Robert L. Scheina - Latin America’s Wars Volume I: The Age of the Caudillo, 1791-1899

LATIN AMERICAS WARS

ALSO BY ROBERT L. SCHEINA

Santa Anna: A Curse upon Mexico

Latin America: A Naval History: 18101987

American Battleships: 18861923 with John C. Reilly

U.S. Coast Guard Cutters and Craft of World War II

U.S. Coast Guard Cutters and Craft: 19461990

The Age of the Caudillo, 17911899
VOLUME 1

Robert L. Scheina

Copyright 2003 by Robert L. Scheina

Published in the United States by Potomac Books, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Scheina, Robert L.

Latin Americas wars / Robert L. Scheina.1st ed.
v. cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents: v. 1. The age of the caudillo, 17911899

ISBN 978-1-57488-450-0 (paperback)

1. Latin AmericaHistory, Military19th century. 2. CaudillosLatin AmericaHistory19th century. I. Title.

F1413 .S34 2003

355.0098dc21

2002008029

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper that meets the American National Standards Institute Z39-48 Standard.

Potomac Books, Inc.
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First Edition

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This work is dedicated to my two mentors
for their enormous sacrifices on my behalf
Dr. Richard Greenleaf
Father Antonine Tibesar

35. The USS Texas returns to New York following the Battle of Santiago

It is a grandiose idea to think of consolidating the New World into a single nation.... It is reasoned that, as these parts have a common origin, language, customs, and religion, they ought to have a single government.... But this is not possible. Actually, America is separated by climatic differences, geographic diversity, conflicting interests, and dissimilar characteristics.

Simn Bolvar, The Jamaica Letter, September 6, 1815

Latin America is the un-united thirty-three countries to the south of the United States. The political, social, and economic differences among the nations are dramatic, significantly outweighing their similarities. Unfortunately, the adoption of the term Latin America has helped cause stereotyping which does a disservice to all the nations of the region. And yet, I can find no alternative but to use the term myself.

War was pervasive throughout Latin America during the nineteenth century. Some fine books focus on the major conflicts. However, even by immersing oneself in all of these works, it is not possible to gauge the impact of war upon the region as a whole. In fact, no general history of Latin American military operations exists. This book endeavors to fill that void.

Many yardsticks may be used to measure the magnitude of military operations.

Although death and casualty statistics are notoriously inaccurate, they can give a sense of the size of national sacrifice. Throughout the nineteenth century the number of Latin American war-related deaths and casualties dwarfs the experience of the United States. During its Revolutionary War (17751783), the United States and its allies lost (killed and missing) approximately 35,000 men and the British and those in their employment perhaps another 30,000.

During the War of the Triple Alliance (18641870), Paraguay lost perhaps 300,000 individuals from a population of 525,000 and the allies (Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay) 180,000 persons from a total population of 10,850,000.

During their wars for independence (18101824), the populations of Ecuador, Mexico, and Venezuela all decreased by over 25 percent.

Admittedly, these comparisons have been between wars fought by a variety of Latin American nations as opposed to those fought by the United States alone. But comparing the percentage of casualties along purely national lines reveals that during the nineteenth century Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, Paraguay, and Venezuela all lost a higher percentage of their population to war than did the United States.

Another way to measure the influence of military operations upon a region is to see how many individuals have won the presidency because of their success on the battlefield. Many write that a common route to the office of president in Latin America led through the army barracks. Within Latin America, warriors made history through their exploits on the battlefield; however, most scholars choose to focus upon their political deeds. What is less appreciated is that throughout the nineteenth century individuals such as Jorge Montt (of Chile), Juan Manuel de Rosas (of Argentina), Pedro Santana (of Santo Domingo), and Cipriano Castro (of Venezuela) secured and maintained their position through skills on the battlefield and not merely political intrigue. To this we could add presidents who died on the battlefieldPeruvian Agustn Gamarra (November 18, 1841) and Guatemalan Justo Rufino Barrios (April 2, 1885)and a former president who was killed fighting while he manipulated an individual who was merely keeping the presidential chair warmVenezuelan Joaqun Crespo (April 16, 1898).

Yet another measure of the influence of war upon Latin America was the quantity of territory that changed hands as a consequence of military operations, the most prominent example being the lands lost by Mexico to the United States between 1835 and 1848. Argentine Minister of Foreign Affairs Mariano Varela, when asked for his nations territorial demands following the War of the Triple Alliance, responded, Victory gives no rights. Perhaps not, but typically victors took what they wanted.

War profoundly altered the social structure of Latin America during the nineteenth century. The Haitian War for Independence may be the only successful slave revolution in modern history. The War of the Triple Alliance created two new social elements within Brazilian society: the professional military officer and the freed black who became the backbone of the Army. These elements played major roles in the downfall of the Brazilian monarchy in 1889 and in establishing a republic.

Military operations also profoundly altered the economic potential of some Latin American nations. The wars between Mexico and the United States (18351848) helped determine which would have the potential to become a world power. The War of the Pacific (18791883) made Chile the dominant economic power on the west coast of South America.

These various methods of measure demonstrate that military operations significantly influenced the development of Latin America during the nineteenth century.