Causes of the Latin American Revolution

Causes of the Latin American Revolution As late as 1808, Spains New World Empire stretched from parts of the present-day western US to Tierra del Fuego in South America, from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. By 1825, it was all gone except for a handful of islands in the Caribbean- broken into several independent states. How could Spains New World Empire fall apart so quickly and completely? The answer is long and complicated, but here are some of the essential causes of the Latin American Revolution. Lack of Respect for the Creoles By the late eighteenth century, the Spanish colonies had a thriving class of Creoles (Criollo in Spanish), wealthy men and women of European ancestry born in the New World. The revolutionary hero Simon Bolivar is a good example, as he was born in Caracas to a well-to-do Creole family four generations of whom who had lived in Venezuela, but as a rule, did not intermarry with the locals. Spain discriminated against the Creoles, appointing mostly new Spanish immigrants to important positions in the colonial administration. In the audiencia (court) of Caracas, for example, no native Venezuelans were appointed from 1786 to 1810. During that time, ten Spaniards and four creoles from other areas did serve. This irritated the influential Creoles who correctly felt that they were being ignored. No Free Trade The vast Spanish New World Empire produced many goods, including coffee, cacao, textiles, wine, minerals and more. But the colonies were only allowed to trade with Spain, and at rates advantageous for Spanish merchants. Many Latin Americans began selling their goods illegally to the British colonies and after 1783, U.S. merchants. By the late 18th century, Spain was forced to loosen some trade restrictions, but the move was too little, too late as those who produced these goods now demanded a fair price for them. Other Revolutions By 1810, Spanish America could look to other nations to see revolutions and their results. Some were a positive influence: The American Revolution (1765–1783) was seen by many in South America as a good example of elite leaders of colonies throwing off European rule and replacing it with a more fair and democratic society- later, some constitutions of new republics borrowed heavily from the U.S. Constitution. Other revolutions were not as positive. The Haitian Revolution, a bloody but successful uprising of slaves against their French colonial owners (1791–1804), terrified landowners in the Caribbean and northern South America, and as the situation worsened in Spain, many feared that Spain could not protect them from a similar uprising. A Weakened Spain In 1788, Charles III of Spain, a competent ruler, died and his son Charles IV took over. Charles IV was weak and indecisive and mostly occupied himself with hunting, allowing his ministers to run the Empire. As an ally of Napoleons First French Empire, Spain willingly joined with Napoleonic France and began fighting the British. With a weak ruler and the Spanish military tied up, Spains presence in the New World decreased markedly and the Creoles felt more ignored than ever. After Spanish and French naval forces were crushed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Spains ability to control the colonies lessened even more. When Great Britain attacked Buenos Aires in 1806–1807, Spain could not defend the city and a local militia had to suffice. American Identities There was a growing sense in the colonies of being separate from Spain. These differences were cultural and often a source of great pride among Creole families and regions. By the end of the eighteenth century, the visiting Prussian scientist Alexander Von Humboldt (1769–1859) noted that the locals preferred to be called Americans rather than Spaniards. Meanwhile, Spanish officials and newcomers consistently treated creoles with disdain, maintaining and further widening the social gap between them. Racism While Spain was racially pure in the sense that the Moors, Jews, gypsies and other ethnic groups had been kicked out centuries before, the New World populations were a diverse mixture of Europeans, Indians and blacks brought in as slaves. The highly racist colonial society was extremely sensitive to minute percentages of black or Indian blood. A persons status in society could be determined by how many 64ths of Spanish heritage one had. To further muddle things up, Spanish law allowed wealthy people of mixed heritage to buy whiteness and thus rise in a society that did not want to see their status change. This caused resentment within the privileged classes. The dark side of the revolutions was that they were fought, in part, to maintain a racist status quo in the colonies freed of Spanish liberalism. Final Straw: Napoleon Invades Spain 1808 Tired of the waffling of Charles IV and Spains inconsistency as an ally, Napoleon invaded in 1808 and quickly conquered not only Spain but Portugal as well. He replaced Charles IV with his own brother,  Joseph Bonaparte. A Spain ruled by France was an outrage even for New World loyalists: Many men and women who would have otherwise supported the royalist side now joined the insurgents. Those who resisted Napoleon in Spain begged the colonials for help but refused to promise to reduce trade restrictions if they won. Rebellion The chaos in Spain provided a perfect excuse to rebel and yet not commit treason. Many Creoles said they were loyal to Spain, not Napoleon. In places like Argentina, colonies sort of declared independence, claiming they would only rule themselves until such time as Charles IV or his son Ferdinand was put back on the Spanish throne. This half-measure was much more palatable to those who did not want to declare independence outright. But in the end, there was no real going back from such a step. Argentina was the first to formally declare independence on July 9, 1816. The independence of Latin America from Spain was a foregone conclusion as soon as the creoles began thinking of themselves as Americans and the Spaniards as something different from them. By that time, Spain was between a rock and a hard place: The creoles clamored for positions of influence in the colonial bureaucracy and for freer trade. Spain granted neither, which caused great resentment and helped lead to independence. Even if Spain had agreed to these changes, they would have created a more powerful, wealthy colonial elite with experience in administering their home regions- a road that also would have led directly to independence. Some Spanish officials must have realized this and so the decision was taken to squeeze the utmost out of the colonial system before it collapsed. Of all of the factors listed above, the most important is probably  Napoleons invasion of Spain. Not only did it provide a massive distraction and tie up Spanish troops and ships, it pushed many undecided Creoles over the edge in favor of independence. By the time Spain was beginning to stabilize- Ferdinand reclaimed the throne in 1813- colonies in Mexico, Argentina, and northern South America were in revolt. Sources Lockhart, James, and Stuart B. Schwartz. Early Latin America: A History of Colonial Spanish America and Brazil. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983.Lynch, John.  Simà ³n Bolà ­var: A Life.  2006: Yale University Press.Scheina, Robert L.  Latin Americas Wars: The Age of the Caudillo, 1791–1899.  Washington: Brasseys, 2003.Selbin, Eric. Modern Latin American Revolutions, 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2018.

Facts About the Solar System

Facts About the Solar System Welcome to the solar system! This is where youll find the Sun, the planets, and humanitys sole home in the Milky Way Galaxy. It contains planets, moons, comets, asteroids, one star, and worlds with ring systems. Although astronomers and skygazers have observed other solar system objects in the sky since the dawn of human history, it has only been in the past half-century that theyve been able to explore them more directly with spacecraft. Historical Views of the Solar System Long before astronomers could use telescopes to look at objects in the sky, people thought that the planets were simply wandering stars. They had no concept of an organized system of worlds orbiting the Sun. All they knew were that some objects followed regular paths against the backdrop of the stars. At first, they thought these things were gods or some other supernatural beings. Then, they decided that those motions had some effect on human lives. With the advent of scientific observations of the sky, those ideas vanished.   The first astronomer to look at another planet with a telescope was Galileo Galilei. His observations changed humanitys view of our place in space. Soon, many other men and women were studying the planets, their moons, asteroids, and comets with scientific interest. Today that continues, and there are currently spacecraft doing many solar system studies. So, what else have astronomers and planetary scientists learned about the solar system?   Solar System Insights A journey through the solar system introduces us to the Sun, which is our nearest star. It contains an amazing 99.8 percent of the mass of the solar system. The planet Jupiter is the next most-massive object and it comprises two and a half times the mass of all the other planets combined. The four inner planets- tiny, cratered Mercury, cloud-shrouded Venus (sometimes called Earths Twin), temperate and watery Earth (our home), and reddish Mars- are called the terrestrial or rocky planets. Jupiter, ringed Saturn, mysterious blue Uranus, and distant Neptune  are called gas giants. Uranus and Neptune are so cold and contain a great deal of icy material, and are often called the ice giants.   The solar system has five known dwarf planets. They are called Pluto, Ceres, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris. The New Horizons mission explored Pluto on July 14, 2015, and is on its way out to visit a small object called 2014 MU69. At least one and possibly two other dwarf planets exist in the outer reaches of the solar system, although we do not have detailed images of them. There are probably at least 200 more dwarf planets in a region of the solar system called the Kuiper Belt (Pronounced KYE-per Belt.) The Kuiper Belt extends out from the orbit of Neptune and is the realm of the most distant worlds known to exist in the solar system. It is very distant and its objects are likely icy and frozen. The outermost region of the solar system is called the Oort Cloud. It probably has no large worlds but does contain chunks of ice that become comets when they orbit very close to the Sun. The Asteroid Belt is a region of space that lies between Mars and Jupiter. It is populated with chunks of rocks ranging from small boulders up to the size of a big city. These asteroids are left over from the formation of the planets.   There are moons throughout the solar system. The only planets that do NOT have moons are Mercury and Venus. Earth has one, Mars has two, Jupiter has dozens, as do Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Some of the moons of the outer solar system are frozen worlds with watery oceans beneath the ice on their surfaces.   The only planets with rings that we know of are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. However, at least one asteroid called Chariklo also has a ring and planetary scientists recently discovered a tenuous ring around the dwarf planet Haumea.   The Origin and Evolution of the Solar System Everything that astronomers learn about solar system bodies helps them understand the origin and evolution of the Sun and planets. We know they  formed about 4.5 billion years ago. Their birthplace was a cloud of gas and dust that slowly contracted to make the Sun, followed by the planets. The comets and asteroids are often considered the leftovers of the birth of the planets.   What astronomers know about the Sun tells us that it will not last forever. Some five billion years from now, it will expand and engulf some of the planets. Eventually, it will shrink down, leaving behind a very changed solar system from the one we know of today.

Economies, Markets and Strategic Decisions Coursework - 1

Economies, Markets and Strategic Decisions - Coursework Example In fact, China has shown a uniform demand for 40% of the global oil- demand since last four years. Oil demand in India has increased by 75% within last 15years of time. Considering the supply side, a number of oil-producing countries such as Iraq and Venezuela have gone through turmoil that has affected their capability to produce and supply oils at their full capacity. In recent times, OPEC (The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) which is an association of 13 countries mainly from Middle East has evolved as the single largest entity for supplying oil throughout the world. In fact, the consortium holds the power of increasing or reducing the oil price through altering the oil supply (Perry, 2013). Global oil inventories play an important role in balancing the global supply and demand for oil. If the quantity produced exceeds demand, the excess supplies are stored for future use and when the consumption surpasses the demand for oil, that inventories are used to satisfy the amounting demand. Though the OPEC countries are responsible for only 40% of the oil supply where 60% of the supplies are controlled by non-OPEC countries, the Non-OPEC suppliers are incapable to influence market price of oil due to insufficient reserves holding by them. Ability of OPEC to maintain the largest oil inventories in the world aids the consortium price of oil through adjusting the supply of oil, especially when the supply of oil by non-OPEC provinces declines further (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2015). The demand and supply of oil directly impacts the oil prices. If the demand for oil increases due to shortage in supply, the price of oil shots up. In contrast, if there is excess supply due to lack of demand, the oil price is likely to go down. However, the demand and supply of oil is instigated by multiple factors which in turn strive to modify the level of oil price. In the

Marketing Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Concepts - Essay Example In the UK, 28% of consumers own a smartphone and by 2015 iPhones will make up 11% of all total devices used in the UK.† (Mintel, 2010) The trend in sales has proved that customers are now looking at mobile phone as a device beyond a small instrument that helps to make phone calls. In fact, making calls have become just small of the many functions of mobile phones. Mobile phones are now a total communication and mobility solution. This trend in the industry was driven by the smart phone of iPhone, Nokia, Samsung, Blackberry and other players. This report will discuss the macro and micro environmental changes in the industry and its impacts on the marketing activities of smart phone companies. The report will be discussed with particular reference to Apple iPhone and RIM Blackberry. Mobile phone industry is one of the fastest growing and fastest changing industries in the world. The products become outdated very quickly than in any other domain. Innovation in products, services a nd marketing activities are most common in the industry. Smart phones are the power houses of mobile phone market. Globally, â€Å"Feature phones still represent the majority of mobile phone shipments, even though they are under increasing pressure from smartphones.† (Wauters, 2011) IPhone and Blackberry are among the leading smart phone makers of the world though Blackberry’s market share is slowly being taken over by Samsung. This report will deal primarily with the environmental factors affecting the smart phone industry. The report will also deal with the importance of market segmentation, targeting and positioning in the industry. The later part of the report will discuss the importance of adopting a right marketing mix for the smart phone industry. Environmental Factors and their Impact The major macro environmental factors that affect marketing in the mobile phone market are technology, economic factors, education and employment levels and social factors. (Zain Books, 2011) Technology is the primary factor that drives the handset industry. Recent developments in the market have shown that Apple has come up with the software called ‘siri’ which is expected to take the market by storm. Such developments will force Blackberry to introduce similar technology or any other differentiating factor on its further models and marketing. Economic condition is the next major factor that impacts the marketing. A slowing economy will usually dent the demand for handsets in the market. A slow economy is usually followed by low disposable income in the hands of the consumers. Therefore, the companies will mostly reduce their marketing spending in order to reduce cost and improve margin. Education and employment levels determine whether the consumers will have enough knowledge and disposable income to purchase mobile phones. Companies like Apple and Blackberry will have to decide on the pricing and product features based on the educational and employment level of the customers. The next macro environmental factor that has an impact on the marketing decisions of handset companies are social factors. The social set up and reference groups create a huge impact on the purchasing decisions of consumers. (Tutor2u, 2011) Therefore, the marketing activities of a company in one region are entirely different from that of the other region. For instance, the theme of iPhone advertisement in United States will be different from what it is in India. The main reason is the difference between social

Motivation criticism essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Motivation criticism - Essay Example Howard’s ego for instance allowed him to move on and perform the task of painting the house, a job that Jim Sr. was supposed to do. There is a sense of self-actualization in the part of Howard that there is nothing he could have done to prevent Jim Jr.’s death, it was an accident. He reinforces this belief through sublimation which is a very mature way of dealing with his loss. He do so by talking about his experiences as he narrates it to his client, and how he and his wife are also helping Jim Sr. to cope up with his loss. This allows Howard to vent out his emotions rather than suppressing them. Howard and his wife even suggest Rationalization to help Jim Sr. to cope up with his loss suggesting that there are many ways that could contribute to why Jim Sr. had made lemonade that day even tracing back the cause to the very existence of lemonade so as to remove the blame from his son, to somehow potentially influence his way of thinking. His mother also consciously would like Jim Sr. to distant himself from the familiarity of his surrounding, taking him to Europe to see places in hopes that it will distant Jim from the traumatic memories that the familiarity of their place brings. Mrs. Sear’s Super Ego justifies that it is her duty as a mother to help her son deal with his loss as she and her husband was able to find closure from their loss. Finally, Jim’s id was to endure all the pain and defer all gratification as in the Reality Principle; manipulating—brainwashed himself even that the death of his son is his fault, thus he has to be punished for it. Jim started to regress as evident of no longer doing his usual work, becomes dissociate despite the many attempts of his mom to get him involved in activities like crafting, he displaced himself by suppressing his emotion. There was a continuity of painful emotions because he failed to motivate himself to get over the loss of

Change Model Assessment in XYZ Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Change Model Assessment in XYZ Inc - Essay Example The term change is recognized in every business organization. The management of change in organizations can vary according to the type of business, involvement of employees or type of change. The major part of change relies on how the employees in an organization understand the procedure playing a vital role in determining their acceptance for such alterations. In case of XYZ Inc the type of change is defined by the expansion of the business. In the short term the company plans to open new branch in China and in long term the company will pursue for further expansion in countries such as Brazil, Russia and India. In order to control the short term change process, XYZ, Inc can apply Kurt Lewins ‘Change Management Model’. Kurt Lewin has developed a unique change theory which consists of three distinct phases. Unfreeze: ‘Unfreeze’ is the first phase of change according to the model. In this phase, XYZ, Inc can find appropriate method to make employees understand the requirement for change in business. XYZ, Inc will need to develop the desire for change by providing appropriate justification such as increasing sales or high financial prospects among other factors (Kaminski, 2011). Refreeze: Refreeze is the ultimate phase of change where XYZ, Inc will intend to establish new business practices and new organizational procedures. It will be conducted through supportive instruments such as new strategies and concrete alignment of new system for new workforces (Kaminski, 2011). In the long-term, XYZ, Inc can follow the John Kotters ‘Eight Step Change Model’. In the long run, XYZ, Inc. needs to develop system oriented change. At the first phase, XYZ, Inc. will require generating a feeling of urgency among employees about change. It can further help to prompt them towards change.

Consumer behavior Individual Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Consumer behavior Individual - Assignment Example Apple’s main mission is to maintain high quality standards for its products and this helps them to serve its customers with an innovative and technologically advanced product line. Apple not only focuses on development of innovative products, but also protects consumer interest and values consumer welfare (OGrady, 2009). Apple is devoted to continuously develop innovative products so that their customers get to avail the latest technologies. The company’s vision is to provide exceptional technological experiences for their customers all over the world (OGrady, 2009). The company operates in a highly competitive market. Some potential competitors of Apple Inc are Samsung Electronics Co., Lenovo Group Limited, Dell Inc. and Microsoft Corporation. The competitors of Apple provided similar products at a reasonable cost. Companies like Samsung and IBM started capturing Apple’s market share. The products of Apple could not be afforded by all sections of the population. In the market for technology, consumers enjoy a high substitution rate of products because of the availability of large number of alternatives in the market (Barney, 1995). The market share of Apple Inc. and its competitors can be explained by the figure below. Apple Inc. captures the prime market share i.e. the company captures 30% of the total market share. Nokia covers over 23% of the total market share and Samsung has an 11% market share of the total. Other companies capture the rest of the market (Source: Ferrell & Hartline, 2012). Apple operates in a highly competitive market. Several companies have come up with products which are similar to Apple’s products. The rivals of the company follow a pricing strategy that enables them to offer alternatives to apple’s product at a relatively low price. There is a high substitution rate in the market as switching cost for the customers is quite low. The competitors also aggressively advertise their products through social media