Relations Between English And Latin America Essay

The relations between English and Latin America from the late 1700s to the mid-1800s are a study of disparities and conflicts. From the founding of the thirteen English colonies in the north and the Spanish and Portuguese colonies to the south, the differences were readily apparent. The English and Latin colonies operated under different forms of governance, believed in different forms of Christianity, and realized independence through different avenues, among other differences. These incongruences, and the tension that resulted, only increased as the colonies gained their independence.
One of the differences was timing, with the newly founded United States achieving independence some thirty years before the Latin American colonies. This gave the U.S. a decided advantage over its southern counterparts, as the U.S. economy and government were already established by the 1810s, just as the Latin colonies began to pull away from Spain. Because of this establishment, the U.S. was able to exert its influence over Latin America from the beginning of its process of independence. Perhaps the strongest example of this was the Monroe Doctrine. Stated by President Monroe in 1823 as a warning to Europe that the Americas were closed to future colonization, it also indicated the intention of the U.S. to dominate the

area.
Again, this intent was displayed through the numerous attempts by the U.S. to gain Cuba. Cuba was not an exception, but rather the norm in regards to U.S. involvement with its sister republics. For while U.S. diplomats spoke of solidarity and comradery, they, like the rest of their fellow citizens, held a very racist view of Latin Americans which they took no pains to hide. This opinion of superiority was what compelled men like William Walker, the most famous of the filibusters, to impose their vision of civilization on their backward neighbors.
Relations between these two spheres only grew more strained, with the Mexico and U.S. war in 1846 being one of the more violent examples of this ever present tension. The opposition took less violent forms as well. The tension between Protestants and Catholics as another point of contention, with both sides believing the other was Godless. U.S. patriots contended that if only Spanish Catholics would convert, their countries too could prosper. For there was no doubt that the U.S. economy had only continued to exceed those in Latin America. From this economic vantage point, the U.S. sought to exploit Latin America as England had once exploited it. By extracting raw materials from them and exporting the finished products to them.
The years between the 1770s and 1865 bore witness to the pattern of U.S.

domination of Latin America which would continue into the 20th century. For while these new republics had much in common, their citizens gave more attention to the disparities. They did not speak the same language, they did not form the same type of democracy, they did not practice the same religion. With their actions defended by manifest destiny, U.S. citizens felt justified in dominating and exploiting Latin America. For their part, Latin Americans looked on in trepidation and resentment as their more powerful sister republic instituted its own form of imperialism in the name of

freedom.