allows the viewer to learn is that the Spanish forced all Indian people into its system of slavery regardless of their social class. Secondly, another important thing to notice is where the Indian slaves are being marched to, in the image we see them being marched towards a town. This could one mean that they are currently being moved to that town to be used for household work for the civilians there or that they are coming back from doing their time in the silver mines. Lastly one of the things to be noticed is the brutality of the Spanish soldiers. In the image we see them killing Indian slaves and we also see many that are already dead. What is important about this is that the killing of the Indian population and the brutality of the slave system shows how the Spanish contributed to the large decrease of the native American population that would later be replaced by black slaves in the slave trade.

John Carter Brown Library, Early American Images, File F707 N111v

Module 1 Assignment

Simon Bolivar was a leader for Latin America who fought for independence against the Spanish. His goal was to free Latin America from the Spanish’s rule. In order to achieve his goal, Bolivar knew he had to root out the Spanish’s culture of owning slaves. Back in Spain, slavery was nothing new to their people, however in Latin America, it was not viewed in a good light. Bolivar did not see eye to eye with Spain on slavery in Latin America and decided to go against slavery. Time after time, Bolivar would voice his negative view on slavery to Spain but every time, he would get rejected because to Spain, Latin America as a whole was a cash crop. Latin America provided all sorts of goods that Spain could profit off of and wanted to keep gaining. While Spain continued to rule Latin America with an iron fist, the anger of the people also built up. It was this anger that Bolivar used to unite and defy the Spanish rule. In the end, Simon Bolivar was able to help free Latin America from Spain, earning the name “The Liberator.”

Simon Bolivar was not perfect either. On one side he fought for Latin America because of how Spain treated people who weren’t Spaniards. On the other, he also treated Spaniards unequally such as, any Spaniards that committed a crime would be labeled “traitor” and would be shot. Latin Americans meanwhile would be pardoned. While Bolivar fought for independence because of how Spain treated Latin Americans, he was also similar to the Spanish. In the end, there is no such thing as a perfect leader, it all depends on which side you look at.

The Bostonians paying the excise-man, or tarring and feathering

This picture from 1774 shows Commissioner of Customs John Malcolm being humiliated in public. In this picture this method of humiliation is called tarring and feathering. Tarring and feathering was a ritual of humiliation and public warning that stopped just before serious damage was done. The victims to this humiliation was British officials such as Malcolm and merchants who violated non importation by importing British goods.

There were many forms of public humiliation during the 1700s. Other forms of humiliation was daubing victim’s homes with cesspits, and damages against property. One example of daubing is burning down a victims’ home.

I chose this picture because it really stood out to me and the fact that commissioner John Malcolm was being attacked under the liberty tree by multiple patriots. Would also stood out to me was the Boston Tea party taking place in the background.

Module 1 Assignment

JRB051

Date Tree at Ures

John Russell Bartlet

1851.12

In this image, it shows how life was like in the 1800s and that picture shows how people managed to establish their homes, as well as, managing the use of the outside world. Life in the 1800s was in many ways difficult, depending on what class you were, because the Spanish colonized certain countries and that the Spanish had the majority of control amongst the people in what they could do or what they couldn’t do. However, in some instances people had revolutions or some kind of resistance amongst the Spanish or against the government because of the situations that people were enduring amongst the colonizers and the people have had enough of the colonizers in trying to manipulate the government in order to maintain some kind of power against other countries. In some instances people who stood up against the colonizers, as well as, the government because they wanted a country to call their own and with their own government that can be fair, instead of being manipulated by the colonizers.

The reason why this painting stood out to me because of how vibrant it was and it also shows how life was like during the 1800s and that it is a painting of how lonely things were under colonizer rule. The painting also depicts how people struggled during the 1800s, as well as, it also shows the limitations of how people lived on the farmland. Although people had their limitations on how or what they can grow, however, they had to pay a huge price if they decided to go against the colonizers or the people who worked for the colonizers. Also, another reason why this painting stood out to me was how the painting depicted the people and that the people were somehow in a controlled environment, as well as, the painter chose the colors to paint the painting.

I also noticed the lone;y tree in the middle of the field and I thought that the tree reminded me of how the people felt alone without any kind of help that was necessary in order to survive. Also, the buildings in the painting were kind of worn out, and that the people didn’t really have the right means in order to fix them, however, the most important part of the painting was the two people sitting in the middle. The two people in the middle look like they didn’t have much to own or they didn’t have much to own, as well as, they were oppressed by the colonizers and that they were drained from being overworked in the fields. The people looked sad in the painting and that they were forced into doing whatever the colonizers wanted them to do and if they didn’t do what they were asked/forced to do, they would be significantly punished, maybe being punished with a high tax or simply being punished by their necessities taken away from them so it can be harder to survive.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

John Carter Brown Library. Archive of Early American Images Collection.

The image of Lady of Guadalupe has been a big part of Mexican tradition. It represented as a religious, cultural symbol of Mexican and also contributed to the turning point of Western civilization. The day of Our Lady of Guadalupe is chosen to be the same as the Constitution establishing day which can be seen in Article Nineteen of “The Sentiments of the Nation”.

Firstly, Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, a peasant, on a winter’s day in 1531 and asked him to builder her a “casita” on the hill but when Diego got back home, his local bishop did not believe in his story. A day after, Juan Diego showed the tilma to the bishop then the flowers tumbled out and the life-size image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was inside of the cloak. There are many symbols hidden within her image. She has a unique dark skin that representing a mix of Spanish and dark native. This detail indicated that she is a saint for everyone instead of just one race. She stands on the crescent moon and in front of the sunray representing her power of God. Besides that, she also has another symbol of both Indian and Spanish like maternity band around her waist was a sign of a pregnant Indian woman or a symbol of a cross at her neck which is the same symbol as Spaniards had on their ships and the church that they build. The evolution of the Guadalupe symbol was succeeded as an attachment between colonial and invader.

Moreover, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe has an impact not only on religious but also on politics. The abundant grace is Our Lady of Guadalupe brought help the Indian to embrace Christianity which has equality and liberty as core values. That is a reason why Father Morelos choose the Constitution establishing day the same as the day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. His vision was focusing on the equality between white and indigenous people. He said: “Let there be no more ethnic distinction made among our people, but rather, we shall all be called simply americanos”. Besides, the liberty is mentioned in the first Article of the Sentiments of the Nation by Morelos: “America shall be free and independent of Spain or any other European nation, government, or monarchy. Let its independence be sanctioned and justified before the entire world.” Through the idea of Father Morelos, we can see that his ultimate goal was turning “New Spain” to become the kingdom of Christianity equality or communist and socialist ideas as nowadays knowledge. Furthermore, the image of the lady of Guadalupe also helped the Spaniards to treat native people with respect as they should have as the children of God. For that reason, it contributed to the independence movement of the colonial later.

In conclusion, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe has shown its importance in religious, cultural, and shaping a New Spain. Also, Father Morelos is a person who has been instilled thought of Catholicism, the origin of the image of Lady of Guadalupe, and later having a great effect on the document named “The Sentiment of Nation”.