| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Toussaint L'Overture | Leader of slave rebellion on the French sugar island of St. Domingue in 1791; led to creation of independent republic of Haiti in 1804. |
| Father Miguel de Hidalgo | Mexican priest who established independence movement among Indians and mestizos in 1810; despite early victories, was captured and executed. |
| Gran Colombia | Independent state created in South America as a result of military successes of Simon Bolívar; existed only until 1830, at which time Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador became separate nations. |
| Augustín de Iturbide | Conservative Creole officer in Mexican army who signed agreement with insurgent forces of independence; combined forces entered Mexico City in 1821; later proclaimed emperor of Mexico until its collapse in 1824. |
| Dom Pedro I | Son and successor of Dom João VI in Brazil; aided in the declaration of Brazilian independence from Portugal in 1822; became constitutional emperor of Brazil. |
| Andrés Santa Cruz | Mestizo general who established union of independent Peru and Bolivia between 1829 and 1839. |
| caudillos | Independent leaders who dominated local areas by force in defiance of national policies; sometimes seized national governments to impose their concept of rule; typical throughout newly independent countries of Latin America. |
| Monroe Doctrine | American declaration stated in 1823; established that any attempt of a European country to colonize in the Americas would be considered an unfriendly act by the United States; supported by Great Britain as a means of opening Latin American trade |
| Fazendas | Coffee estates that spread within interior of Brazil between 1840 and 1860; created major export commodity for Brazilian trade; led to intensification of slavery in Brazil. |
| Mexican-American War | Fought between Mexico and the United States from 1846 to 1848; led to devastating defeat of Mexican forces, loss of about one-half of Mexico's national territory to the United States. |
| Maximilian von Habsburg | Proclaimed emperor of Mexico following intervention of France in 1862; ruled until overthrow and execution by liberal revolutionaries under Benito Juárez in 1867. |
| Juan Manuel de Rosas, | Strongman leader in Buenos Aires; took power in 1831; commanded loyalty of gauchos; restored local autonomy. |
| Spanish American War | War fought between Spain and the United States beginning in 1898; centered on Cuba and Puerto Rico; permitted American intervention in Caribbean, annexation of Puerto Rico and the Philippines. |
| Dependency Theory | Belief that development and underdevelopment were not stages but part of the same process; that development and growth of some areas such as Western Europe were achieved at the expense of underdevelopment of dependent regions such as Latin America. |
| Benito Juarez | Indian governor of state of Oaxcaca in Mexico; leader of liberal rebellion against Santa Anna; liberal government defeated by French intervention under Emperor Napoleon III of France and establishment of Mexican Empire under Maximilian; restored to power in 1867 until his death in 1872. |
| José de San Martin | Leader of independence movement in Rio de la Plata; led to independence of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata by 1816; later led independence movement in Chile and Peru as well. |
| Dr. José Rodríguez de Francia | Ruler of independent Paraguay; ruled country as dictator until 1840. |
| Manifest Destiny | Belief of the government of the United States that it was destined to rule the continent from coast to coast; led to annexation of Texas and Mexican-American War. |
| Centralists | Latin American politicians who wished to create strong, centralized national governments with broad powers; often supported by politicians who described themselves as conservatives. |
| Guano | Bird droppings utilized as fertilizer; exported from Peru as a major item of trade between 1850 and 1880; income from trade permitted end to Indian tribute and abolition of slavery |
| General Antonio López de Santa Anna | Seized power in Mexico after collapse of empire of Mexico in 1824; after brief reign of liberals, seized power in 1835 as caudillo; defeated by Texans in war for independence in 1836; defeated by United States in Mexican-American War in 1848; unseated by liberal rebellion in 1854. |
| Gauchos | Bands of mounted rural workers in the region of the Rio de la Plata; aided local caudillos in splitting apart the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata after 1816. |
| La Reforma | The name given to the liberal rebellion of Benito Juárez against the forces of Santa Anna. |
| Cientificos | Advisors of government of Porfirio Díaz who were strongly influenced by positivist ideas; permitted government to project image of modernization. |
| Domingo F. Sarmiento | Liberal politician and president of Argentine Republic; author of Facundo, a critique of caudillo politics; increased international trade, launched internal reforms in education and transportation. |
| Mask of Ferdinand | Term given to movements in Latin America allegedly loyal to the displaced Bourbon king of Spain, Ferdinand VII; actually Creole movements for independence. |
| Simon Bolívar | Creole military officer in northern South America; won series of victories in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador between 1817 and 1822; military success led to creation of independent state of Gran Colombia. |
| Dom João VI | Portuguese monarch who established seat of government in Brazil from 1808 to 1820 as a result of Napoleonic invasion of Iberian peninsula; made Brazil seat of empire with capital at Rio de Janeiro. |
| Federalists | Latin American politicians who wanted policies, especially fiscal and commercial regulation, to be set by regional governments rather than centralized national administrations; often supported by politicians who described themselves as liberals. |
| Positivism | French philosophy based on observation and scientific approach to problems of society; adopted by many Latin American liberals in the aftermath of independence. |
| Panama Canal | An aspect of American intervention in Latin America; resulted from United States support for a Panamanian independence movement in return for a grant to exclusive rights to a canal across the Panama isthmus; provided short route from Atlantic to Pacific Ocean; completed 1914. |
| Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo | Agreement that ended the Mexican-American War; provided for loss of Texas and California to the United States; left legacy of distrust of the United States in Latin America. |
| Porfirio Díaz | One of Juárez's generals; elected president of Mexico in 1876; dominated Mexican politics for 35 years; imposed strong central government. |
| Argentine Republic | Replaced state of Buenos Aires in 1862; result of compromise between centralists and federalists. |
| Modernization Theory | The belief that the more industrialized, urban, and modern a society became, the more social change and improvement were possible as traditional patterns and attitudes were abandoned or transformed; used as a blueprint for. |
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