Latin American Imperialism

Before European and American colonization of Latin America, most of the nation's farm lands were overrun by weeds, buildings were destroyed, and left in shambles because of all the civil unrest. Poor farmers were constantly in debt to the rich landowners because they were paid so little and the necessities they needed were too expensive. This debt was passed down from generation to generation in a system known as peonage. Political instability was another widespread problem in 19th-century Latin America. Most of the Latin American army leaders gained power and controlled their new nations as military dictators, or caudillos. The caudillos faced little to no opposition because the wealthy landowners supported them because they opposed giving power to the lower classes.

When colonial rule ended in Latin America in the early 1800s, Britain and later the United States became Latin America's main trading partners. Latin America's economy continued to depend on their main exports. The development of the steamship and building of railroads greatly …show more content…
Latin Americans feared that European countries would try to takeover. In 1823, President James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine. This document stated that “the American continents are off limits to be colonized by any European powers.” Until 1898, the United States did little to enforce the Monroe Doctrine. By the mid-1890s, the United States had been doing substantial business in Cuba. The Spanish had forced many Cuban civilians into concentration camps which lead to the United States joining the Cuban war for independence in 1898. This war later became known as the Spanish-American War and it lasted about four months. U.S. forces launched their first attack not on Cuba, but on the Philippine Islands, a Spanish colony in the Pacific. Unprepared from the 2 attacks in the Caribbean and in the Philippines, the Spanish military quickly