1 Liberal Progress The numerous revolutions and conflicts in Latin America eventually gave way to the Liberal Reform Movement. After enduring the repressive and often violent regimes of the caudillos, many politicians began to seek more diplomatic and egalitarian methods to stabilize their nations. Argentina: Growing up in Buenos Aires under the dictatorship of Juan Manuel de Rosas, Bartolome Mitre and Justo José de Urquiza became rebels against the dictator. Mitre served in military campaigns, edited a newspaper , and wrote constantly against the Rosas regime. In 1852 he returned to Argentina as the leader of the forces that led to the downfall of Rosas. Urquiza was elected president of Argentina in The next year Mitre became a political leader against the federalist government and refused to accept their constitution. The federalists wanted to limit the power of Buenos Aires and split the government into rural provinces. While the two men were both liberals they could not agree on the government that was best for Argentina and a civil war broke out. At the Battle of Cepada in 1859, Mitre was defeated and forced to join Urquiza’s government. However in 1860 civil war broke out again but this time Mitre was victorious. He was elected president of a united Argentina. Establishing an efficient administration, he suppressed the rural caudillos, extended the postal service and telegraph lines, organized public finances, and established new courts. He fostered increased foreign trade and encouraged immigration. In 1874 he ran for president again, only to claim that his defeat was a setup which led to an unsuccessful rebellion against the government. He tried for the presidency again in 1891 but withdrew in favor of the Conservative candidate. Throughout these years and until his death, he stood as a symbol of Argentine unity and as a spokesman for economic development.
2 Bartolome Mitre Justo José de Urquiza
3 Domingo Faustino Sarmiento was President of the Republic of Argentina from 1868– He became president despite the rebellion of his predecessor Bartolomé Mitre. Sarmiento respected the democratic ideals of the United States and sought to bring the liberal ideas of liberty and freedom to Argentina. Sarmiento was well known for his modernization of the country, and for his improvements to the educational system. He firmly believed in democracy and European liberalism, Sarmiento was well educated and loved the philosophies of Karl Marx, Thomas Paine, John Locke and John Stuart Mill. He did fear that too much liberty could turn into anarchy and civil war like the French Revolution had. Sarmiento’s version of liberty was focused more on a laissez-faire (government does not interfere with the economy) approach to the economy, and religious liberty. Despite being a Catholic himself, he began to adopt the ideas of separation of church and state modeled after the U.S. He believed that there should be more religious freedom, and less religious affiliation in schools. Sarmiento believed that the material and social needs of people had to be satisfied but not at the cost of order and manners. He put great importance on the law and citizen participation. Sarmiento believed in eliminating the caudillos and large plantation owners by establishing multiple agricultural colonies run by European immigrants Despite all the progressive reforms he passed during his presidency, Sarmiento was not re- elected due to an unpopular war with Paraguay that he was drawn into. Sarmiento retired as a well respected and loved Argentine symbol for liberty.
4 Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
5 Colombia: The nation of Colombia was under the rule of the caudillo Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera in Mosquera had been a freedom fighter under the command of Simon Bolivar during Colombia’s revolution against Spain. He was a talented military commander and climbed to the rank of general. Once in power, Mosquera became more and more liberal. During his administration he emphasized economic growth and expansion. In 1846 his administration signed the Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty with the United States. This treaty gave the U.S. transport rights over the Ismus of Panama. It created friendly relations between the two countries.( the U.S. would later support Panamanian independence in order to build the Panama canal.) He was also responsible for abolishing the old colonial taxes instituted by Spain and creating a thriving tobacco and coffee industry. Mosquera also started political measures to separate the State and Catholic Church. Finally, he promoted steam navigation and many other scientific advances. Mosquera also supported liberals in other countries. In Ecuador the conservative President Gabriel Garcia Moreno was in the middle of a revolution led by liberal rebels. Mosquera sent his army to aid the Ecuadorians and defeated Moreno at the Battle of Cuaspad in The two sides compromised and Moreno stayed in power. Ultimately, Mosquera was a positive force for Colombia. He was elected president four times. His fourth presidency was to have lasted from 1866 to 1868, but with his random closure of the Colombian Congress(because they didn’t listen to him), he was arrested on May 23, 1867, tried, and exiled to Peru (until 1870). He never recovered his national stature. Mosquera was stubborn and vain; but his driving ambition and intelligence combined to make him the liberal modernizer of Colombia.
6 Ecuador: From 1845 to 1860 Ecuador was in a state of anarchy; liberals and conservatives were involved in a violent civil war. It was from this dangerous situation in which Gabriel García Moreno pulled the country from the brink of destruction. Moreno was the son of Spanish nobles and a devout Roman Catholic. He was a staunch conservative and wanted to maintain the power of the church while the liberals attempted to separate church and state. Moreno was elected president in 1859 to a country with an empty treasury and an enormous debt. Moreno placed the government on a stripped down economy, eliminated corruption and set up programs for the poor. This improved the financial status of the country and attracted foreign investment. Slavery was abolished, but there was full compensation for the slave owners. Houses of prostitution were closed, and hospitals opened in all the major towns. Railroads and national highways were built, the telegraph extended, and the postal and water systems improved. City streets were paved and local bandits suppressed. These public works projects were accomplished in part through the use of money obtained from a government tax program. Unfortunately, Native American workers were used as forced labor to build all of Moreno’s projects. This angered the liberal party along with his refusal to lessen the power of the Catholic church. After being elected for a third term in 1875 he was assassinated by liberal terrorists. He knew of the plot but refused to run and shouted “¡Dios no muere!" ("God does not die!“) as he was macheted and shot to death. Despite his grisly death and treatment of natives, Moreno created a prosperous and modern economy, educated his people and reformed almost every aspect of Ecuador's culture.
7 Tomás Cipriano de MosqueraGabriel García Moreno
8 . The War of the Pacific ( ): In 1879 a war between Chile and Peru along with their ally Bolivia broke out over control of rich nitrate deposits in the Atacama Desert (then part of Peru, now in Chile). After the Chilean navy defeated Peruvian battleships off the coastline, their army landed and began to dominate the Peruvian and Bolivian forces. Chile’s superior resources and military discipline eventually brought overwhelming defeat to Peru and Bolivia. On October 20, 1883 hostilities between Chile and Peru formally came to an end under the Treaty of Ancón. Under the treaty's terms, Peru formally ceded the province of Tarapacá(which contained all the valuable minerals) to Chile. In 1884, Bolivia signed a treaty that gave the entire Bolivian coastline, the province of Antofagasta, and its nitrate, copper and other mineral deposits to Chile. A 1904 treaty made this arrangement permanent. In return, Chile agreed to build a railroad connecting the capital city of La Paz, Bolivia, with the port of Arica, and Chile guaranteed freedom of transit for Bolivian trade through Chilean ports and territory. Despite the cost of life on both sides and the loss of territory for Peru and Bolivia, the war brought about liberal governments in all three countries.
9 Chilean army defeating the Peruvian forces at the Battle of Arica
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11 Do now: Why did many Latin American countries move towards more liberal governments during the late 1800’s? What were the results? How did Bartolome Mitre and Domingo Sarmiento modernize and reform Argentina? Compare and contrast Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera and Gabriel García Moreno. Were they caudillos or reformers? What were the results of the War of the Pacific in 1884? Which countries were involved?