Author Archives: Emily B

Historical discussion question on Haitian Revolution

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Question: How did foreign powers influence the Haitian Revolution?

Answer: Foreign powers played a substantial role in the Haitian war. While the French government was the country who owned the colony, this did not prevent other foreign powers from intervening. The Spanish played a role, helping with supplies to rebel slaves. Eventually, they gave uniforms, land, and freedom to rebels. The British also played a role, blocking French naval ships in Europe and invading Haiti with British troops from Jamaica.

These foreign influences are evident in the “Decree of General Liberty” by Léger Félicité Sonthonax. External pressure from both Spain and Britain contributed to this decree. The Spanish were helping the slave rebels and the British were wanted by counterrevolutionaries for an invasion. While not ever directly stating these foreign powers, he says, “we found a horrible division among the whites who, separated by interest and opinion” (111). Representing the French, he stands up to other foreign powers, saying, “never forget that you fought for the French Republic, that of all the whites in the universe, the only ones that are your friends are the Frenchmen of Europe” (112). He continues pointing at the British and Spanish monarchies, saying:

“The French Republic wants all men to be free and equal with no color distinctions. Kings can only be content when they are surrounded by slaves.; they are the ones who sold you to the whites on the African coast; they are the tyrants in Europe who want this vile trade to continue. The republic adopts you among its children; these kings wanted only to load you down with chains or eliminate you” (112).”

In these passages, he takes all the blame away from the French government and puts the blame on foreign powers. He makes a clear contrast between the republic and kings. While it displays the effects of foreign power, it is also an example of the rhetoric used to get people onto the French sides. At this point, Haiti was viewed as an island with competing countries in a power struggle over the colony and not as the independent republic it would soon become.

After the “Decree of General Liberty”, it led to a division among the insurgents. Some joined the French side, while others remained with Spain. These divisions can be seen in the “Insurgent Responses to Emancipation”. In a letter from rebel leader Bramante Lazzary, tries to convince Toussaint Louverture to join the French side and leave the Spain. He equates kings with slavery. He says, “Spanish barbarism and slavery” and “the disgraceful way the Spanish villains treated our brave brother Ogé” (118-119). In his general decree, he says, “The nobility and the Spaniards want us to have only the whites in order to bring us back to the old order. But no, we are French; we are fighting for our freedom; we want to live free or die, that is the motto of all good French republicans” (120). In the above passages, he really emphasizes how the French are superior to the monarchy of the Spanish in their ideal republican government and freedom for all. During this time, Haiti was still a colony where countries competed to wield influence in the country for their own advantages.
 

 

Class Notes 9/27

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Announcements

  • Midterm is next Wednesday, October 4th
  • Remember to include the “So what?” and “Why is this term important?” in answers
  • Context and interpretation are important
  • Be able to identify primary sources

Professor Holt showed the class a Digital History of the people and city of Teotihuacan. It was created by the de Young Museum. Teotihuacan was an ancient Mesoamerican indigenous city located in present-day New Mexico. The digital history shows us how a museum created an interactive exhibit online to share their latest exhibit. It is a way to share history and expand it to more people who cannot visit the exhibit in person. This provides us with more exposure as we think about our final project for this class and how history is shared in alternative formats.

Latin America in the news

Tristan did his news about Brazil backtracking mining in the Amazon. The class discussed the various powers of authority involved such as the President, his cabinet, Congress, private corporations, and even the Catholic Church. There are several arguments for the mining in the Amazon. One side is that it will help industry and has economic advantages. The other argument is that it is deforestation and disturbs indigenous groups. Our class also discussed international law versus national sovereignty. While organizations such as the United Nations can enact international laws, it can often come in conflict with the country’s sovereignty and their right to rule their own country.

Key term:

Columbian Exchange– the interaction between New and Old-World plants, animals, and disease. Defined in “The Columbian Exchange” by Alfred Crosby as the “Artificial re-establishment of connections through the commingling of Old and New World plants, animals, and bacteria.”[1]

Discussion

The first half of class was a discussion looking over The Conquest of Mexico Paintings, asking ourselves how painters use the past to present an argument in their works. In the conquest paintings, they portray the Spaniards as brave, gallant and sophisticated during war. Instead of painting the harsh realities of war, these paintings serve as a historical fantasy that glamourizes war. The color dominant color red can be interpreted as meaning power and pride. The mobility, large size, and mobility of the Spanish accomplishment are presented in the paintings. These paintings serve as propaganda for the Spanish.

Mural by Diego Rivera

The class then looked at a mural by Diego Rivera. It was painted after the Mexican Revolution and is considered a piece of monumental artwork. It shows the diversity of the indigenous. The style is modern and the vibrant color represents a lively and active society. There is a lot going on in the painting. The bottom shows carvings of agriculture scenes. It shows a harmonious society with certain degrees of hierarchy. The painting depicts how sophisticated the society was before the Spanish arrived at the height of civilization. It can be seen as a celebration of the indigenous people and their contributions to Mexico. The mural was created years after the conquest. Diego plays with how the past should be interpreted. He uses the past to make an argument about the indigenous people’s contribution. His mural shows how artists use the past to tell a story in their artwork.

The class then discussed the Alfred Crosby reading, “The Columbian Exchange”. While we have looked at many political and cultural factors, this article helps to examine the environmental factors and effects of the Spanish coming over to the New World. We talked about how food and crops traveled among the New and Old Worlds and how one staple crop can stimulate a population. For example, the potato in Ireland. However, there are also problems with a monoculture system such as when famine occurs.

Finally, the Historia Naturae by Johann Nieremberg was discussed. We went over several articles people chose from a variety of animals and plants. We can look at this source as a production of knowledge. It is a study of the history of science. He makes many comparisons to European plants or animals to better understand the new. He uses knowledge from the Old World to make sense of the New World. For example, when looking at animals he solely looks for utility. For Europeans, animals were only viewed as either bringing in wealth or making life easier. Some believed that God created animals for people to use. Another aspect to think about when examining a source like this is to think about how it was created. How would an outside European scientist collect this information? To some degree, he used information from the indigenous people. For example, for the Mournful tree, he says that the native used the flowers from the tree to dye their food. Further, some of the names are indigenous while others are names he made up. Like other primary resources, we must look at the point of view it was created and why it was created. This is a European scientist. Did he really want to understand the ecology and environment of the New World or not? Was this information used only to help facilitate European knowledge and to see what they could gain? These are just several questions that can be analyzed to better understand not only the primary source but also about the what is going on at the time in general. This source is a production of knowledge of the interaction with indigenous informants. It is constructed from aspects of both the Old and New World.

Up next…

These sources can serve as a transition from encounter and conquest to colonial rule. First, we must understand societies and how they come into contact. Then, we can look at how they set up colonial rule. The colonies were to be of service to the empire. This drives many of the sources written and actions of people during the time.

Think about …

  • How to use historical biographies of everyday people to better understand the process of colonialization?
  • How key are these people in the colonialization of the New World?
  • Looking at the biographies, did these people have a choice between submitting to Spanish rule or remaining loyal to their indigenous communities?

Links to:

Diego Rivera murals

Teotihuacan Digital History

Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies

[1] Alfred Crosby, “The Columbian Exchange,” History Now, (June 2007), https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/american-indians/essays/columbian-exchange.

“Indigenous women in politics: a complex proposition”

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In the indigenous community of Santa María Quiegolani in Oaxaca, Mexico, there are changes in the law to promote women in those communities to participate in politics. However, these changes actually spark opposition from these same women the changes aim to help. This gained national attention with Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza who broke out of traditional ways of her indigenous community by studying at high school and a university. She ran in her indigenous community for municipal president but did not succeed as municipal authorities believe she cheated her way through by not going through traditional routes of election. While she lost within her own community, she rose to attain several positions at the state and national level. In these positions, she sponsored a reform to the Mexican Constitution which “recognizes the autonomy of the indigenous communities and their right to self-government.” Eufrosina wants to reform this so that “under no circumstance would this right undermine the right of women to participate in politics.” However, this reform is challenging traditional customs of the indigenous people of Oaxaca.

Eufrosina Cruz. Photo courtesy of  https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/288408

In Oaxaca, indigenous communities have autonomy to choose their own leaders. Many of the municipalities use usos y costumbres to select their authorities. In this system, people must do tequios, public service activities, in order to earn their right to participate in the government. There is no secret ballot and the system usually calls that people climb the ladder of positions. While women are able to vote and do hold municipal positions, only about 2% of municipalities had women as their municipal presidents. What stands in the way are several issues- the domestic chores of women and fear of government intervention. Zaira Hipólito López, a community psychologist says that it is a “double burden” for women; working for the community and taking care of domestic chores. Being part of the municipal does not pay like it does outside at the state and national level. Further, she says, when women’s husbands are elected, these women feel like they are participating “since they assume many of the men’s regular responsibilities.” Women have other fears, such as federal government intervention. This happens when municipal states do not follow federal guidelines or when there are internal conflicts. Some view this federal intervention as the government trying to take advantage of the communities’ resources. In addition, women feel the reform “violates their customs and their right of self-determination” and is “an imposition on their traditions”.

Women cast votes in Oaxaca, Mexico. Photo courtesy ofhttps://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/Latin-America-Monitor/2017/0106/Indigenous-women-in-politics-a-complex-proposition

This article uncovers some myths of the indigenous communities of Latin America, specifically in Mexico. For example, the news article recognizes that many people do not think that women are able to participate at all in the government. However, this is untrue. In most municipalities, women are able to vote and only 18% ban women from voting which the news article recognizes “is still too high, but the myth that all indigenous communities repress women’s right to vote is just that, a myth; 343 municipalities did allow them to have an electoral voice.” The author of this news story interviewed people from the indigenous community and took into perspective how the indigenous communities view “Western” ways. These views are not always transferable. They fear corruption and believe that well intentioned Western ideas can infringe on their rights as indigenous communities. [1]

In the context of class themes, this deals with indigenous people and their traditions. Many people continue to live in traditional ways and want to continue to do so- without outside influence. In general, people outside of these communities are often quick to make assumptions about their “backwardness” for keeping their traditional ways and not taking on Western ways. It does draw a fine line between wanting to help Indigenous people versus disrupting their traditions and culture. Questions arise about gender and gender roles. Do these women see themselves as oppressed or do they view this as a natural way of life? Should assumptions be made that gender roles everywhere be eradicated? Pertaining to this news article, it puts into perspective relations with the indigenous communities and brings to attention the issue of helping the indigenous people versus obstructing their traditions and cultures.

[1] Hoffay, Mercedes, “Indigenous women in politics: a complex proposition,” The Christian Science Monitor, January 6, 2017, https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/Latin-America-Monitor/2017/0106/Indigenous-women-in-politics-a-complex-proposition.

Links to other articles that relate to this news article:

Article on Eufrosina Cruz from a different perspective: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/288408

Article on 2001 Mexico Constitution reform:  http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1870-05782012000100002

Wikipedia Article Critique

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The Wikipedia article I chose to evaluate was on the percussion instrument, the güiro. The article is rather short, but appears to be factual and follow the Wikipedia guidelines. It’s short so everything is relevant to the article topic. There was nothing distracting or out of place throughout the article. In addition, the tone seems neutral and unbiased. All of the links worked throughout the article. There was only one link under references that did not work. There is a subcategory on the page where all the information is from that source so that is a red flag. The other reference links were connected to books. The references seem appropriate and reliable. From what access I had to the books online, the books appear to be neutral, educational sources from a factual view.

There is a bit on the Talk page. There is talk about spelling, picture usage concern, removing a section, merging two pages, and songs with the güiro in it. I think these are really concerning to the topic. I believe some of the information could even be transferred to the main page with some minor editing. It is nice that people note the changes made or questions concerning the topic. The Talk page also includes the WikiProjects. The article is “of interest to the following WikiProjects”: WikiProject Cuba, WikiProject Latin music, WikiProject Puerto Rico, WikiProject Musical Instruments, and WikiProject Percussion. These all pertain to the topic.

One concern with this Wikipedia article is how short the article is in length. Finding extensive information for this topic can be hard. Representationally, a few questions arise. Who uses this instrument today and who used it in the past? Is this a general Latin American instrument or is it more centralized to a specific area? Perhaps the instrument may be used differently in varying parts of Latin America. The history of the uses of the güiro and the use of it today is something that could be added. Perhaps it was used in a religious ritual or governmental ceremony. The sound bite is another concern. There is no citation for it. Musically speaking, it is very bare and two different sounds are heard, one at the beginning and one at the end. Perhaps this can be explained as it may cause confusion. Hearing an instrument is extremely important to further the understanding of an instrument. I think having several sound bites would be fascinating and useful. A sound bite with minimal instrumentation would be beneficial and then maybe a sound bite of a güiro in a fuller instrumental setting.

We have not discussed specific musical instruments in class. However, we have talked about material culture and the cultural importance of items. This Wikipedia article does not reveal or analyze the value of this item in the Latin American culture. Is this item used by certain groups of people of certain economic or social status? What value is and was the güiro associated with in society? These are only some questions regarding material culture and this item.

Hello!

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Hello! My name is Emily and I am a sophomore. I am a declared History major with a minor in education and will add Spanish as another major this year. My goal right now is to become an ESL teacher and continue to learn throughout my life. I hold a position on campus as an ELL peer tutor. I am involved in many of the music ensembles the college offers as a percussionist, so you can often see me around campus wearing a kilt!

In general, I am excited to learn about anything and everything about Colonial Latin American History! Specifically, I enjoy looking at the role gender plays and the family and personal lives of those in Colonial Latin America.