Latin American History Commons^™

Performing Conquest And Resistance In The Streets Of Eighteenth Century Potosí: Identity And Artifice In The Cityscapes Of Gaspar Miguel De Berrío And Melchor Pérez De Holguín, Agnieszka A. Ficek

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the ways in which Potosí's two most influential colonial artists represented the urban dynamics of race, class and labor in their depictions of the Andean 'City of Silver' during the eighteenth century, when silver production, profits and population were dramatically declining.

Post-Revolutionary Mexican Education In Durango And Jalisco: Regional Differences, Cultures Of Violence, Teaching, And Folk Catholicism, Lindsey Ellison Collins

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explored a regional comparison of education in post-revolutionary Mexico. It involved a micro-look into the relationship between violence, education, religion, and politics in the states of Durango and Jalisco. Research methods included primary sources and microfilms from the National Archives State Department records related to education from the internal affairs of Mexico from 1930-1939 from collection file M1370. It also utilized G-2 United States Military Intelligence reports as well as records from the British National Archives dealing with church and state relations in Mexico from 1920-1939.

Anti - clericalism in the 1920’s led to violent backlash in rural …

Incomplete Conversions: Intentions Of Indigenous Idolatry In Early Colonial Latin America, Amanda Boos

History Theses

After the Spanish conquest of Latin America different religious groups set up missions to convert the Indians to Catholicism. In the 1530s and 1560s overzealous officials started punishing the indigenous people for idolatry because they saw it as a rejection of Catholic and Spanish rule. This thesis examines why indigenous people continued their religious practices after their supposed conversion to Catholicism. The author argues that indigenous traditions of incorporating new deities into their pantheon led them to believe that the Catholic god was another to be included in their worship, not one to replace their belief system. Additionally, the Spanish …

Exploration Of The United States’ Cultural Legacy In Panama Through Analysis Of American Foreign Policy And Public Opinion, Katherine A. Boss

Honors Theses

The study of a culture is nearly too difficult to accomplish academically, therefore the consilience of data, personal experience, and public opinion offers the most comprehensive approach. The Panama Canal has just celebrated its centennial and remains to this day one of the most important geopolitical and global economic hubs in the world. Nearly every country that participates in maritime trade utilizes the canal. Panama has ambitious plans for the canal’s future, as it nears completion of a multibillion dollar expansion project; however predicting how Panama handles this growth and new responsibility as a major world power is directly related …

Creando Las Estrellas: Determining The Quality Of The Dominican And Cuban Player Development Systems, Samuel C. Hearn

Honors Theses

Recently, there has been a huge rise in the number of Cuban ballplayers, or peloteros, as the baseball playing Latinos are known. Why do Major League Baseball (MLB) teams go to such lengths to sign Cubans, when a heavy presence already exists in Cuba’s Caribbean neighbor, the Dominican Republic? Through the comparison educational systems, statistics of each country’s elite players, and comparative accounts of the Dominican and Cuban player development systems, the contrast between the two systems is evident. Though the Dominican system creates a large return in the investment MLB teams make in the country, the socialized sport system …

The Mexican American Vietnam War Serviceman: The Missing American, Teresa Moreno Jimenez

Master's Theses

The Vietnam War brought many changes to society in that it soon became one of the most controversial wars in United States history. There was a tremendous loss of life as well as a rift in the nation with the rise of anti-war protest. Those drafted for the war primarily came from low-income and ethnic minority communities. While all who served deserve to be recognized, there is one group that has gone largely unrepresented in the history of the war. Mexican American serviceman served and died in large numbers when compared to their population. In addition, they also received high …

Creating The Ideal Mexican: 20th And 21st Century Racial And National Identity Discourses In Oaxaca, Savannah N. Carroll

Doctoral Dissertations

This investigation intends to uncover past and contemporary socioeconomic significance of being a racial other in Oaxaca, Mexico and its relevance in shaping Mexican national identity. The project has two purposes: first, to analyze activities and observations of cultural missionaries in Oaxaca during the 1920s and 1930s, and second to relate these findings to historical and present implications of blackness in an Afro-Mexican community. Cultural missionaries were appointed by the Secretary of Public Education (SEP) to create schools throughout Mexico, focusing on the modernization of marginalized communities through formal and social education. This initiative was intended to resolve socioeconomic disparities …

Elusive Peace, Security, And Justice In Post-Conflict Guatemala: An Exploration Of Transitional Justice And The International Commission Against Impunity In Guatemala (Cicig), Daniel W. Schloss

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Guatemala has, until today, struggled to achieve security and justice following the end of nearly half a century of civil war in 1996. One specific institution, the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), has been implemented to rectify many of the Guatemalan state’s difficulties in establishing and maintaining the rule of law. In this thesis, I look to better explain CICIG’s role in Guatemala relative to security and justice in a post-conflict setting: I define CICIG as an institution potentially capable of building societal trust, and I explain how the inclusion of procedural justice within transitional justice can help …

Araguaia: Maoist Uprising And Military Counterinsurgency In The Brazilian Amazon, 1967-1975, Thamyris F. T. Almeida

Masters Theses

This thesis argues that the Maoist guerrilla movement headed by members of the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB) chose Araguaia as the stage for its insurrection based on perceived ideological and physical advantages. It examines the founding of the PCdoB as it split from the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB) over the issue of armed resistance in 1962. While the PCB did not promote the use of violence against the military dictatorship, the PCdoB sought an environment in which they could foster revolutionary fervor. Though the war’s longevity demonstrates that the PCdoB accurately assessed some camponeses’ willingness to help the guerrilheiros …

The Repatriation Of Mexican-Americans To America, Aaron Ziskin

History

Shortly following the onset of the Great Depression America undertook a policy coined as Mexican Repatriation wherein it began encouraging people of Mexican descent to return home in order to free up jobs for 'actual' American citizens. This Policy touched countless people as it was broadly applied to anyone of the Mexican race, however as American influence in World War II increased it began facing a worker shortage. In response to this shortage America and Mexico devised a program which allowed for Mexican laborers to be imported for temporary farm and manual labor positions. The focus of this paper involves …

Tracking The Tupamaros: The Role Of Uruguay's Movimiento De Liberacion-Tupamaros In The Electoral Success Of The Frente Amplio, 1958-Present, Lucas Hall

Honors Theses

This project examines the role of the Movimiento de Liberación Nacional-­‐Tupamaros (Movement of National Liberation‐Tupamaros, MLN‐T) guerrilla movement, often referred to simply as the Tupamaros, as it relates to the electoral success of the Frente Amplio (Broad Front, FA), Uruguay’s largest non‐traditional coalition of political parties, from 1958 to the present. The Tupamaros officially emerged in 1963 in response to a period of deepening political and economic stagnation during which Uruguay’s ostensible tradition of two‐party dominance proved incapable of addressing widespread socio‐economic concerns. Throughout the 1960s into the 1970s, the Tupamaros used guerrilla tactics to expose the inefficiencies of the …

Vanguardia Mujerista Haciendo Escuela: An Oral History Of Cuban Feminism, Marie Eszenyi

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The high rate of female political participation in Cuba has led many journalists, political scientists, and activists to claim that the country is quite possibly the most feminist in Latin America (Torregrosa, 2012). As the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality (2012) indicates, Cuba ranks third in the world for female participation in legislative bodies. Indeed, Cuba has a long history of female political and revolutionary involvement that positions Cuban feminism both on the forefront and the margins of the economy, governmental institutions, culture, society, military systems, and the workplace during various historical points. Moreover, Cuba’s location just 90 miles …

Pedro De Ursúa, Francisco César Y Sir Francis Drake Tras Los Tesoros De La Nueva Granada: En Noticias Historiales De Las Conquistas De Tierra Firme En Las Indias Occidentales., Astrid Roldán

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines the successful choice of exempla in Fray Pedro Simón's Noticias historiales de las conquistas de Tierra Firme en las Indias Occidentales. It focuses on the study of specific characteristics, implications, and functional methods related to this form of argument throughout three Noticias historiales: Pedro de Ursúa and Lope de Aguirre, 6ta NH, 3ra parte, Francisco César and Cacique Utibara, 2nda NH, 3ra parte, and Sir Francis Drake, 6ta NH, 3ra parte. It also explores the means by which these exempla communicate, instruct, amuse, and persuade the reader. The chronological account of Fray Pedro Simón is …

A Failed Dream: Literacy Education In The Global South, Allison Haley Gose

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

“Una Caja De Plomo Que No Se Podía Abrir”: Una Crítica Del Sistema Militar Estadounidense En Puerto Rico Durante La Época De La Guerra De Corea, Ashton Monks

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

"For The Good Of The King's Vassals" Francisco Xavier De Mendonca Furtado And The Portuguese Amazon, 1751-1759, Lucas Richardson

Theses and Dissertations--History

In the middle of the eighteenth century the Portuguese crown, under the influence of the Marquis of Pombal, sought to reform the political administration of its vast set of imperial holdings. As part of these reforms, in 1751 Pombal sent his brother, Francisco Xavier de Mendonça Furtado, to the Portuguese Amazon to serve as governor of the state of Grão Pará and Maranhão. This study explores Furtado’s tenure as governor of the Amazon from his perspective, in an attempt to understand how and why he arrived at a set of policies known as the “Directorate,” which overhauled the region’s mission …

Networks In Favor Of Liberty: St Eustatius As An EntrepôT Of Goods And Information During The American Revolution, Sarah Marie Vlasity

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Memory, State Violence, And Revolution: Mexico's Dirty War In Ciudad Juárez, Vanessa Claire Johnson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

After the uprising that took place in Madera, Chihuahua on September 23, 1965, the first armed challenge to the state since the Mexican Revolution, the north became a region of historical significance for understanding the subsequent "Dirty War" that spanned from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. Ciudad Juárez was a key locale in which a wide variety of revolutionary groups conducted both open and clandestine activities. Attempting to rouse the masses, a dedicated few organized protests, counter-meetings, popular assemblies, and launched a prepa popular to reorganize and democratize education. The Mexican state responded to these events with repression, …

Zapatistas: Vida Cotidiana Durante La Revolución Mexicana, Alejandro Rodriguez-Mayoral

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

"Zapatistas: Vida cotidiana durante la Revolución Mexicana" consiste en una historia social y cultural que abarca desde 1910 hasta 1920. Esta historia reconstruye la vida cotidiana de hombres y mujeres que vivieron de cerca la revolución zapatista en Morelos, el Estado de México y el Distrito Federal. De esta manera, aquí se inspecciona a revolucionarios zapatistas, soldados zapatistas de "medio tiempo" y pacíficos. La preocupación principal que atiende la presente pesquisa es responder a la interrogante ¿cuándo, cómo y de qué manera la vida cotidiana cambió para la gente común y corriente, y rebelde, a raíz de la revolución? A …

Las Madres De Plaza De Mayo, Then And Now: A Comparative Analysis Of Its Fractured Factions And Lasting Sybolism In Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sondra Anton

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

I conducted research on three different factions of the original Madres de Plaza de Mayo cause in Buenos Aires, Argentina: Asociación Madres de Plaza de Mayo, Madres de Plaza de Mayo Línea Fundadora, and Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo. Through interviews and archival research, I have completed a comparison of the three groups. I have concluded that although their original cause of demanding the whereabouts of their disappeared children united them, they are now deeply fragmented among one another due to their differing opinions of how to achieve justice in post-Dirty War Argentina. Furthermore, it is interesting to note the …

Rethinking The Conquest : An Exploration Of The Similarities Between Pre-Contact Spanish And Mexica Society, Culture, And Royalty, Samantha Billing

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The Spanish Conquest has been historically marked by the year 1521 and is popularly thought of as an absolute and complete process of indigenous subjugation in the New World. Alongside this idea comes the widespread narrative that describes a barbaric, uncivilized group of indigenous people being conquered and subjugated by a more sophisticated and superior group of Europeans. There is also a common misconception that the Conquest resulted in a dominance of European culture and a loss of the indigenous heritage that had prevailed in the New World up until that point.

This manuscript explores the period known as the …

A Monastery For The Revolution: Ernesto Cardenal, Thomas Merton, And The Paradox Of Violence In Nicaragua, 1957-1979, Brendan Jordan

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

In 1957, a young Nicaraguan poet named Ernesto Cardenal, recently graduated from Columbia University, entered the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemani, located outside Louisville, Kentucky. There he met a prominent Catholic thinker and pacifist, Thomas Merton, who soon mentored young Cardenal. Though Cardenal departed Gethsemani in 1959, Merton continued to counsel him in spirituality, poetry, and social activism until Merton’s death in 1968. While Cardenal during these earlier years was a committed pacifist, his experiences after returning to Nicaragua in 1965 radically altered his view of social action. Cardenal established a semi-monastic community in the Solentiname islands in southern Nicaragua, and …

Las Etapas De Transformación De La Figura Femenina En El Exilio En Primavera Con Una Esquina Rota, "Geografías" Y "Como Greenwich" De Mario Benedetti, Maria Liliana Labrador Morales

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

During the decade of the 1970's in South America, people saw the governments become overrun by dictatorships. These dictatorships destroyed the fabric of democracy. The horror of these new politics brought destroyed men and women in many different ways. These policies included such things as torture, censorship, impositions of patriarchal ideas, exile, and even included imprisonment and disappearance.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the importance of the stages of transformation of women in the works of Mario Benedetti and how these stages reflect on the process of adaptation to exile. This analysis centers on four characters who …

The Butterflies That Saved The Dominican Republic, Rachel A. Bodenschatz

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Analysis of the Dominican Republic during Trujillo’s regime and the effect of the Mirabal sisters. This paper is the culmination of the research and analytical skills I learned throughout my four years as a history student. I choose the topic because the Massillon Museum wrote a grant for the 2016 Big Read and chose Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies, as the book the community would read. In the Time of the Butterflies follows the Mirabal sisters on their quest to save their country from an evil dictator.

“God Will Deliver Us” : Human Rights Abuses From Guatemala To Iowa And Back, 1980-2014, Raeann Lillian Swanson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Guatemala’s long internal conflict, the lack of justice, the general poverty, and continued violence since the signing of the 1996 Peace Accords prompt many people to migrate to the United States in search of jobs and opportunities for their family. Since the 1980s, Guatemalans have settled in Postville, Iowa, a small town that is nationally recognized for the ethnically diverse populations that live and work there. In 2008, it was also the site of the largest Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) worksite raid to date and the following criminal trials were unprecedented. Because of the tragedy in Postville, sources that detail …

Anarchist Strategy And Visual Rhetoric In Brazil, 1970: The Living Theatre As “The People In The Street”, Chelsea R. Roberts

All Master's Theses

The dominant narrative of the Living Theatre, an anarchist-pacifist, activist performance group, situates the company within a historical framework of the "New Left". Implications of this strategy are identified and critiqued. Both due to the simplification of historical time periods between the fields of theatre and politics, or "periodization" (Postlewait), and because of the ways in which the "New Left" is identified as overtly American in much theatre scholarship, historicizing the Living Theatre as "in-line" with the New Left has resulted in the erasure of the Living Theatre's founding philosophies of anarchism and pacifism. The visual implications of these findings …