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WHY HISTORY?

WHY HISTORY?. LATI 50 Introduction to Latin America. HOMILIES AND BROMIDES. “I hated History… just a bunch of facts and dates… Ugh!” “Who needs it? Stuff that happened so long ago!” “History is bunk.” (Henry Ford) “History repeats itself.”

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WHY HISTORY?

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  1. WHY HISTORY? LATI 50 Introduction to Latin America

  2. HOMILIES AND BROMIDES “I hated History… just a bunch of facts and dates… Ugh!” “Who needs it? Stuff that happened so long ago!” “History is bunk.” (Henry Ford) “History repeats itself.” “Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it.” “We should be looking forward, not backward…”

  3. HOMILIES AND BROMIDES “I hated History… just a bunch of facts and dates… Ugh!” “Who needs it? Stuff that happened so long ago!” “History is bunk.” (Henry Ford) “History repeats itself.” “Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it.” “We should be looking forward, not backward…”

  4. A SIMPLE IDEA History can help us understand the present--how and why the present came to be. It can illuminate crucial choices in the past that still affect the present. In particular, differences in historical paths can help explain differences within the present. Seen this way, some of those ancient and irrelevant “facts” can be intriguing provocations for our imaginations.

  5. A SIMPLE IDEA History can help us understand the present--how and why the present came to be. It can illuminate crucial choices in the past that still affect the present. In particular, differences in historical paths can help explain differences within the present. Seen this way, some of those ancient and irrelevant “facts” can be intriguing provocations for our imaginations.

  6. DIMENSION I: DEMOGRAPHY • Key: racial mixture (European, African, indigenous) • Spanish America: • view of indigenous: incorporation, not elimination • Source of labor • Special laws for alleged “protection” • Extensive mestizaje • Comparison with North America/United States

  7. DIMENSION I: DEMOGRAPHY • Portuguese America/Brazil: • No indigenous civilizations like Aztecs, Maya, Incas • No large-scale mining (at first) • Large land tracts to encourage settlement • Eventual reliance on slavery • Importation of African slaves • Plantation societies • Caribbean and later Brazil • Gender imbalance: men > women, patterns of interracial liaisons

  8. RACIAL COMPOSITION:AMERICAS, 1570-1825 (%) Spanish Portuguese 1570 1825 1570 1825 White 1.3 18.2 2.4 23.4 Mixed 2.5 28.3 3.5 17.8 Black - 11.9 - 49.8 Indigene 96.3 41.7 94.1 9.1

  9. DIMENSION 2: POLITICS • Spanish monarchy: • Momentum of empowerment 1492- • Religious mission • Mercantilist economics • Portuguese monarchy: • Prior imperial experience • Low priority for Brazil • Reliance on exports • Less pervasive presence • British monarchy: • Late start (Jamestown 1607, Massachusetts 1620) • Ambivalent relationship to settlers • Reliance on taxation

  10. DIMENSION 3: INDEPENDENCE • Spanish America: • Resistance to Napoleon • Lengthy and destructive wars (1810-26) • Quest for “democracy” • Military legacies, military rulers • Portuguese America: • Court move to Brazil • Question of “recolonization” • Little military conflict • Continuation of Bragança monarchy • British America: • Opposition to monarchy and policies • Medium-scale military conflict (1776-83) • Installation of democracy (by/for elites)

  11. AND SO…. Why is Latin American society the way it is? And why is Brazil so different from Spanish America? Why has there been such political instability in Latin America? And authoritarian rule? Why the differences from the United States? Suggestion: Take a look at history…

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