Unit 4: Revolution in Haiti, Mexico, Latin America, and the Philippines
The American and French Revolutions inspired revolutions in Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Mexico experienced several revolutions starting in the 19th century and extending into the 20th century. Spain controlled Mexico, Latin America, and the islands of Puerto Rico and Cuba. Haiti, in contrast, was controlled by France. Spain and France had colonies worldwide from the Americas to Africa to Asia and the Pacific. As we have learned, the ambitions of Napoleon disrupted Europe.
In 1808, Napoleon had deposed the Spanish King Ferdinand VII (1784–1833) and created political instability in Spain. These distractions caused Spain to lose its colonial control over Mexico, Latin America, and its islands in the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans. The French Revolution also directly contributed to the Haitian Revolution and the liberation of Haiti. In this unit, we explore the revolutions in Haiti, Mexico, Latin America, and the Philippines. As you read, think about how the American and French Revolutions inspired revolution throughout the colonial world.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 10 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- identify the immediate and long-term causes of revolution in Latin America;
- describe how the ideas of the Enlightenment affected revolution in Latin America;
- explain the role the United States played in the revolutions of Latin America;
- describe the role the United States played in the revolutions in the Philippines;
- discuss the role the United States played in the Cuban Revolution; and
- explain the development of socialist ideas in Latin America and their impact on revolution.
4.1: Revolution in Haiti
Haiti became the second independent nation in the Americas. Haiti, called Saint Domingue, was part of the French Empire. Haiti was France's most profitable colony at the time of its independence. France considered Saint Domingue a resource colony since it was profitable for its sugar, coffee, cotton, and indigo production. Slavery was central to Saint Domingue, and it was known as a colony of cruelty in its treatment of enslaved people. Before 1791, several smaller slave rebellions had attempted to unsettle the system of slavery in Saint Domingue, including the mass poisoning of enslavers. Enslaved people outnumbered free people 10 to one.
In 1791, there were five main groups of people:
1. White, wealthy plantation owners.
2. Around 40,000 Petit Blancs, who included shopkeepers, artisans, and teachers. While some Petit Blancs owned small numbers of enslaved people, not all did.
3. Around 30,000 free Black people. This group included mixed Black and White people, or mulattos. Many were wealthy and powerful landowners.
4. Runaway enslaved people, or "maroons", who lived deep in the mountains.
5. Around 500,000 enslaved people.To understand the Haitian Revolution, you need to understand slavery in Saint Domingue and elsewhere in the Americas. As you watch this video, think about Haiti's different racial and socioeconomic groups and how society was structured in Saint Domingue.
Watch this lecture about slavery in the Americas. How did the American institution of slavery differ from earlier forms of slavery? How did this form of slavery create an environment or culture that would foment Haiti's revolution?
France followed the same policy of mercantilism that Britain had imposed on its 13 colonies in the future United States. The colony of Saint Domingue was only allowed to trade with France. Its aristocracy was not represented in the government. The country served as a natural resource depot for France, which reaped the profits from its cash crops. However, when France published the Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789, the residents of Saint Domingue expected the new government would also convey these rights to them.
The French revolutionary government granted varying degrees of autonomy, rights, and participation to certain groups in Saint Domingue. The White planters and some wealthy free Blacks were allowed to participate, but they excluded the petit blancs, enslaved people, and maroons. These disparities led to a multi-faceted civil war in Saint Domingue. The conflict eventually developed into the Haitian Revolution, where enslaved people rose up to oppose the French government and their enslavers.
Toussaint L'Ouverture (1743–1803), a formerly enslaved person, was the son of an African prince who had been captured into slavery. Although L'Ouverture was born into slavery, his enslavers had treated him less harshly, and he was highly educated. L'Overture joined the slave rebellion in 1792 following the Night of Fire, when enslaved people rose up against their enslavers, set their plantations on fire, and mounted armed resistance against their oppressors. This revolution was more successful than previous slave rebellions – the 500,000 enslaved people vastly outnumbered the 40,000 White people on the island – but it was costly: 100,000 enslaved people and 24,000 White people died.
Spain, which controlled the eastern part of the island (today's Dominican Republic), took advantage of the instability by offering to support the revolution. L'Ouverture and other revolutionary leaders allied with Spain against France. In 1793, Britain followed Spain's cue and began pushing into the island. In response, the National Assembly of France (the revolutionary government in Paris) decided to emancipate all the enslaved people in the French empire and make them citizens. This had the intended effect: in 1794, L'Ouverture realigned with France, and they pushed the British out and took the eastern side of the island from Spain.
Saint Domingue remained a semi-autonomous French colony from 1794 to 1803. L'Ouverture became general-in-chief of the army, drafted a constitution based on the liberation of enslaved people, and later appointed himself governor-general for life.
Watch this video which describes the Constitution L'Ouverture drafted. How does it compare to the American and French constitutions we have studied and the ideals of the Enlightenment philosophers embedded in its framework?
In 1803, Napoleon, France's new leader, sent 43,000 troops to regain full control of Saint Domingue. L'Ouverture was captured and sent to prison in France, where he died in 1803. However, Jean-Jacques Dessalines (1758–1806), L'Ouverture's second in command, successfully fought off the French forces. He declared Haiti an independent nation in 1804. France recognized its independence, but the nation still faced many challenges.
Watch this video to understand the significance of the Haitian Revolution. As you watch, think about how Haiti's culture contributed to the uprising. Why do many consider the revolution a watershed moment in history?
Since it was the first republic established by formerly enslaved people, Haiti faced challenges securing trading partners and establishing diplomatic relations. Many Americans were reluctant to form alliances or create ties with a country where formerly enslaved people had just wrest power from their enslavers. Edmund Burke, the conservative pundit who criticized the French Revolution, claimed the Haitian Revolution threatened the institution of slavery.
Watch this video on the challenges Haiti faced after it had achieved independence. How did the American and French Revolutions inspire the protesters? Describe the opposition its leaders faced concerning trade and diplomatic relations and how these barriers affected its development as a nation.
Read this letter that Dessalines sent to Thomas Jefferson. Think about the words he used to appeal to the president of the United States. How do you think Jefferson, who helped draft the U.S. Constitution but enslaved 600 people during his lifetime, recieved this letter? How do you think Jefferson's conflicting views may have complicated Haiti's situation?
The next two articles discuss the ideological conflicts the new Haitian republic faced. How did the history of slavery in the Americas influence whether leaders would accept the results of the revolution and independence? Make a Venn Diagram that compares Koekkoek and Sepinwall's ideas. Then, develop your own argument. Why was the revolution of Haiti and its independence so controversial, then and now?
This first article examines various perspectives on the Haitian Revolution while it was taking place.
This second article explores how French and American historians have viewed the Haitian Revolution.
4.2: Revolution in Mexico and Texas
Spain was the first European nation to colonize the Americas. It had arguably won the largest "piece of the pie". Spain's empire extended from today's Canadian/United States border to the southern tip of South America and included several Caribbean islands. However, in the 1800s, Spain began to suffer economic and political instability. Napoleon not only plagued Spain and its territories, but British pirates looted most of the gold and riches the Spanish ships tried to transport to Europe.
Mexico first broke with Spain in 1810, when Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811), a Catholic priest, led the Mexican war for independence. This conflict ended in 1821, when Spain finally relinquished its control of Mexico in the Treaty of Córdoba. Just as with its American neighbors to the north, the Mexican Revolution was revolutionary due to the government it created, not simply for its military prowess or success. The Mexican Revolution not only restructured Mexican society, but also outlawed slavery.
Revolution spread like dominoes throughout Central and South America, with independence movements in Guatemala, Haiti, Columbia, and Argentina. The nations they created were not monarchical systems, but republics inspired by Enlightenment philosophies.
As you read this lesson, create a timeline of the different revolts against Spanish rule. How did pressures in Europe help lead to independence in Mexico and Latin America?
As you watch this video, consider how the Enlightenment principles played into the revolutions in Mexico and Latin America. How were they similar to the American Revolution?
The newly-independent Mexico faced many challenges. The war had been costly and had left the country in an economic crisis with rampant political instability. Agricultural yields had suffered while conservative and liberal factions fought over how the government should operate. Some wanted to create a system similar to Spain, while others sought to model Mexico after the United States. After gaining independence, Mexico experienced 50 governments in 30 years as military generals led several coups to overtake the government. None of the military leaders were as impactful or controversial as Antonio López de Santa Anna (1794–1876), who controlled 11 of the 50 governments as president and military dictator.
During the fray of instability, the northern colony of Tejas (Texas) rose in rebellion. In 1820, Spain allowed Moses Austin and his son Stephen to bring 300 Anglo-Americans to settle in Tejas. Mexico honored this agreement in 1821 when the settlement occurred.
Spain and Mexico had a hard time finding settlers willing to live in Tejas. In 1718, Spain had recruited settlers from the Canary Islands to found the city of San Antonio, but few moved outside of the city. In 1820, Tejas had about 7,000 residents. The Spanish and Mexican governments lured Americans to Tejas with the promise of large tracts of land provided they became Mexican citizens and converted to Catholicism. Many White Americans immigrated to Tejas from the southern states, with their plantation systems and the people they had enslaved, drawn to the fertile soil in east Tejas that was suitable for cotton farming.
Since Santa Anna had personally led Mexican forces to quell the rebellion, he was forced to surrender and cede the control of Tejas when the Texan forces captured him in 1836. His government was declared illegitimate when he returned to Mexico, and the Mexican government never recognized Texan independence. This led to the Mexican-American War in 1845, when the United States annexed Tejas and Mexico lost most of its territory north of the Rio Grande River. This led to further reform in Mexico when the government convened another constitutional convention to reestablish most of the 1824 Constitution (with modifications).
Read this lesson about the Texas Revolution. How did Mexico's instability, following its independence from Spain in 1821, contribute to the revolt in Texas? How did these events catalyze change in Mexico and lead to the formation of a new Constitution?
The Mexican Constitution of 1857 would last until the Revolution of 1910, with the onset of the Mexican Civil War (1910–1920). This revolution brought an end to the Porfiriato, the rule of Porfirio Diaz (1830–1915). Diaz had seized political power in 1876 and created a dictatorship that lasted from 1876 to 1911. During his 34-year dictatorship, Porfirio Diaz created a centralized government and pursued an aggressive policy to build a modern capitalist and industrialized state with substantial investment from the United States and other foreign countries.
The Mexican Revolution of 1910 represented the culmination of a century of political and social conflict in Latin and South America, following independence from Spain and Portugal. As we have learned, Mexico became a democracy when it separated from Spain. However, wealthy elites came to dominate its political, economic, and social institutions. Lower and middle-class Mexicans had little political power and faced constant subjugation from corrupt landlords and political officials. The 1910 revolution changed Mexico's culture and government on a national and regional level. Important revolutionary figures include Francisco Madero (1873–1913), Emiliano Zapata (1879–1919), and Pancho Villa (1878–1923).
The Mexican Revolution began as an upper-middle-class political conflict between Porfirio Diaz and Francisco Madero, his political rival, but eventually encompassed all classes of Mexican society. The conflict led to Diaz's fall from power and a series of coups and counter-coups that prevented a return to stable government.
Poor farmers and the indigenous population took advantage of the revolutionary chaos to challenge the political and economic power of wealthy landlords and local officials. In the early 1930s, President Lazaro Cardenas restored political and social order by implementing several social reforms to address extreme social and economic inequalities.
Power and wealth were concentrated within the central government, among the foreign (usually American) investors, and among the members of the wealthier upper classes, who were often of Spanish heritage. They included wealthy merchants and the owners of the large landed estates (haciendas). The peasants, villagers, and members of the Mexican working class were often of mixed race (Mestizos) or members of the indigenous population (Zapotecs, Yaquis, and Maya).
Both the peasants and workers had a history of rebellion in Mexico. Not only were Mexican landowners and American conglomerates abusing the peasants, miners, oil workers, ranch hands, and other members of the working class, but massive amounts of land were being transferred to foreign corporations, such as American agribusiness and Mexican landowners. These groups had few rights and saw little of the economic prosperity that benefited those who supported Diaz.
Read this paper which describes Mexico's political situation before the 1910 Revolution. How did capitalism and the desire for wealth and power create an economic and political structure that fomented revolution in Mexico? Consider the larger situation in Latin America – these Mexican revolutionaries in 1910 were the first members of the lower classes to rise in rebellion against the established society.
Increasingly, Mexican intellectuals aligned themselves with European-style liberalism. Industrial workers (although not unified) began to unionize, and the rural and urban poor began to object to their positions. The small but growing middle class also objected to the concentration of wealth in the upper class and foreign investors. As in the French Revolution, the consolidation of power and wealth at the top left the vast majority of citizens out of the political and economic life of the country.
In October 1910, Francisco Madero (1873–1913), an advocate for social justice and democracy, called on Mexicans to rise up to oppose the Diaz dictatorship. He was supported by Emiliano Zapata (1879–1919), who had inspired an agrarian movement (Zapatismo) in the state of Morelos by calling on the peasants to demand water rights and land reform. In May 1911, Díaz was forced to resign and flee to France after the Federal Army suffered several military defeats by the forces supporting Madero. In October 1911, Madero was elected president with resounding support from the Mexican people. However, Madero soon disavowed the support he had received from Zapata's forces and denounced the Zapatistas as simple bandits.
As you watch this video, think about the nature of revolution in the 1900s in Mexico and why many call it a civil war.
Despite his popularity, Madero soon encountered opposition from more radical revolutionaries and former Diaz supporters. In February 1913, General Victoriano Huerta, the military commander of Mexico City, led a military coup that included intense fighting (called the Ten Tragic Days or la Decena Trágica) and resulted in the arrest and assassination of Madero along with his vice president, José María Pino Suárez. The country quickly plunged into civil war in protest, and Huerta fled the country in 1914, ousted by a coalition of Constitutionalist forces from northern Mexico led by Venustiano Carranza, Álvaro Obregón, and Francisco Pancho Villa (1877–1923), with the support of Zapata's troops.
Complicating this infighting among economic and political groups was a growing sense of Mexican nationalism which would create a sense of national identity and provide an element of cohesion to resist foreign domination, especially from the United States. These nationalist sentiments allowed groups to join together, often temporarily, because they felt it was their right to assert their own national independence and national sovereignty.
Pancho Villa and his actions symbolized the uprising of the common class against the ruling elites. He became a folk hero and symbol of revolution.
Read this text about Pancho Villa. Why do some see him as a Robin Hood-like hero and others as a terrorist?
After the revolution, Mexico created a new Constitution. Venustiano Carranza, who was elected president from 1917 to 1920, oversaw the creation of the Mexican Constitution of 1917. This constitution was revolutionary. It recognized the rights of organized labor, established the basis for a free, mandatory, and secular education, and limited the power of the Catholic Church. Carranza was assassinated in 1920, and his opponent Obregon was elected president, marking the end of the Mexican Revolution.
Since the Constitution of 1917 was the first constitution to discuss social rights, many historians view it as the first socialist constitution. It would directly influence later socialist revolutions and constitutions, including the Weimar Constitution of 1919 in Germany and the Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Constitution of 1918 in Russia. This socialist and Marxist revolutionary tradition was evident in 1910 Mexico and would resurface in Chile, Ecuador, and Cuba.
The Mexican Constitution of 1917 provides the basis for today's government. Read this text. Why do you think many consider it to be revolutionary? How do you think it changed the structure of the Mexican government and society?
4.3: Revolution in South America
Simón Bolívar (1783–1830) was the most influential revolutionary in South America. A wealthy aristocrat, Bolívar dedicated his fortune to the independence movement. Beginning in 1810, he led a rebellion against the Viceroyalty of New Granada – a large colony in South America that encompassed modern-day Columbia, Panama, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Taking advantage of the instability Napoleon caused in Spain, Bolívar promoted independence movements with fellow revolutionaries such as Francisco de Miranda (1750–1816), who attempted to wrest independence for Venezuela in 1806, Columbia in 1810, and Ecuador 1822.
As you watch this lecture, consider how events in Europe inspired revolutions in South America. Compare the revolutions in Mexico and Central America and how they fit into the overall story of revolution.
Just as had occurred during the American Revolution, the revolutions in South America split loyalists who continued to support the Spanish monarchy and those who wanted independence. To stem the intense infighting and conflict that frequently resulted, Bolívar became a temporary dictator in Venezuela, Peru, and president of the newly-formed Gran Colombia.
Read this article which describes the power dynamic between revolutionaries and royalists. How did this type of conflict impact the revolutionary movements?
Bolivia was established in 1825 – the country took Bolívar's name who had set up its constitution. It is important to note that while these revolutionaries had abolished the monarchy, they had authoritarian tendencies. For example, Bolívar created a government with a lifetime president while he restricted voting rights for the people in Bolivia. These new nations in South America were privy to internal revolts and instability, which resulted in several revolutions throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
As you read this article, consider how the juntas provided temporary stability but long-term strife. How did the revolutions in Mexico and Latin America differ from the United States? What do they have in common?
4.4: U.S. Involvement and Filipino Independence
Ironically, the push for revolution throughout the Americas transformed the United States into an imperial world power. The United States used its Monroe Doctrine and Roosevelt Corollary to assert itself as the steward of independence in the Americas. The U.S. government issued strict warnings to the European powers that they would have to confront the United States if they dared to interfere with American independence.
Read the Monroe Doctrine. Who was president James Monroe (1758–1831) addressing when he wrote the Monroe Doctrine? How does this document support revolution? How did it transform the U.S. into a world power?
The U.S. became directly involved in the revolutions of Latin America when it declared war on Spain in support of the independence of Cuba and the Philippines during the Spanish American War of 1898. The war was short, and Spain relinquished control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States.
Cuba was granted independence, but the United States decided to keep the other territories. This was not welcome news in the Philippines. Filipino revolutionaries had welcomed the United States because they admired the Americans who had also fought against colonial rule. But they rebelled when the United States tried to assert itself as a colonial master: the Philippine American War (1899–1902) pitted Filipino freedom fighters against the United States.
Read this text. Do you think the U.S. leaders who wanted to keep the Philippines as a U.S. colony were hypocritical, or was this arrangement merely an irony of history? Why did the Americans grant freedom to Cuba, which is close to the U.S. mainland, but try to maintain control over the Philippines?
The United States began to flex its muscles when it realized it could direct policy in the Americas and around the world. Many American leaders believed in the assertions of the Monroe Doctrine and felt they should take advantage of their military successes during the Spanish American War. The United States claimed dominance over Latin America and other areas of interest. According to President Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), the United States would famously continue to "walk softly, but carry a big stick". The Roosevelt Corollary prompted the United States to assert a new position: it would serve as a police force in the Americas and carry out its objectives as a world power, with force if necessary.
Read this article on this shift in U.S. policy. How did Roosevelt assert U.S. dominance as a world power in the Roosevelt Corally? How do you think this policy impacted revolutions in Latin America and other conflicts around the world?
Read this article on the American empire. Why do you think the United States became involved in Latin America and other parts of the world? How did the United States exert its power and destabilize the governments it disagreed with?
4.5: Revolutions of the 20th century
Roosevelt's "big stick" policy impacted several revolutions in Latin America. For example, in Panama, the United States recognized and helped Panamanian insurgents gain independence from Columbia. Panama had won independence from Spain in 1840, but it quickly joined Gran Colombia in 1841 when it feared the Spanish Empire might reabsorb their country following its brief 13-month independence.
U.S. interest in Panama grew when it decided to build a stronger navy that needed quick access to Asia and the Pacific Ocean. U.S. leaders wanted to create a canal through the Isthmus of Panama – the shortest distance between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Since the Colombian government opposed this plan, the United States helped Panama gain its independence in 1903. In return, the Panamanian government would lease the land on the isthmus of Panama to the United States to construct the Panama Canal.
This agreement was revolutionary for three reasons: it created the independent nation of Panama (provided it supported the United States), it solidified the U.S. role in Latin American politics, and it separated the American continents into north and south.
Read this article on U.S. involvement in the Panamanian revolution. How did U.S. intentions and actions compare with what had occurred in the Philippines? Do you think the events in Panama fit the definition of a revolution? Why or why not?
The Cuban Revolution was the most significant socialist/communist revolution in the Americas in the 1900s. Led by Fidel Castro (1926–2016) and Che Guevara (1928–1967), the participants overthrew Cuba's capitalist system, which had become beholden to U.S. commercial interests. They replaced it with a communist system that is still in place today. These events in Cuba became a proxy war for the Cold War (1947–1989). The United States and the Soviet Union (today's Russia) engaged in a constant struggle between the ideologies of capitalism and communism. The two superpowers were to fight several future conflicts to establish their world dominance.
As you read this chapter, think about how the 1910 Mexican Revolution influenced the events in Cuba. How were the changes to Cuba's government and economic system revolutionary?
Watch these videos. How does each lecturer characterize Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution? Why do you think each person carries the beliefs they espouse? Do they exhibit certain biases or objectives? What evidence do they use to substantiate their claims? Then, formulate your own opinion of the history of the Cuban Revolution and its importance to the discussion of revolution.
This first video is from a professor and advocate of Marxism. In the video, he focuses on the successes of the Cuban Revolution.
This second video was created in 1960. It explores the Cuban Revolution and Fidel Castro based on U.S. foreign policy. It focuses on the possibility of similar revolutions throughout the globe and their possible impact.
Unit 4 Assessment
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