Titles Say it ALL

Latin American Independence

            Countries in Latin America are considered third-world countries.  Third-world

means that they are either poor or undeveloped.  Usually, the countries of Latin America

were once prosperous, but have eventually fallen apart.  It has been very difficult for

countries in Latin America to become independent and stable.

            First, the countries were taken over by Europeans.  Spain sent officials to

rule in place of the king and gave them power.  The officials were very strict on

the natives and placed harsh rules.  The people were not allowed to trade with

other countries besides their ruling country.  This angered the people which lead

them to the desire of independence.

            Next, not all of the people in Latin America were for independence.  The

creoles were scared that the new constitution would take away their rights and

land.  Miguel Hidalgo did not have the support of Mexico because he promised to

distribute the land equally, and that meant some wealthy people would lose land

(World Cultures 472).  Hidalgo was captured in 1811 and the plan of

independence failed (World Cultures 472).

            Many people wanted to gain independence.  The mestizos hoped to move

up in society once the peninsulares were gone (World Cultures 469).  Slaves

finally realized independence was a way to gain freedom and burned sugar cane

in the fields (World Cultures 470).  They killed hundreds of slave owners which

resulted in a 13 year civil war (World Cultures 470).  It took a long time for these

Farnsworth 2

people to get what they wanted.  Latin American countries never had a plan for themselves after they    

 gained independence.  Once they had finally gained freedom, they hadn’t selected

a leader or made a government, so they were not successful.  Caudillos seized

power and ruled for long period of time.  While under rule of the caudillos, Latin

America was in chaos because they were not being governed correctly.  If the

countries had already had a huge plan and government set up with laws before

gaining independence, they could have been prosperous.

            It has also been hard for the countries because most of the people are very

poor.  People were trying their hardest to find work so they could eat, and did not

have time to rebel.  Dangerous and poor paying jobs could be found in mines, but

only hired a certain amount of people (Motorcycle Diaries Salles, Perf, Bernal,

and Serna).  The people that wanted to gain freedom could not afford weapons or

ammunition, so they gave up. 

            It would take many things for Latin American countries to develop into         

first-world countries.  They would need a very good leader and government that

would not hog all of the currency.  There would need to be many openings for

jobs with fair pay for the people.  Another important thing would be education. 

There would need to be many schools of all types so people could graduate and

gain degrees.  You must go to school and get a degree to get a good paying job. 

Latin America could develop into a first-world country if they really tried, but it

would take many years for them to achieve that goal. 

            The countries in Latin America have suffered many hardships.  They

Farnsworth 3

gained independence, but had no government, were poor, and have had cruel

leaders.  There are many ways why Latin American countries are third-world and

many ways that they could become first-world, but it will take time for them to

figure that out.   It has been difficult for countries in Latin America to become

                                                                                                                

economically prosperous and stable.