Discovering History
History with Ms. Sabatos
Latin American Revolutions
Latin America
Latin America Map!
Haiti
Where is Haiti?
Haiti Social Structure
Before the revolution, the social structure in Haiti was unbalanced. There were upwards of 465,000 slaves while there were only about 30,000 mixed race and 30,000 white settlers. Looking at the hierarchy, the people that should be represented were not. The treatment of slaves was not ideal (when is it ever?), and it was about time to make some change!
Crash Course: The Haitian Revolution
Toussaint L'Ouverture
Toussaint l'Ouverture was a free black in Haiti. With the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen being declared in France (the country that controlled Haiti), there was hope that freedom could be had. Toussaint trained an army and became the leader of the independence and freedom movement in Haiti. Unfortunately, Napoleon did not think kindly of him and sent him to prison where he died. However, he revolution finished without him!
Mexico
Spanish Castas
PENINSULARES
CREOLES
MESTIZOS & MULATTOES
NATIVE AMERICANS & SLAVES
The Spanish colonies had a very distinct social system. At the top were Peninulares who were born in Spain and moved to the Americas. This social group had most of the power.
Next on the hierarchy were the Creoles. These people were still 100% European, but they were born in the Americas. While they could still have some power, they could not hold the amount of power the Peninsulares could.
Mestizos and Mulattoes are next to last on the social class. Mestizos are a mix of European and Native Americans, and mulattoes are a mix of African and European. This group had some privileges but were mainly working class and lower. While they begin the revolution, without the support of the Creoles, the would never win. They wanted more equality and freedom.
Lastly, Native Americans and slaves were at the bottom of the hierarchy. They often worked on the haciendas of the Peninsulares and Creoles. In some cases, Native Americans were thought of as lower than slaves.
Miguel Hidalgo
Hidalgo, a priest, helped to start the Mexican Revolution with his cry for freedom ("El Grito de Dolores"). He led the Mexican Revolution in its first phase until the revolutionaries reached Guadalajara and failed to create a new government. While Hidalgo and his followers attempted to escape, they were captured and killed. With this, Migues Hidalgo became a martyr for the revolution. Jose Morelos continued the revolution after this; however, the revolution would not succeed until they had Creole support.
Augustin Iturbide
Iturbide was a Creole who supported the idea of Mexican independence from Spain. It is not until he leads the third and final phase of the revolution that Mexico actually gains independence. For Creoles, Spanish rule meant less power in government. His goal was to gain freedom in order to have access to the opportunities the Peninsulares had access to. By 1821, Iturbide had led Mexico to independence and became the emperor of the country. This did not work in his favor, and he died a few years later.
South America
Simon Bolivar
Simon Bolivar was born in Caracas, Venezuela where he was educated at one of the best schools in South America. Orphaned at the age of 9, Bolivar continued to study in South America and Europe. At a young age, he advocated for independence from Spain.
Bolivar dreamed of a South America free from Spain as one large country. While this dream never came true, he fought for this independence and won. In 1810, Bolivar's attempted liberation failed, and he was exiled. However, by 1821, Bolivar had led an army from newly freed Colombia to liberate Venezuela from Spain, as well. Over the next few years, he would liberate Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Bolivia with the help of Jose de San Martin.
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Bolivar became the leader and military dictator of Gran Colombia (modern day Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador). Many people did not agree with or like this dictatorship and multiple assassination attempts were tried. However, Bolivar lived the rest of his life as dictator and retired in 1830. He died of tuberculosis later that year. He is known as the Liberator for his immense passion and success in liberating South American countries from Spain.
