Chapter 4

The most interesting part of this weeks reading for me is the idea of the ends justify the means. This quote sums up the idea prevalent in the text quite well.
       “It was better that a little blood should be shed that much blood should be saved. The blood that was shed was bad blood; the blood that was saved was good blood. “Peace was necessary, even an enforced peace, that the nation might have time to think and work. Education and industry have carried on the task begun by the army.”  These are the words of the Mexican president Porfirio Diaz as he conducts this interview. He speaks of the times before he is made president and the actions he and many others took to restore order in the "lawless" Mexico in the early 20th century. These tyrannical actions were conducted in order to establish a properly democratic order. Or so it is stated by President Diaz. Later in the text the interviewer states the various wonders of the Mexican Republic. Her industry, mines, railways, banks, harbours, drainage systems, electricity, trolleys. All these modern innovations brought to Mexico. The end that has resulted from the means. All this growth and wonder fueled by an export based economy.  These exports were used to pay for manufacturing and other products desired by the latin american nations. Well Mexico may have had an export balance in its favor this came at what cost? According to the text many parts of the country were in abject poverty and close to rebellion. Political opposition in exile, a strange contradiction to the statement in the interview where Diaz states he would welcome a political opposition happily. This text is very important because it shows a very skewed and biased view of the events of the time. Only by reading both in concert do we get a sense of what is going on behind the scenes and propaganda.

Citizenship and Rights in the New Republics

This weeks readings focus on the different groups that made up the new republics of Latin America and the struggles they undertook for citizenship and rights. The last two readings I will focus on because one is a direct rebuttal to the other and I believe they show very well a distinct battle of sorts being fought in Latin America.
             The first written by Maria Eugenia Echenique is a manifesto of sorts directed at the women of Latin America. I would say that this work is directed in particular at middle class women. I say this because she speaks of women who need philosophy and education of a practical and sensible time. Education was at this time reserved for the upper and the newer middle classes. Maria likens women to slaves, slaves to the tyranny of men. I bring this up because it is a description in direct contrast to the description in the rebuttal. Maria believes that women are needed to help smooth the path of civilization and are necessary for civilization to advance in general. I find this statement remarkable in comparison to the thought of the period. The building of civilization was a male dominated act. Science, engineering, math, religion, these and many other "civilized" acts were lead and driven by men as was "right" as was set out by god. SO for someone, especially a woman, to declare that women were vital to the advancement of civilization must have been quite a shock and seen as absurd to many.
              The rebuttal written by Josefi na Pelliza de Sagasta illustrates how absurd this idea was considered by many. Here is a woman who many would argue has the most to benefit from emancipation writing why woman should not be emancipated. Where Maria says women are slaves to mans tyranny, Josefi claims they are masters of their domain. However a domain defined and ruled in turn by men. She claims that the beauty and greatness of women comes from and is accentuated by the dominion of man above them. They have been placed in these positions by God and that to change so presumes too much. I believe that the rebuttal highlights the difficulty of the battle that many who desired the emancipation of women had to fight. It is not as simple a battle of women versus men, but also of women versus men and women who were quite content in their societal positions. Once again these documents show that history is not a direct linear progression with clear "lines of battle" between opposing forces. But much more blurry and difficult to define.

The Slaughter House

This weeks reading of the Slaughterhouse was quite interesting. The author remarks upon the brutality of the Federalists in an almost satirical matter. He seems to tell the story from an almost sympathetic point of view at first glance. As the story progresses the sarcasm becomes thicker and more pronounced. Towards the end of the story with the capture of the "wretched unitarian" and his eventual death the authors disdain is hardly disguised. The story is told in a quite factual "voice". Everything is stated as fact, as this is what happened. However the author describes everything in the most direct and brutal way possible. He highlights the dirt, the mud, the blood, offal, screams, shouts, profanity, everything harsh is accentuated in the writing. The author wishes to appear factual, to be telling a true account. He uses language and harsh metaphor to convey these "facts" however in a way to highlight above all else the brutality of the scene presented.

Latin America Since Independence. Introduction & Chapter One

In this weeks readings I found the authors introduction almost more interesting than the first chapter. The reason for this is in how history is described. The author argues that history is fragmented. A series of interconnected stories and tales from varying perspectives. We are used to reading history as fact, as truth. This seems to me to be quite wrong. History is written by the victors as the saying goes. More likely history is written by everyone, and we only see that which survives. How many original viewpoints have been lost through the ages? How many contradictions to our understood "history"? This to me is a major aspect of studying any history from any time period and any location. However it is extremely appropriate in this course on Latin America. With its diversity of cultures and circumstances we must take into account the fragmented aspect of history in order to gain any understanding at all.

On chapter one itself I found the theme of fragmentation of history continued (as the author stated it would) I find this very apt as Latin America itself is fragmented in many ways. Geography, social status, language, culture. The area we know as Latin America is hugely diverse and ever changing. This idea also seemed to be prevalent in the historical excerpts as well. Simon Bolivar speaks about the various different revolutionary movements in the Americas and the sheer impossibility of creating a unified republic from them. Jose Marti also speaks to variety, the clashes between the dualities of society, the countryside versus the city. He speaks of how they must join together to create a truly American government for the nations of the Americas. Throughout these documents and the text the idea of a fragmented society and nations is prevalent and I believe it is still a massive challenge to many nations in Latin America and around the world.

Lieutenant Nun and the Casta Paintings

Lieutenant Nun
I found the text on Catalina de Erauso to be quite interesting. For not only does it show us the viewpoint of a male soldier but a male soldier who is actually a woman. Starting as a nun Catalina already had a unique experience as most women were not nuns. (many were then compared to now but they were still a minority) This must have given her a unique view on life from the start. However it is of significance to me that when she decided to leave she decided to masquerade as a man instead of trying to escape as a woman. This shows more about a woman's position in 17th century Spain than it does about a mans. Catalina chose to be a man in my mind because it would be much easier to be so than a woman. As a woman she would have much fewer options. She could stay a nun, find a husband to provide for her. Which as a runaway nun would probably be quite difficult. Her options as a woman were extremely limited. By choosing to become a man Catalina's options increase. No one seems to question a young man wondering around Spain much. Many seem eager to employ her (her convent education serving her well in these cases) and do not question her motivations or where from she came. In reading the text it seems to me to provide a greater look into how oppressed women were in 17th century Spain by contrasting against the freedoms of a man.

Casta Paintings

The Casta paintings in my interpretation show how many europeans liked to view themselves in relation to the Americas and the peoples who inhabited it. European society was heavily classified and had a rigid hierarchical structure. Many Europeans also considered it their divine duty to "civilize" the native and mixed races in their colonial empires. The "white mans burden" and "noble savage" are examples of this. I find that the Casta Paintings also show this idea that Europeans brought civilization to their colonies. It shows this by placing each race and mix thereof into specific professions. Thus classifying them according to the expected hierarchy that they expected much of the world to fit.

The First New Chronicle

Reading the First New Chronicle I was struck by one thing in particular. "Gold" Throughout the text Guaman mentions the Conquistadors lust for gold and silver many times. This to me highlights one of the huge post Columbus drivers of exploration to the New World. Riches were always desired by the explorers of the era and Columbus himself desired a new path to the orient to facilitate trade. Once the New World had been discovered and the whispers of gold reached across the Atlantic the fate of the Americas was sealed. When I visited Peru and other countries in South America one constant in historical sites and museums was the same call of gold that drew the conquistadors. When captured in Cajamarca the Inca Atahualpa offered as ransom for his life a room filled with gold once and silver twice to a height of eight feet. Even though this ransom was paid Atahualpa was killed. In his text Guaman compares the spaniards to cats with a mouse nearly within their grasp. Once they catch it they rejoice, until then they think of nothing else. This lust for gold is still present in South America today. The Amazon rainforest is being devastated by illegal gold mining. Thousands of small illicit mines are scaring the Amazon basin and poisoning its waterways which thousands of indigenous peoples rely on to survive. Silver also drove much pain in the Americas. El Cerro Rico in Potosi, Bolivia produced a huge amount of silver bullion for the Spanish Empire and continues to produce that precious metal to this day. Thousands of indigenous peoples lost their lives under El Cerro Rico and even today miners give offering to "El Tio" under the mountain to keep them safe.This lust for gold and silver shaped Peru, Bolivia and other Latin American nations in the past centuries and continues to do so today. God, Glory and Gold were said to be the three main drivers in the quest for the New World. Gold seemed to be chief among those.

Hello and welcome to the Latin American Studies 100 blog of David Waine. Just a little bit about myself. I am 24 years old and I am a third year Arts student at UBC. I have traveled quite a bit in South America over the last 8 years. I have visited Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Chile. I enjoy traveling immensely and always plan to continue to do so. I first traveled to Peru in highschool and since I have been back many times to volunteer, work and live there.