Pros And Cons Of Latin American Revolutions

The United States, France, and now Latin America has been riddled by the fever of revolution. Once again, the bourgeoisie, or specifically the Creoles, flipped the region’s political affairs upside down. The revolutions of Latin America in the 18th and 19th centuries completely changed the political affairs of the area. A wave of independence rippled through the region. Country after country became independent and separated from their European mother country as the revolutions spread. Social class particularly, greatly impacted the social, political, and economic reasons for the Latin American revolutions. The privileges and disadvantages of distinct classes greatly contributed to the initiation of revolution during the time period. The populations …show more content…
Further down the social ladder were people of mixed race, Native Americans, Africans, and lastly slaves. Society within Latin America was strictly defined and it was impossible to advance in class. These strict distinctions brooded dissent between classes, providing a reason to rebel against society. Another privilege that encouraged revolution was the spread of Enlightenment ideals through the Creole class. Creoles held enough wealth to enjoy education in Europe. After their return, they brought back Enlightenment philosophies. Intellectual thinkers such as Locke convinced Creoles that people should control government, rather than the reverse. Enlightenment ideas such as overthrowing the government if unsatisfied was also supplanted in the minds of Creoles. For example, with his Enlightenment ideas, Padre Miguel Hidalgo cried for revolution and gathered followers in his church. They eventually revolted against the Spanish government, hoping to achieve independence for Mexico. The schooling of the Creoles fostered ideas of revolution in their minds. Lastly, the disadvantages of slaves, the lowest social class, also contributed to the progression of revolutions in Latin America.