Essay on Conflict: the Basis for Latin American Change (Born in Blood and Fire: a Concise History of Latin America)

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The expansive empires of the Aztecs and Incas, came crashing down, upon the arrival of Spaniards in the New World. The birth of colonial nations came about in the same stride that death came to indigenous populations. Modern Latin America has conflict built into its system because that is what it has mostly seen for the past five hundred years. In Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America, John Charles Chasteen supports the argument that Latin America's problems developed due to its violent origins and history of conquest. From the conquest, through colonialism and revolutions, to modern day, violence has always been a main player in the advancement of Latin America. Chasteen has left me with a greater comprehension of our …show more content…
This period of harsh treatment against the masses built up the spirit of betrayal that again resulted in a revolution; this time on a grand scale: The Mexican Revolution. This cyclical action of promises, overthrowing the oppostion, gaining power, straying away from promises has been followed in nearly all Latin American countries and has become inherent in the way of doing things there due to it being the only prevalent model for change in its history. Chasteen exposed some facets of Latin American history that I only had faint knowledge of, the most interesting of which was United States involvement in the way Latin America developed as of the mid 1800s. While talking about our neighbors' history, Chasteen manages to teach us about our own history, some of which is disturbing. This topic of U.S. "colonial" tactics expands my previous general knowledge of key elements such as the Monroe Doctrine, and Roosevelt's Big Stick policy. With the United States in the world's eyes right now over involvement in foreign affairs is criticized, parts of this book show the long tradition of the United States' imperialistic tendencies. The battles, with now "ally" Mexico, over land are known to most but the extent to which we influenced their economy is astonishing, for example the now frowned upon tactic the Chinese are using of "dumping" goods (200). It is
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