Americanos: Latin America's Struggle for Independence (Pivotal Moments in World History)

241 Pages·2008·2.54 MB·English

by  John Chasteen

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Americanos
Latin America’s Struggle for Independence
John Charles Chasteen
A Most Holy War
The Albigensian Crusade and the Battle for Christendom
Mark Gregory Pegg
AMERICANOS
Latin America’s Struggle
for Independence
John Charles Chasteen
3
2008
3
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With offi ces in
Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece
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Copyright © 2008 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
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Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Chasteen, John Charles, 1955–
Americanos : Latin America’s struggle for independence / John Charles Chasteen.
p. cm. — (Pivotal moments in world history)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-517881-4
1. Latin America—History—Autonomy and independence movements.
2. Latin America—History—Wars of Independence, 1806–1830.
3. Latin America—History—1830–1898. I. Title.
F1412.C48 2008
980—dc22
2007028595
Maps by Craig Dalton
Gallery designed by Cherie Westmoreland
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
To América
This page intentionally left blank
CONTENTS
Dramatis Personae viii
Gallery xiii
Chronology xix
Prologue: Why Americanos? 1
1. Discovering América, 1799–1805 6
2. Pillars of the Crown, 1806–1810 35
3. Not-So-Civil Wars, 1810–1812 66
4. A Lost Cause? 1812–1815 95
5. Independence Won, 1816–1824 123
6. Nation Building Begins, 1825–1840 159
Epilogue: The Legacy Endures 182
Notes 189
Glossary 193
Sources and Readings 195
Index 209
Maps may be found on pages 7, 69, 70, 111, 112, 161
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
in alphabetical order
Lucas Alamán, b. 1792—Mexican statesman and historian, Guerrero’s
nemesis
Ignacio Allende, b. 1769—Hidalgo’s second in command
Carlos de Alvear, b. 1789—an aristocrat of Buenos Aires
José Bonifácio de Andrada, b. 1763—a Brazilian founding father;
brothers are Antônio Carlos and Martim Francisco
José Artigas, b. 1764—federalist leader who challenged Buenos Aires
Juana Azurduy, b. 1781—leader of patriot guerrillas in Upper Peru
Manuel Belgrano, b. 1770—Buenos Aires revolutionary, defeated in
Upper Peru
Andrés Bello, b. 1781—Caracas-born man of letters, long resident in
London
William Beresford, b. 1768—British offi cer who fought in Buenos
Aires and Portugal
Simón Bolívar, b. 1783—the liberator of fi ve countries
Tomás Boves, b. 1782—Spanish leader of llanero lancers, defeated
Bolívar
Félix María Calleja, b. 1753—nemesis of Hidalgo and Morelos,
eventually viceroy
Carlos IV, b. 1748—king of Spain, abdicated in favor of son, Fer-
nando VII
Carlota Joaquina, b. 1775—Fernando’s sister, married to João VI of
Portugal
Javiera Carrera, b. 1771—woman of a leading Chilean patriot family
José Miguel Carrera, b. 1785—Javiera’s brother, rival of Bernardo
O’Higgins
Juan José Castelli, b. 1764—Buenos Aires revolutionary, defeated in
Upper Peru
Thomas Alexander Cochrane, b. 1775—admiral of the Chilean and
Brazilian navies
Fernando VII, b. 1784—king of Spain, the “Desired One” during his
captivity
Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, b. 1766—dictator who made Paraguay
independent
Manuel Godoy, b. 1767—despised lover of the Spanish queen
Vicente Guerrero, b. 1783—third major leader of rebellion in New
Spain
Miguel Hidalgo, b. 1753—radical priest who began rebellion in New
Spain
Alexander von Humboldt, b. 1769—Prussian scientist, explorer, and
expert
Agustín de Iturbide, b. 1783—americano offi cer acclaimed Agustín I
of Mexico
João VI, b. 1769—prince regent, later king, of Portugal; fl ed to Rio de
Janeiro
Antonio de Larrazábal, b. 1769—Guatemalan leader in the Cortes
of Cádiz
Ignacio López Rayón, b. 1773—organizer of the Zitácuaro junta
Santiago Mariño, b. 1788—Venezuela’s “Liberator of the East”
Juan Martínez de Rozas, b. 1759—Chilean patriot leader, patron of
Bernardo O’Higgins
Servando Teresa de Mier, b. 1765—dissident intellectual priest of
New Spain
Francisco de Miranda, b. 1750—precursor of the cause of América
Bernardo Monteagudo, b. 1785—Chuquisaca intellectual, collabo-
rator of San Martín
Juan Domingo Monteverde, b. 1772—Spanish general who defeated
Miranda
Carlos Montúfar, b. 1780—companion of Humboldt, son of Juan Pío
Juan Pío Montúfar, b. 1759—head of 1809 Quito junta
José María Morelos, b. 1765—second major leader of rebellion in
New Spain
Mariano Moreno, b. 1778—secretary of fi rst Buenos Aires junta
Dramatis Personae ix