Latin American Independence Essay

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Latin America’s independence kicked of with the independence of Haiti. Before the the independence movement that overtook Latin America, Haiti had gained independence twenty years before the movement. The Spanish Empire had been in decline for a period of time after the rise of the English empire and many failed battles on the Spanish (class notes). The French Revolution and the American Revolution had inspired many of the Latin American countries to fight for independence (Chapter 3). They were inspired by the Enlightenment that washed over Europe. Of the inspired, one man stood out and took the movement by heart.
Simón Bolívar had become an iconic leader for the independence of countries throughout South America. He made his way throughout …show more content…

From the beginning, the Catholic church had imposed catholicism unto the natives, they were either killed or converted. Today, catholicism persists as the region’s main religious source, but evangelicals are cropping up in areas and is steadily growing in the region. The church had forced their religion on the people of the Americas and had no respect for the religions practiced by the people there. Mayans, Aztecs, and the Incas had different religions and practiced borrowed traditions from each other. The Spanish had completely disregarded their faith and literally tore down their religion and placed their own upon their ruins. After the decline of the Catholic church in Europe, the Spanish were eager to set up other territories and force them to follow their ways and expand the church across hemispheres (Class Notes). Modern Catholicism has taken a stance on social justice and has recently been geared towards helping those in need. This practice is known as Liberation Theology; it has been condemned by many Latin American governments and the church. Currently, Pope Francis, favors liberation theology, but the two Popes before him have adamantly opposed this way of thinking. He made it clear that social justice should take center stage, but with previous oppositions, the idea will likely not take off (Chapter …show more content…

Protestantism and Pentecostalism has risen to 15% of the population. Their members are mostly poor or part of the working class. Their ministers are from the same social class as its members, unlike catholicism where most priests come from the elites of the neighborhood. The rise of evangelicals has surprised the region and has grown exponentially.
African-Inspired religions have also prevailed when they were forced to come to the Americas. Voodoo and Santería are some of the main religions practiced in Latin America.Voodoo is commonly practiced in Haiti and Santería is practiced throughout Cuba and Puerto Rico. Santería times their rituals to those of the Catholic church, such as Easter and Christmas.
Judaism is practiced by about 500,000 Jews in the region. Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil host large communities and are faced with large amounts of anti-semitism leftover from Spanish hatred. The Jewish and Muslims were forced out of Spain, even those who had converted to catholicism, by the Spanish Inquisition. This systemic hatred had taken root in Latin America (Class

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