章節 16: Chapter 16:The Latin America of Congress Part II.
The Latin America of Congress Part II.- The Consolidation Years
"Triumphs are meaningless if peace doesn't follow them"
-Antonio de Nariño, libertator of Colombia.
Congress Latin America was characterized by the peace lived during the period, with no major wars or conflicts starting during it. By 1819 the situation in Peru was stabilized and the last Royalist guerrillas destroyed. The protectorate, thus, was ended and in its place the Republic of Peru was installed. The first elections were celebrated, but only wealthy Criollo males were able to vote even though Miranda begged the authorities to extend the vote to wealthy Indigenas and Mestizos. Jose de la Mar was elected as the first president of Peru. He was antagonistic towards Colombia, but he knew that Peru was dependant on it for the time being, so his government saw an expansion of the Colombian influence in the country. This angered most of the Criollos who had voted for him, hoping he would make Peru great again. His only positive action in the eyes of them was the expulsion of Colombian and Chilean forces and the foundation of the independent, though tiny, Peruvian Army.
Politically, Congress Latin America was marked by the various disputes between the nations. The Congress of Cucuta didn't leave anyone satisfied with their land, and almost everyone had a claim on other country. In 1820 Central America became a hot topic as the Mexican Empire, under Agustin I claimed the entire region, divided between the USCA and Colombia (which held Panama and Costa Rica). The claim was based in that the region used to be part of New Spain, with the Yucatan peninsula being the biggest sore spot Mexico wanted back.
Mexico was, by far, the country which had sustained the most damage during the Independence War. Unlike the almost-conventional warfare that took place in La Plata or Colombia, Mexico had been submerged in destructive guerrilla warfare and Spain continued to raid its shipping, damaging the already weak economy. Agustin, however, had managed to stabilize the country economically and politically wise, with the first elections happening swiftly. The first Mexican Prime Minister was Alejandro Andrade, a clever man whose major accomplishments were managing several treaties of commerce with the United States and alliances with the Native America tribes north of Mexico. He also refused to allow Americans settle Texas, instead encouraging "civilized natives" (that is, catholic and Spanish speaking natives) to settle there. He also encouraged Mexican people from little towns and cities destroyed during the war to settle there, taking advantage of the abundance of free land and the fact that Texas was relatively untouched by the war. The abandoned towns would then be repopulated with immigrants from Europe, who were coming in bigger and bigger numbers each year.
Back to the Central American question, both Agustin I and Andrade wanted to reclaim the land, annexing the USCA if possible, but also wanted to avoid antagonizing Colombia, to which Mexico owed a huge debt. Pedro Molina Mazariegos, the leader of the USCA, saw himself in a desperate situation as his country was very dependant in Colombia, which had forced them beforehand to cede some land to the United Kingdom in another attempt at gaining the favor of it. Thus, the USCA destiny would be decided by Colombia and nobody else.
The Colombian government in general, and Miranda in particular, didn't like the idea of a monarchy in Latin America, but they were also aware of the power the Mexican Empire had. Colombia's population was about four million people[1]; Mexico's was almost six million. Deciding that an alliance and good relations with Mexico were a better alternative than having them as a foe, the Treaty of Yucatan was signed. The entire peninsula wasn't given back, but Mexico still retrieved a lot of land and relations with Colombia improved significantly. The treaty also further destabilized the USCA, though it managed to hold together for the rest of Congress Latin America.
The situation in the South Cone remained in a cold peace. The different Platinean states starting to cooperate with each other, but the whole country wasn't very stable, especially after San Martin decided to exile himself, leaving Artigas as the most prominent leader in La Plata, more specifically, the leader of Oriental Provinces, from which he denounced the "tyranny" of Buenos Aires. Still, the economy rose from the ground as vast quantities of cattle and wheat were produced and exported. The political situation also gave a turn for the better as La Plata laid down its claims in Paraguay and Charkas. Meanwhile, Chile also started to re-build itself, and like La Plata laid down its claims in the Charkean coast.
Paraguay saw some improvements too, though Francia's dictatorial and isolationist government put it at odds with the other nations in the continent. Of note is the fact that he greatly encouraged mixed couples and education in both Guaraní and Spanish, which would save Paraguay of class problems for ethnic reasons in the future[2]. Even then, his rule remains controversial to this day.
The next great success of Congress Latin America took place around 1822, as Brazil reached independence. We'll provide a brief background for the event. Following the Napoleonic Invasion of Portugal, the Royal Family fled to Brazil. During their stance there a series of revolts and riots broke up all around the colony, especially after the government attacked and annexed Oriental Missions from La Plata. The King had to return to Europe after the death of Napoleon, but he returned shortly after to Brazil, which had become an integral part of his kingdom. The Portuguese elites were outraged by this and, influenced by the liberal ideals that circulated through the continent, started a revolt. Similarly to the revolts in Spain, this one was supported by the French, who wanted yet another constitutional monarchy in its orbit.
Knowing that a full scale revolution could start if he didn't intervene, King John Vi returned to Portugal, installing a constitutional monarchy and making Brazil a colony once again. The situation alarmed the Brazilian people, and the colony fell into anarchy during a time until Don Pedro, the crown prince, decided to step in. He was left behind by his father to look after Brazil, but he fell in love with the land and with the ideals of liberty and independence. In June 7, 1822, he declared the independence of Brazil with him as the Emperor, in a move very similar to that of Agustin I.
He then proceeded to lead the newly funded Empire of Brazil to victory in a short war against Portugal. Mexico was open to the idea of another Empire in the Americans, proposing an Imperial Alliance and giving abundant supplies to Brazil. La Plata showed apathy at best and hostility at worst, while Colombia was unsure. Having all of the continental Americas (with the exception of Canada, which was too far to be a threat, and some little colonies like Guyana) as independent nations was beneficial, but the Colombian leadership didn't like the idea of yet another Monarchy in the continent, especially one where the Emperor was actually a member of the royal house of the colonizing power.
The Brazilian War of Independence wasn't as bloody or destructive as the wars in the Spanish colonies, but it still left the country with its fair share of destruction and scars. Curiously enough, most of the destruction was actually made during the riots and rebellions during the past years, but the war prevented that damage from being repaired. Of note are the revolutions in Bahia and Pernambuco, which tried to install independent Republics but failed.
Similarly to La Reconquista the Portuguese efforts started to wane as the Portuguese crown wasn't able to keep up with its cost and Brazil had a much larger manpower base. By 1824 Portugal decided to surrender and admit the independence of the Brazilian Empire, under Pedro I of the House of Braganza. France saw an opportunity to win influence with the new countries in the Americas, especially the monarchies, and pressured Spain and Portugal to call for an international conference with their former colonies. In the Peace of Madrid (1824), both powers finally recognized and made peace with the Latin American countries. Relations were still bad, and most of the region didn't want to trade with their former overlords, but attacks and convoy raiding stopped. For its efforts, France, now under King Carlos X, obtained great influenced in the region, justifying it with the fact that France, Portugal and Spain, and by extension their former colonies, shared a common "Latin" identity.
La Plata, hostile to the United Kingdom thanks to their story of invasions, started to see in France a new guide, agreeing for a French request to open navigation in the Platinean Rivers. Brazil was also very friendly, but Pedro I wanted his Empire to be neither in the French nor in the British orbit, being instead neutral. The greatest French achievement was, however, in Mexico, where they convinced Agustin I to marry his son with a French noble, thus legitimizing the Mexican Monarchy. The benefits were almost immediately as the Mexican elites started to really accept the Empire while France managed to extend its worldwide influence, much to the frustration of Britain.
Colombia, firmly in the British orbit, was the only one that didn't like the idea of French influence in Latin America, but pragmatic as always allowed them to have certain influence and investment in Hispaniola, especially their former colony of Haiti (also recognized by Colombian request in the Peace of Madrid). France was thankful of the protection Colombia offered to French citizens and creoles, pursued during the Haitian Independence, and repaid them with the funding of industry and schools in all of Hispaniola. French became especially important as a first language in Haiti, although Spanish was very popular as a second language in the Haitian elites.
Still, Colombia decided to take its chance and grow even closer to the United Kingdom, offering themselves as the key to keep control in Latin America, more exactly in Chile, Peru, Charkas, Paraguay and Central America, all of them in the Colombian orbit. Decided to stop the French from gaining too much influence in the region, Britain augmented its level of investment in Colombia, La Plata and Brazil, though Colombia was the only that accepted that attention with open arms
Congress Latin America was also marked by the immigration booms, started by the Colombians Latin Laws that encouraged and facilitated immigration of Catholics able to speak a Romance Language. Copied by other countries, this started a trend of immigration with four main groups: French, mostly settled in Mexico thanks to the influence France held there; Spaniards, almost all of whom went to Colombia, the nation least hostile to "La Madre Patria", the one that required the least wealth to vote and with the only other condition being speaking Spanish; Italians, who settled in La Plata; and Portuguese, who continued to go to Brazil thanks to Don Pedro's friendly relations with Portugal.
Also of note are other migratory movements. The British mostly went to Canada, especially to settle the areas the Empire won from the Americans, but of course some of them went to the USA instead. A notable minority went to Colombia thanks to the friendly relations it and Britain had. Germans mostly went to the USA or Canada, but a significant portion of them moved to settle Chile instead. Again, a notable minority of Germans moved to Colombia, who sponsored this in basis of the existence of a former German colony in Venezuela (known as Klein Venedig) and funded, with their help, La Colonia Tovar near Caracas.
Continues in Part III.
Note
[1]The sources I consulted presented great variation. The figures range from 2.5 million at their lowest to 4.5 million at their highest. Also confusing is the fact that the figures tend to change depending in what you are searching, with diferent numbers for Gran Colombia and New Granada. For the sake of wank, I decided to go with the greatest population figures for every Latin American country.
[2]Did you know that Paraguay is the only country where a Amerindian language is in common usage by most of the population? Yeah, Peru and other countries like Ecuador and Bolivia may recognize their own native languages, but the great majority of the people speak Spanish and only Spanish. Paraguay has been called one of the few truly bilingual countries in the world, since more than 80% percent of the people speak both Guarani and Spanish. By the way, that bit about mixed mariages actually happened.
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