Revolutions and the Fall of Slavery Essay

The slavery played very special role in the life of Latin American communities during quite a long period of time. Historically slavery has become a social institution in the countries of the new world, which was responsible for the major important functions such as economical function (the spread of the income and consumption), status function (the transmission of the social status for further generation), socialization function. Like nowhere else, slavery won core significance in Mexico, Brazil, Peru Ecuador and other Latin American countries. And the development of the inter-social relations between different classes determined the evolution of the nation and the government in Latin American countries.
Analytical researches revealed that for the Latin American countries and Nations the slavery institution was laying in the center of their society and culture and people paid huge role to this until the 19th century. This paper aims to shed light on the changes that have affected the slavery in a wider analytical context, and to highlight the revolutionary movements of the 19th century that captured Latin American society and ruined the centuries’ built institution. Modernization and modernity and changes highly impacted the Latin American society and the existing in 19th century Plantocracy ended its days in the fire of revolutions. In doing so, this provides a diagnostic study of Latin American slavery and its abolition, which describes the changes that have occurred and the diversity that followed the centuries lasting Plantocracy

Premises to the Slavery Abolition
It is a well known fact that Plantocracy and slavery eliminated themselves up to the beginning of the 19th century. Historical data proves that Europe was pioneering in the slavery abolition and it is not surprising that Latin American countries were experiencing significant disturbance according to this fact. According to the historical investigators the revolutions in Europe brought the revolutionary Spirits to the colonies and that was the major premise for slavery abolition in Latin America: “Emancipation in Saint Domingue was an atypical event, set off by the French Revolution. The French themselves rescinded their Emancipation Act of 1794 once Napoleon was safely in power.
It is not surprising that British, American and French Emancipations, formally declared between the 1830-s and the 1860-s, still preserved racial domination, and institutions like Indian contract labour helped to preserve the reality of the plantation complex into the 20th century. The investigators came to conclusion that these events highly impacted on Latin American Countries as during these same decades both Cuba and Brazil had begun to dismantle their own slave systems”. The historical data reveals that Cuba and Brazil were not the first who tried to abolish the slavery in Latin America. The first pioneering country in slavery abolition were Mexican Revolutionists, who announced the first act, dealing with the slavery abolition in 1810, during the Mexican War for Independence (also referred to as Mexican Revolution) 1810—1821
Slavery Abolition in Mexico
Up to the 1821 Mexico was under the direct rule of Spain and for nearly 300 years the Spaniards governed Mexico, limiting her trading and preventing any attempts for self governance formation. Mexico was not an exception from the other Latin American States and Slavery was highly populated around the country. After long years full of revolutionary atmosphere and 11 years lasting War, the Spaniards had left Mexico, leaving the country in commotion. It should be noted that the first act did not actually brought relief to the slaves. Historian argue that during the period from 1821 and 1848 Mexico was in the state of permanent coup d’etat and it is not surprising that slavery issue was not as sharp.
On the contrast the formation of social classes significantly influenced on the political powers during this period. The result was that the prestige of central government was significantly reduced.
The analysts claim that arround this times Mexico counted 9 million people and nearly 5 million of them were Indians, which were left with very small rights and three more million mongrels. All powers were belonging to the white minority – one million of European Colonists descendants. The result of such social destabilization caused increasing of movement for the liberal and democratic reforms and full slavery abolition in particular. In 1857, after Antonio Lуpez de Santa Anna regime fall down, the developing Liberal party captured the control over the governmental structures and started constitutional reform, which in some part decreased the power of privileged elite class, abolishing slavery, proclaiming freedom of speech and publishing and confiscated the church lands. As it usually happened the liberal reforms were not met adequately from certain sides and the civil war for the liberal reform started.
The Mexican War of the Reform lasted from 1858 to 1860. The investigators consider that the liberals won the only with the help of the United States government, supporting liberal reforms in Mexico. The Liberal reforms by Juarez and his liberal mates tried to actuate the international financial obligations of Mexico. But the historical date shows that they did not have funds. The conservatives still controlled the mountains lying to the west from Mйxico and some other territories. The liberal and their reforms were also not accepted by conservative landlords of Yucatan (and this meant that the slavery was not fully abolished as in 1810). That was really magnificent attempt to set up the liberal government but unfortunately it did not reached the desired effect.
Slavery Abolition in Cuba
The situation in Cuba was pretty similar to the Mexican and long years highly revolutionary atmosphere, was prevalent in this area, especially after the Plantocracy was ruined in the US and this fact highly impacted the atmosphere in the country up to the end of the 19th century
The central government was purely Spanish. It is not surprising that the slavery was highly supported by the government as they were the representatives of the upper classes: “In the minds of larger planters, moreover, there were strong forces supporting both slavery and colonialism. Slavery was a form of labor organization which permitted the exaction of an extraordinary amount of labor from the men, women, and children who toiled under it. Planters were unsure. whether free persons would willingly labor under the grueling regime prevalent in the cane fields and sugar-boiling houses of Cuba. At the same time, to most planters in the sugar areas Spanish colonialism was a known quantity, an extractive presence but a protective one, a bulwark against social disruption, and the ultimate guarantor of peace on the plantations. It goes without saying that such social destabilization caused increasing of movement for the liberal and democratic reforms”.
The historians came to conclusion that Cuba Libre movement was born asthey wanted to abolish slavery and make the government fall down, the developing parties wanted to capture the control over the governmental structures and start constitutional reforms, which in some part could decrease the power of the white minority, abolish the slavery, proclaim freedom of speech and publishing.
The investigators came to conclusion that welfare state, slavery and colonial government has been acute in the middle of the 19th century and the historical aspect and its development are very important for this period and slavery abolition in particular.

Slavery Abolition in Brazil
It should be important to make a stress on the fact that the situation in Brazil was not much different from the ones in Cuba, Mexico and other Latin American countries. The historical data proves that the country was starving for changes, in particular slavery abolition. It should be noted that up to the 19th century slavery was spread all over the country. Comparatively to the 15-16th centuries, when Plantocracy started it occupied only small areas, which were near shore. Klein claims that slavery abolition came to Brazil from Europe as well as in the other countries. But it prohibition of slave trading poorly worked in the very beginning, as the legal support was quite weak: “Even after the 1950s, when Brazil began to enforce its anti-slave-trade legislation, the internal slave trade continued, drawing labour from the northeast toward the south-central provinces in response to slave prices there that had trebled by 1880”.
But the primary difference of Brazil from the other Latin American countries is that it was highly oppressed externally. If in Mexico and Cuba (and many other Latin American countries) the pressure went inside the country, from the revolutionary atmosphere supported by the masses, Brazilian atmosphere was also supported by exterior impact by the United Kingdom of Great Britain: “It was partly diplomatic, backed by potential economic sanctions and Britain’s naval action to suppress the trade at sea”. Thus it would be essential to note that Brazilian government had really good motivation to abolish slavery and protect the human rights of the former slaves.
Conclusion
In the end it would be essential to make a stress on the fact that the 19th provided a number of important historical shifts and the researchers consider that the slavery as a part of the social structure had eliminated itself, first in Europe and then in Latin American countries, forced as by inner as well as exterior forces. The social environment was starving for changes and it got them. According to the various historical investigations the revolutions and abolition of slavery in Latin American countries underwent according the similar scenarios. The fire set by the European revolutions captured Latin America and finally the slavery was abolished