Latin America and US Nation Making

A examination of some of the factors that contributed to the development of the United States and other annexations is central to the author of The Harvest of Empire's main argument. The researcher also considers the factors that prevented the Spanish-controlled areas from succeeding despite having abundant resources at the time. The author discusses a number of strategic issues, including the United States' reluctance to back a coalition of the Spanish colonies, many filibusters, including uprisings, and the impact of North America on other nations (González 35). The need for individual independence struggles of Latin American from Spanish control such as the war of Bolivar in the 1800s resulted in failures of the political or economic strength of the territories unlike the upcoming economy in the north (González 33). Besides, the emergence of merchants who advanced their interests through control of land and selling them to Anglo Americans as well as outsiders also contributed to the weakening of the Spanish borderlands (González 28). During this time, the north continued to annex more Latin territories to expand their empire such as Mexico, part of Florida and Texas among others.

One of the most statements in the texts that I agree with is that most of the Latin American wars lasted for long periods as well as proved more destructive than the North American tidme (González 32). The same is evident in the statement that the soldiers with allegiance to Bolivar criticized the United States for its two-faced policies through supporting the enemies to the army (González 33). The reason for the agreement with the statement is that though lightly documented, the quotes indicate that at the time the rise of the nationalism was at its peak and each of the nations was advancing its national interests. Therefore, the comparison gives a comparison of two strategies in which one side succeeded in building an empire while the other led to the formation of individual independence of Spanish territories of most of Latin Americans. The question that could further the illumination of this passage is what the role of the United States strategies in ensuring the Spanish and Latin American territories could not come together to form an empire was?































Work Cited

González, Juan. Chapter 2 The Spanish Borderlands And The Making Of An Empire (1810-1898) Harvest Of Empire. New York: Penguin Books, 2011. Print.