Latin American Rebellions

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During the colonial era of Latin America, there were multiple rebellions and revolts. These revolts were often led by common people who became heroes through their success against the elites. Such rebellions include the Tupac Amaru Rebellion, Simon Bolivar and the Independence of South America, and lastly the Hidalgo Revolt, which unfortunately failed. Some other late colonial revolts and rebellions also included the Comunero Revolt, the Tiradentes Revolt, and the Conspiracy of the Tailors. In this essay I will talk about the aspects of the Tupac Amaru Revolt. Then I will explain the opinions of the elites about the poor and the Indians. Lastly, I will analyze how the rebellion and the opinions of the elites shaped the Independence movement.…show more content…
They believed these empires had more control and fairness over the land than what the Spaniards had established. But other rebellions were caused by the way the elites treated the Indians and the poor. The elites of Latin America had all the power, and also had the king of Spain to support them. They frowned upon the Indians and the poor, treating them as slaves and diminishing their culture. The elites created restricts on the Indians, forcing them to change their Inca ways. They mad them change their clothing style and banned them from wearing the heathen clothes that symbolized their Inca ancestors. The Spaniards also took down any portraits that reminded the natives of the past. The elites believed that if they were reminded, then they might get the idea to start a rebellion to gain their power back. They replaced these photos with paintings of the king of Spain and with murals that represented the Catholic church. They put these pictures up to try to convince the natives that this culture was better for them. The church priests of provinces were also in charge of making sure no traditions of Inca culture was being performed or shared with others. Overall, the elites had all the power and they made it quite clear that they did not favor the Indians or the…show more content…
Because the elites had all the power, they controlled the Indians and the poor’s future. They gave them very little rights, in what they called a democracy. The elites expanded their land throughout Latin America through haciendas. They also caused racial attitudes by forbidding Spaniards from marrying Africans. They also caused the upper class to flourish in wealth. The elites also wanted free trade to make money. All this power shaped the movement and all the rebellions that followed. Elites in Peru didn’t want independence for the people because of the rebellions, but they were defeated. Because of all the disagreement, all of Latin America made their own Republics and started quarreling with each other. Because of the Independence Movement, illiteracy was widespread, which meant Indians could not question the democracy. Economies were also devastated and Latin America had no significant industrial development like England at the time. Latin America also suffered from monoculture, where only one crop was being grown in a certain area, this cause starvation, especially since the population was growing. All these conflicts fall back onto the earlier decisions of the
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