YouTube Transcript:
Modernization in Latin America_ Russia_ and China Session # 1

hello welcome to World civilizations
since
1500 now today we're starting the sixth
topic of the course which is titled
modernization in Latin America Russia
and China so what we're going to be
doing in this topic is looking at now uh
profound
Transformations taking place
outside of the region where uh initially
modernization emerged in history which
was uh Western Europe uh Western Europe
and uh North America the United States
um those were the initial regions where
we see the kind of changes that we
talked about in the past you know like
for example the rise of capitalism the
Industrial Revolution uh the emergence
of um Democratic political systems uh
based on representative government for
example secularism and the like uh so we
examine those ideas previously u in the
fourth Topic in the age of revolutions
and in the fifth topic what we did was
to look at how during this uh process or
phenomenon uh known as imperialism or
colonialism that Europe was embarked
upon as they were moving into different
areas of the globe uh the Europeans will
take some of those ideas of modernity uh
into different areas you know the areas
that they um uh penetrated uh with their
trading companies for example
establishing a series of colonies in the
Western Hemisphere and also in other
parts of the globe like Africa you know
the Indian subcontinent the Middle East
and the Far East uh although they were
embarked upon a process of colonization
in order to extract uh natural resources
and labor out of those societies and
regions they were at the same time
bringing in uh Western culture Western
ideas or what is called Western
Civilization uh some of which again uh
were based on the ideas of individualism
and capitalism or capitalist Enterprise
what is called modernity for example you
know they were you know introducing
Educational Systems in order to bring in
things like science and technology to
different regions and the like they were
trying to spread in other words European
civilization around the world now what
we're going to be doing here uh in this
uh
topic we can just go to our
outline again this is uh the six topic
modernization Latin America Russia and
China what we're going to be doing here
is now to to look at other regions
outside of the Homeland so to speak of
modernity to look how other regions are
going to uh set themselves on the course
of
modernity there will
be new nations for example uh arising in
Latin America something that we're going
to cover particularly in this session as
we'll see uh that wanted to emulate
imitate for example the kind of changes
that were taking place in Western Europe
and also in North America and they were
also trying to modernize their societies
their
economies uh in Europe itself uh in the
Eastern section of Europe um we're going
to see Russia trying to also catch up
with the West uh although Russia is of
course part of Europe uh it was really
Western Europe that modernized initially
you know countries like Great Britain
you know uh France Holland Germany for
example and Russia will also uh try to
push uh the project of modernity forward
and we're also going to look at that
particularly when we move into session
two we're going to get to see uh how
Russia was trying to to catch up with
the West as well uh and in the Far East
there will be China that is also viewing
with great interest the kind of changes
taking place in the west and they
themselves try to modernize in their
unique way um and this is something that
we're also going to assess particularly
as we're moving into session three of
this topic all right so as the table of
contents
show
the way we're going to approach this
topic is that uh initially we're going
to offer a general
introduction to this topic and this is
going to f Focus primarily on modernity
itself now we cover of course um the
revolutions that brought modernity in
the four topic you know we looked at the
intellectual uh scientific uh
revolutions the economic political and
so on we're not going to repeat that
we're just going to
synthesize uh what we have covered and
we're going to put it in a different
context in other words how other
societies for example Latin America
Russia and China were trying to catch up
with the West what exactly were they
looking at in the west that they tried
to accomplish themselves again uh they
werey trying to incorporate what is
often called the Western Paradigm in
other words it was trying to westernize
you know but what is again the Western
Paradigm this is something that we're
going to cover initially in the first uh
half of the session before we move into
uh part one itself um which is going to
cover Latin America
okay so uh this region um as we had kind
of explored in the past was colonized by
Spain we're going to deal with that
quite briefly uh Latin America before
independence to look at the world as it
was in other words the world before
modernity and how uh with the process of
Independence and the formation of new
nations we're going to see the birth of
course uh of uh liberal uh regimes that
try to catch up with uh Europe in North
America trying to transform uh their
economies trying to form new countries
that will be considered modern uh part
two something we're going to cover in
session
two is going to pay attention to
modernity modernization in Russia as as
I explained again this is a an Empire
you
know by the standards of uh of the day
uh that that was very much trapped in a
feudal order despite the fact that
England Germany Holland France were you
know industrializing and
modernizing um and at some point once we
get into the 19th century particularly
the second half of the 19th century the
Russian Empire tried to change and they
tried to change very rapidly and they
were trying to industrialized and they
were trying to pretty much transform
also uh their economies particularly the
economy and trying to also create the
kind of system that was prevalent in the
west we're going to get to see that as
well and part three will devote to look
at China again this is a trading empire
we have been examining China almost
since the beginning of the course and
also uh the Imperial government of China
uh was trying at the same time that was
you know trying to promote uh exports
and trade trying to
agriculture at some point uh
particularly as we're moving into the
19th century uh uh the Chinese Imperial
government was looking with great
interest at the economic particularly
the material benefits of
industrialization not building things
like railroads and modernizing their
ports uh perhaps even bringing some
Industries and the like again they were
trying to get those benefits and we're
going to see the kind of policies that
they implemented uh well into the uh
first part of the 20th century when
China was trying to rapidly modernize
and trying to catch up with the West
again so we're going to be looking at
out all those uh processes uh in this uh
in this topic okay all right so let us
start then
with the general introduction as I
explain this is essential because
otherwise uh we're not going to
understand stand what was really
significant for nonwestern
Societies in terms of them trying to
achieve the kind of changes that Western
Europe and North America were going
through how do we identify how do we
describe modernity in other words what
is
modernity and this exactly again how the
West
particularly uh Western Europe and North
America is now uh reformulating itself
as we're approaching for example uh
particularly the 19th century and beyond
again uh the west or what is called
Western Civilization is really now
centered on what is called modernity you
know they're entering now the modern era
the modern world in other societies were
also trying to modernize and enter the
modern world and they were trying to
leave behind their uh ancestral past
particularly their feudal past so they
were trying to change so let us identify
then the main components of this uh
Western
Paradigm so we have a very clear notion
of what other societies were trying to
accomplish and there are going to be two
key issues yeah uh that will be the kind
of axis again of the modernizing project
and the project of modernity okay number
one and this is one of the central
pillars again that most societ is even
to this very present day I should noce
again it should be noted that even today
there are countries that are still
trying to modernize as well you know
they're called the developing countries
they're trying to develop their
economies so one of the central pillars
of modernity is what is called Economic
Development okay trying to develop the
economy okay what does that mean what
that means is that as the West began to
formulate a whole
new economic system uh centered on
individual ownership of property for
example you know the idea of free
enterprise free
markets remember again this is a
transition that started in England with
the English Civil War uh we talked about
that you know the economy was moving now
towards the market and profits for
example the creation of Enterprises Etc
uh the enclosure movement the enclosure
of lands you know to make the land of
course a business to make it productive
uh for capitalist you know development
to build wealth to make money in other
words okay um at the same time uh one of
the most profitable Enterprises that
flourish particularly as we're moving
into the 1700s was industry you know
factories manufacturing particularly
steel uh railroads for example coal
mining textile
manufacturing um and this is going to
include of course things like Finance as
well banking for example okay as well
and that really created a whole new
economic system based on once again
ownership of property then using the
property to create a business or an
Enterprise whether it was a factory a
shop and so on manufacturing PL so
on Commercial agriculture at the same
time um
and that also
entail um the
transformation of society in terms of uh
building things like modern
Transportation Systems know railroads
you know canals and the
like and also uh that
entail um what is called wage labor okay
what that means is that well there will
be people that didn't have the
wherewithal the capital to buy property
start a business and so what they did
was to uh trade or sell their labor for
a wage and this was also Central again
in the emergence of capitalism and also
the Industrial
Revolution wage labor okay so people are
trying to build wealth in various ways
one will be of course to produce
something for the market to manufacture
it and the other was to sell the labor
you know by actually producing that
product in an Enterprise like a factory
a mine and so on okay a business and so
on
okay now this is a whole new economy
that left the feudal system of uh Europe
uh in the past you know particularly
where capitalism was flourishing England
that the Homeland really of capitalism
and the Industrial Revolution and from
there it started spreading into other
areas of Europe uh like uh Holland
Germany France and of course North
America so we see a whole new way of
reorganizing Society you know around
capitalist
relationships what people are moving
towards the market to make
profits uh and the way people are
relating to one another is through the
payment of wages as well we hire people
to get things done in other words okay
this is a whole new system again of
social relationships as well this is no
longer the feudal system of landlord and
peasant in which there are mutual
obligations there are Patron client
relationships the Lord protector of the
people receives tribute in terms again
of crops and so on a statement for the
protection again so there's Mutual
obligation on both sides those
relationships are being abandoned
altogether and they're being replaced by
capless relationships in which people
come together to uh get things done in
society uh through the payment of wages
or salaries and so on again you know we
hire people with skills with expertise
and so on to get things
done now with within uh this new
emerging economic
system came with it of course
Innovation okay the innovation of new
technologies uh this is Central to the
Industrial Revolution as I explained you
know the idea that now machines are
replacing human labor we see the
invention of the uh several types of
machineries for example the steam engine
uh weaving spinning machines and so on
and that really accelerate the pace of
production which created really an
industrial revolution the Machine Age so
we see the birth the Advent of modern
technology uh modern science and again
the infusion of new ideas the
development of uh new type of
Technologies Machinery Etc this is going
to further and accelerate the
acceleration of the process of
industrial expansion
okay so this is what is called Economic
Development how do we develop an economy
well
we build a capless system we try to move
away from the feudal system of the past
based on agriculture the control of the
land by land
owners receiving rents again from uh the
commoner class peasants and so on and
again you have to be moving out towards
the market you have to create a whole
new system based on wealth generation
and wealth creation you know making
money in other words profits and this is
again what uh is considered Economic
Development how do we develop an economy
Etc again through capitalism in other
words you know that was the
idea you develop the economy because you
will create hundreds if not thousands of
new businesses and people through those
Enterprises will will be accumulating
wealth you're going to see the standards
of living rising and with that uh levels
of Education will also rise as well
there will be more uh schools more
universities people are pursuing their
own um future their own self-interest
and they're trying to receive education
skills in order to receive higher wages
and the like again so what we see is a
society that is being developed
economically in that way is increasing
and growing economically again this is
Central to what is called
modernity so it's Central again
initially to build capitalism and of
course industry investing in modern
science technology was Central
now by the late 18th century as this
process emerged initially in England
there will be certain philosophers SL
Scholars
that kind of put together in a sense a
theory of economic development in other
words this is not just something that
was
occurring in a improvised fashion in
England but rather uh what Scholars were
trying to do is is trying to explain
what was really happening in a kind of
theoretical way in a theoretical work
that this was part of an unorganized
system in other words okay uh and again
this is going to be uh giving rise to
new terms this is when people began to
identify the phenomenon of this new
economy as something called for example
capitalism or as as the kind of the
father of the theory of capitalism Adam
Smith came to term it as uh he called it
laces Fair economics or also it was
called uh economic liberalism once again
so capitalism uh was known by various
names okay and particularly when Adam
Smith was writing his uh book you know
this is a a very exhaustive presentation
of this new emerging system uh he called
his uh work The Wealth of
Nations um he's looking with great
interest at the Industrial Revolution
taking place in Britain which he called
the British miracle I mean for him it
was miraculous again the Industrial
Revolution you know the invention of the
machines the coming of the Machine age
you know railroads and the like you know
how
this new science modern science was
really creating miracles in other words
and those Miracles were being put to use
in the economy and for him uh this is
really transforming Human Society it was
giving rise to A Whole New World a whole
new civilization alog together so he was
really really interested in studying
this new economic system and trying to
give it a name and trying to explain how
it worked so so again so he called
capitalism initially uh economic
liberalism or lasis Fair economics in
this book The Wealth of
Nations why did he call it like that
well
because he's really coming out from the
enlightenment you know this
philosophical Revolution that occurred
in Europe particularly in the 18th
century uh that gave us the philosophies
of of uh liberalism you know uh
representative government democracy for
example human rights Etc equality for
example you know all of the things that
today uh modern systems of government
consider Central uh to the ways that
human societies have to be organized in
other words okay uh it again the idea is
that uh human beings function best when
they're set
free in the world world to determine
their own lives to determine their own
Futures okay so there again uh the
enlightenment created liberalism this is
really the byproduct of the
Enlightenment and the idea is that the
the the thinkers the philosophers of the
Enlightenment were really trying to
break away from the chains of the past
that kept human being confined you know
to play a very spe specific role in
society without much growth economic
growth intellectual growth Etc so what
kept really human beings down in other
words well institutions such as monarchy
for example you know the
aristocracy privilege uh and the church
the monopolies of the church trying to
educate the masses in a specific way so
uh so the masses will know their place
in other words in society convincing
them that this is the way that God had
ordain you know the world he had ordered
the world in such a way that everybody
had to stay in their place again so they
were trying to break away from that and
they started creating liberal ideas you
know liberal uh uh ideas regarding for
example freedom of thought you know free
thinking for example you know uh
liberating Educational Systems from the
power of the church and so on uh and
they were trying to gain a voice in the
state you know the right vote for
example representation in government as
well by the masses uh and in the economy
this is what Adam Smith was much
concerned about is that Adam Smith was
also applying the liberal ideas of the
Enlightenment into the economy as well
proposing that human beings function
best when they're set free to pursue
their
self-interest to pursue their
self-interest so we need to to set the
economy free and this is why it's called
economic liberalism or laces Fair
economics lais fair means hands off
lasis fair means hands off in other
words from who well from from the state
or from the monarchy so instead of the
monarchy trying to plan and manage the
economy trying to create policies that
will restrict economic transaction
ctions limit trade that instead uh what
Adam Smith is proposing is that we're
moving into a new era in which in this
new era what we call capitalism in other
words uh what we're moving into is into
a system in which we're liberating
Society from those shackles so to speak
that were separating the state from the
economy it's almost like separating
church and state but in this case is
separating the state and economy in
other words that they should you know
function independently again this is
hands off in other words that you know
the state shouldn't be playing a key
role in the
economy it should be guiding it again
maybe providing certain you know rules
and so on uh for the game but you should
allow in other words the people uh the
citizens to pursue their own selfish
interest because ultimately when each
individual is pursuing
his or her own selfish interest
everybody will benefit again this is
what Adam Smith is proposing okay um so
you want to be let's say a baker and
you're pursuing that interest and by
pursuing that interest by pursuing that
path you will find a way to either get
the skills to bake for example uh and
you will work in order to save money
invest it so you can buy a shop
equipment and you open up your own
business and by doing what you want to
do pursuing your own self-interest uh
Society will benefit from that you will
offer a good product in other words you
will offer them you know good bread and
you know cakes Etc pastries you name it
whatever you're you're creating and the
same applies with everything else again
so this is what he suggesting so again
he's calling for uh pre markets you know
that we should open the Market to be
free for people to create all kinds of
businesses what that entails of course
is to allow people to own property again
it's very essential I mean this is again
the basis of capitalism private property
so you need a free market economy again
you need to allow people to participate
in the market quite freely to pursue
their own self-interest so they will
produce something for other people in
the process and of course that entails
also allowing people to create all kinds
of businesses what it's called free
enterprise people will create businesses
that will
uh Express their skills their uh
talents uh their Devotion to
work and the idea is that they have to
be in control of their own Enterprise as
well again so the owner of the
Enterprise is pretty much setting policy
you know how much you want to produce
again it's up to you it's up to the
owner that's what it's called free
enterprise that the state is not really
dictating is not really telling you what
to produce how many units and so on
again that is what's called Free
Enterprise in other words is totally
owned Again by um by the person in
charge you know the actual owner of the
business okay now in The Wealth of
Nations uh Adam Smith introduced uses
the idea that he had discovered a
natural law again this is Central to the
Enlightenment and the Scientific
Revolution you know the idea that there
are laws of nature that nature is like a
clock in other words like mechanical
clock and is very orderly is programmed
to function in a very precise way those
are the laws of nature and scientists
are looking to discover the laws of
nature well Adam Smith believed that he
had discover one of those laws and those
laws govern the
economy and he called that law the
invisible
hand that when you set the economy free
and there are no restrictions by the
state you know the economy is in the
hands of The Producers Merchants
manufacturers Artisans and so on they
are the ones in charge of the economy
when that occurs then you create a kind
of Natural Balance he said again I this
is his own Theory okay and this Natural
Balance is kept by the Invisible Hand of
nature because we entered into harmony
with nature when people don't feel
restricted when we're following our own
path our own talents uh our own
interests therefore we create a balance
you know that this is how balance is
maintained in the economy ter of for
example prices you know how prices are
kept balanced well there's a supply and
demand okay people demand a certain
product and if there's a supply of that
product then you establish a certain
price how prices go up and down well if
the supply is scarce then the price goes
up because again there's a limited
amount of goods that can be produced to
supply the demand and so on when the
supply exceeds the demand the prices go
down and so on and so he sees that as a
kind of natural law again uh the law of
Nature and he called it the Invisible
Hand by the way okay now he calls his
work The Wealth of Nations because in a
sense this is a work that is almost like
a an announcement to the
world then people around the world are
going to be reading his work and no the
idea was
that what he's actually proposing is
that to build wealth a wealthy Nation
again this is a message to all the
nations of the world what he's actually
saying to them is that look you know if
you want your nation to develop to
achieve development what is called
Economic Development you need to
implement capitalism or a lasis fair
economy okay where you allow again
people to own property you open the
market you create free
enterprise and uh you set free the
economy to function on its own in other
words okay but most
importantly what he's also proposing is
that in order for a country to be
wealthy that Country Must also
industrialize as well it was not enough
to allow private property and free
enterprise okay it was also essential
for a country to build wealth to
industrialize factories for example
railroads and the like again that that
was going to
generate massive
fortunes for that Society because that
Society will be very and very highly
productive again this is in sharp
contrast with the kind of economic
systems of the past you know in the past
you know how economies were formed and
this is something we have been
discussing pretty much across uh the
semester is that uh before the IND
Revolution all economies were
agricultural economies so what Adam
Smith is saying is that although
agriculture has still some value I mean
he's not really trying to abolish it we
still need agriculture we need food for
example we need grain we need cash crops
Etc yeah but this idea that your entire
National economy is going to be based on
agricultural production he said we don't
we need to move away from that because
what happens when you have a bad year
okay what happens when you have you
know uh crop failures droughts when you
have um plagues for instance you know
what happens when you have those
calamities
well the economy will stall and it will
not recover until the Calamity subsides
that might take a season that might take
a year maybe a decade so what Adam Smith
is saying if you want the economy to
continue producing to keep jobs for
example and wages and to keep uh uh
opening up markets and so on you need
industry you need Machinery you need
modern science you need technology you
need railroads you need factories again
this is what is going to create wealth
The Wealth of Nations again so this was
really again uh a kind of message to the
world that we are entering a new era
that it was important to modernize it
was important to transform uh human
societies through capitalism and of
course he's also talking about the
division of labor you know that because
of this new economic system capitalism
and Industrial Revolution people will
eventually develop different
skills you know and they will divide
themselves into classes in other words
okay like the working class will be
people that you know simply operate the
machines uh they choose he said to just
stay in that level you know as simply uh
operating the machines and providing of
course physical labor in Industries Etc
there will be people that will be
educating themselves acquiring
specialized knowledge skills they will
be moving into training schools
vocational schools universities and that
knowledge will be more
rewarding they will earn higher wages
and they will become part of the middle
class the professional managerial class
in other words okay and again he really
believed that this was the natural
order of life you know that eventually
what capitalism was going to do is
divide Society into different social
classes because people will be pursuing
different paths you know for progress in
other words okay so again this is really
what he's suggesting you know we need to
industrialize and we need to uh also uh
form a society that will naturally
divide into different social classes the
working class the middle class and of
course the upper class will be the
owners of the means of production the
owners of industry in other words
okay now having said that it's very
important to note that uh this kind of
system you know capitalism in other
words even though it flourished in Great
Britain um took different uh characters
in different countries now this is not
going to be a kind of one-size fitall
kind of system in which every country
that adopted capitalism you know carried
out capitalism and industrialization in
the exact same way and and this is very
true today as well so what occurred is
that although capitalism began to spread
into different areas of the West it took
it took on different characteristics so
we see the emergence of different types
of what is called National capitalisms
in other words so there are different
types again of capitalism based on the
kind of country the kind of social
situation in which it flourished for
example in Great Britain again this is
the home of
capitalism um if you recall in previous
discussions you know when we talked
about the age of revolutions
particularly the English Civil War there
was a struggle of course between the new
merch merch class um that wanted reform
they wanted private property in the old
feudal order you know there was a landed
aristocracy the the the nobility for
example that were just sitting there
collecting rants from the commoners uh
and eventually that led to the Civil War
the English Civil War again in the uh
1640s now the landed aristocracy was
defeated
but it was not abolished okay what we
see is that what in England took place
is that we see a new
class a new class of merchants uh
financers industrialist that together
became known as the new liberal
Bazi again the they are the owners of
the means of production they own the
financial institution
they own the industries the factories
for example the trading companies and
the like and together they constituted a
new kind of elite uh that was
characterized as an industrial Elite the
owners of industry and the owners of
Finance as
well they control manufacturing trade
overseas as they're moving into the
Indian Ocean and other regions of the
world um and of course railroads as
well now even though they won the Civil
War as I mentioned they're not going to
abolish the land of aristocracy they
form an economic and even a political
alliance with the
aristocracy they're going to come
together they're going to merge their
interest in other words you know the old
nobility even though they stayed you
know as landlords in other words uh
they're forming economic alliances with
this new industrial Financial Elite and
they both constituted pretty much a
united front particularly when they saw
that the working class again remember
this is what Adam Smith said inevitably
there will be different classes and we
have a working class
below uh that was agitating and they're
confronting the big Capital class for
example the they're organizing and so on
and both the aristocracy and the new
buasi came together particularly because
they needed to kind of maintain that uh
privilege system in other words of
entitlements to land for example but
also entitlements to Capital and they
both come together to suppress labor in
other words so this is the kind of
capitalism we see in Great Britain again
it is really an alliance between the new
the newa rich the new rich and the old
money the old landed aristocracy and
they're forming of course a kind of
national capitalism in Britain in France
we see quite something different here in
that in France during the French
Revolution there was also a clash
between the capist Bui you know the new
Merchant class the new Rich the newva
rich against the nobility and the
monarchy you know that produced the
French Revolution we talked about that
in the
past now here uh the new vui is not
going to reach out to the nobility and
build an alliance with them again
because this was a far more violent and
bloody
conflict um and the nobility was
persecuted in many cases in France again
many of them actually fled France and
they moved it to other areas of
Europe instead what the new new
capitalist class in France did was to
reach out to small producers the petty
buasi as they were called the petty
producers you know they form an alliance
with Artisans Craftsman and Traders you
know it's like really uh the lower
middle class so to speak and they
together took over France uh and France
will remain not
necessarily a highly industrialized
Society the way Great Britain was
controlled by big capitalists of course
and big Finance
seers this is again a society in which
uh small producers and the capitalist
are running the country so therefore for
the most part France will remain still
largely rural in Agricultural Center
okay you know people in the countryside
are pretty much in control of their own
Enterprises their businesses for example
and the agricultural sector continues to
be Cent control uh in France as well you
know producing things like cotton silk
and of course the industrialist uh
control metal production you know steel
plants and so on metalurgy as well so
again uh in France we're not going to
see the kind of Industrial Revolution
that we saw in Britain the big capitals
for example big industrialists this is
more like a society of small producers
okay and the big capitalist of course uh
are running of course uh businesses
Enterprises abroad they're moving into
Africa you know we talked about that you
know um in Germany the situation is also
quite different this is another kind of
national uh capitalism in that here
we're not going to see the dominance the
prominence of an industrial capitalist
class indeed the landed nobility will
remain sup Supreme okay uh they're
called the junkers the junkers were
really the large land doners that really
go back centuries into the past running
a feudal system and what we see is a
mixture of capitalism and
feudalism this is really a hybrid in
which yes you know Germany is
industrializing you know they're
building industrial plants and
industries and the like but the
industrial are not dominant in the
economy the large land owners are
they're controlling the state they're
controlling policy again um and uh this
is uh so because the industrialist face
significant opposition by the first and
foremost the working class who was
becoming very organized in Germany we
see the formation of syndicates and
unions for example confronting the
industrialists and also the landlords so
again this is not to say that the
landlords and the workers are together
in an alliance but again there are
different forces that are trying to
compete for the control of the state and
ultimately the landed nobility end up
winning again so again the industrialist
are secondary and the nobility the old
nobility is
really primary keep that in mind because
this is going to be important as we're
going to be discussing Latin America and
Russia you know particularly you know
what kind of capitalism they're going to
implement you know are are we talking
about big Capital big Industries and so
on finance years dominating the process
or you know our landlords are still
going to be dominating the process as
well again in the US what we see is
quite a different scenario we see the
introduction of
capitalism very early on in the the US
North particularly the
Northeast uh we see the process of an
industrial revolution starting around
1816 the Northeast is industrializing
textile manufacturing railroads and so
on coal mines iron ore and so on uh and
what we see is really uh uh the division
of the country between two sections uh
in the north we see Industries
manufacturing you know what it's called
a commercial e economy capitalism and in
the South what we see is still feudalism
you know a society dominated by
plantation owners who are growing cotton
for the industries by the use of slave
labor so there's going to be inevitably
a struggle for power between two main
groups very powerful by the way uh on
one hand the northern manufacturers who
are trying to dominate policy in the US
and in the South the feudal
landowners the the planter class who are
also very wealthy I mean uh one can say
that the Planters were perhaps even
wealthier than the manufacturers and
they were exercising significant
influence in the US Congress by lobbying
and so on to protect slavery and that
led to the Civil War again just like in
England there was a war and also in
France the revolution here we're also
seeing of course A Clash of forces
between the neoliberal order based on
capitalism in industry and the all
feudal order based on slavery in the
South so the Civil War itself really
opened up the opportunities to create a
new liberal bouro as well you know the
rise of an industrial Elite that will
emerge triumphant and dominant in the
economy why why is it that the Civil War
provided that opening well is because
during the Civil War you know the
federal government actually needed
Industries to
produce uh things like weapons for
example
Transportation uniforms Etc uh Munitions
uh loans and that required of course
Merchants who had been running of course
small businesses to create massive again
Enterprises to the point that they're
going to create create what today in
history are known as big businesses in
other words the rise of big business you
know huge monopolies in other words okay
uh people like for example JP Morgan
that provided again Finance Loans to the
union again and also selling you know uh
uniforms for the troops and the like uh
vanderville providing transportation
services and he control the canals
across the north um and to move troops
to me to move supplies and food uh and
John D Rockefeller of course controlling
the oil industry selling oil as well so
uh in the end the feudal
uh landlords of the US South were
defeated and what we see is the
supremacy of an industrial Elite that
will dominate now uh the capitalist
economy of the United States again
through big businesses and trusts
monopolies and the like again so this is
a whole different of course uh type of
capitalism now the other pillar uh of
modernity are the liberal ideas of the
Enlightenment again I'm not going to
repeat everything I mentioned uh back
during the age of revolutions just to
kind of re recap what we discussed and
that is again the liberal ideas of the
Enlightenment were trying to create new
systems of government uh based on
representation what is called liberal
democracy you know granting people a say
in the system the right to vote uh a
Bill of Rights for example and so on
again so this is also Central that as
other societies are trying to modernize
the other issue besides the economy was
the issue of the political system you
know trying to build a democracy for
example you know this idea of equality
you know trying to provide of course
equal representation under the law for
all citizens and also a certain degree
of economic equality again and to the
point that people have access for
example to education resources jobs and
the like again this is something that
also regimes governments around the
world are concerned when they're talking
about Mo modernity you know this idea of
secularism separating church and state
trying to secular secularize for example
uh education
for people to receive scientific
training scientific education math
Sciences physics for engineering for
this new world that they're trying to
build in other words okay so then this
is the modernizing uh project you know
that um other societies are trying to
emulate and at the same time westerners
are trying to spread those ideas around
the world you know when they talk about
spreading Western Civilization they're
mainly talking about for example the
idea of spreading capitalism you know um
spreading uh the Industrial Revolution
modern science technology and the
liberal ideas of the Enlightenment okay
and one of the first regions that we're
going to see an attempt to incorporate
all of those issues what we call
modernity uh was Latin America okay this
is a considered a nonwestern uh region
you know when we mean about nonwestern
we mean
about not necessarily uh geographical of
course region but rather cultural region
that this is not a region that was
culturally connected to uh Western
Europe in the US again it it really
comes from a whole different cultural
mindset cultural background altogether
very
distinct um and so uh Latin America will
be one of those regions that were was
trying to reamp their societies to build
new economic systems and even political
systems uh that will mirror the kind of
systems that we just
described that Great Britain
particularly and the US uh were
implementing you know Great Britain and
the US will become the kind of like the
role models for virtually most Nations
around the world to uh adopt this
new system called modernity
okay so let us talk about Latin America
and I explain uh we need to begin with
first and foremost l America before
modernization what we called the world
as it was before modernity okay the
world as it was
okay so modernity will begin to take
place in Latin America in the 19th
century but it was struggling so much to
modernize because of its Colonial
Legacy this is why I spent some time
talking about National capitalisms you
know in Britain Germany France and the
us there was a struggle in other words
to modernize those societies a clash and
so on between the feudal order and the
new capitalist order for example and the
same holds true for every country around
the world that has been trying to
modernize you know including Latin
America Latin America was struggling
with its Colonial
Legacy okay the colonial Legacy of Latin
America this is a region that was um
conquered by the Spanish Empire we cover
that in the past you know and in the
1500s early
1500s the Spaniards uh develop a series
of colonies through Conquest
particularly they topple a series of
Empires like the astics and the Incas
for example and other Native American
groups the Mayas and the
like and in this process of the
conquest the Spaniards implemented a
colonial World a colonial society that
mirrored the kind of world that existed
back in Spain no during this time Spain
still was a feudal
society it was a society controlled by
the monarchy by the church in the
aristocracy a landed Elite
and it was a society that was in many
ways transplanted into the new world
there were many elements in other words
of Spanish feudal society that were
transplanted into the American
colonies which they control
okay for
example they
transplanted the system of a landed
Elite that was prevalent back in
Spain it was a system in
which Spain the king of Spain who was
really the Supreme owner of the real in
other words shared some of the land with
people that provided valuable services
to the crow particularly military
services fighting for example in Spain
you know will be individ
uals Knights for example fighting the
Moors the Arabs trying to expel them out
of the Iberian Peninsula they're known
as The Conquistadors the conquerors of
territories on behalf of the crown
carrying the cross with them fighting
for Christianity for example well that
kind of idea got transplanted into the
new world what we see is we see also the
arrival of military figures like Cortez
and pisaro among others that are coming
with that mindset that they're fighting
for the crown and for the church to
conquer new lands and the idea is that
if you do that you get rewarded you're
being given a land
grant okay uh just back in Spain you
know if you conquered new lands on
behalf of the king you'll be given of
course the opportunities to become a
landlord okay that was the reward you're
rewarding that kind of service and
loyalty so the Conquistadors are also
coming with that idea
and here in the new world those land
grants became known as the encomenda
again this is really a large tract of
land in which the Conquistador will
control on behalf of the king and the
Conquistador was given access to the
tribute paid by the natives you know the
natives will have to pay tribute to the
landlord in other words as the encomenda
of course uh the Conquistador or the
encomendero again will have to protect
the population and make sure that they
convert to Christianity that was the
idea again the
trade back in Spain also the church was
a large landowner as well they also
control large tracks of land because
there was an alliance between the
monarchy and the church in this process
of the
reconquest and that process was
transplanted into the new world as well
in terms of when the church church was
given the mission to move into the new
world it was given the mission to move
into the new world in order to spread
Christianity among the natives and to
create a Catholic identity for people to
accept the conquest to accept the new
ruling Elite in other words the
Spaniards you know to Foster obedience
and loyalty to the crown and you know
the colonial institutions and the like
telling people that this is the way that
God God had ordained the world in other
words okay so because they had a very
important mission to
fulfill the church was at the same time
given access to
resources uh or lands you know this is
something that the
crown U did by emitting an edict uh this
is like a piece of legislation a decree
in other words emitted by the crown that
was other known as the Mercedes land
grants you know what that meant is that
the church will be given access to huge
tracks of land for the church to control
to build missions for example
monasteries uh churches and the like
convents and so on you know uh to
christianize the
natives and they will use the land as
they f did they will also request the
natives to pay tribute to them as
well and the Native Americans that live
within the church land
grants however uh the indigenous
populations were granted a certain
degree of autonomy for them to continue
controlling their own lands that was
part of this decree the Mercedes or mer
Mercedes is land grants okay that
although the church is becoming a major
land owner in the new world and what is
called Spanish
America the indigenous populations that
live within those Church lands that pay
tribute to the church in labor crops Etc
they're they are in control of their own
land as well and that allow for the
indigenous populations to uh perpetuate
in many ways their unique cultures and
traditions because they were self-
sustaining in other words they conducted
what was called subsistence farming they
were growing their own grain their own
crops and by doing that because they
were feeding themselves they had to of
course share part of the crop with the
land owner with the church and so on pay
tribute and the like but that kind of
autonomy the the control of their own
village lands uh created the
opportunities for them
to continue their cultures and
traditions again that really created
cultural continuity in other words
cultural Independence among the Native
American
population and the natives were happy
with that I mean this is an
overstatement you know this is not to
say that they were happy with the
situation that they were conquered by
any stretch of the
imagination but to a certain degree the
fact that they were still in control of
their own cultures was very very
significant for them okay uh they were
required to pay tribute they were
required to convert but as far as their
own Traditions their own languages and
their own beliefs they continue to
perpetuate those inside of the village
in other words because they control
those land Holdings and the church kind
of protected that system as well they
found that system to be convenient for
all parties in other words that kept the
indigenous population to a certain
degree quote unquote content in other
words they had to provide tribute
however again this is a feudal society
in which uh the land owners you know the
Conquistadors um and the church are
simply there to collect rant in other
words they're just collecting tribute
from from the indigenous population from
the peasantry and the like so again this
is not really a capitalist economy based
on the market in other words okay
now we spoke about the great dying of
course there's uh epidemics particularly
small poox yellow fever measles Etc that
decimated the Native American population
about 90% from uh 1492 to 1650 uh of the
Native American population died
so what that required was the formation
of a new kind of system a new Enterprise
so to speak that will replace the
encomenda and so as we're moving into
the
1600s uh we're going to see the rise of
what is called the
Henda what is the Henda you know is
really a place in which uh people are uh
trying to produce for example
things like cattle you know for the
colonist you know the colonist the
Spanish colonist had really an
insatiable appetite for meat they had to
be fed and because there's a scarcity of
Labor because the Native American
population was dying in great numbers
well the Henda has to be brought in as a
new unit a new system of production in
which again we're going to see now large
tracks of land being owned by a single
individual the asend for example in
which uh all you require which is a hand
few of people to come in and tend cattle
for example because of the scarcity of
Labor you know cattle will be grazed and
raised and there will be Slaughter there
to provide meat to the surrounding
settlements and Villages and communities
that the Spanish were creating for
example overall as a whole
we can say that in this very early phase
of
colonization in this colonial Legacy
what we see is a very
paternalistic kind of system in which
the Conquistadors you know this colonial
Elite uh the Asados for example you know
the Conquistadors the land owners and
even the church they really sought
themselves as uh the father figure of
the people they are are taking care of
them in other words they're the
overseers the quote unquote Protectors
of the population and most people lived
in the countryside so this is a rural
Society again the vast majority of the
population are peasants they're working
the land they're growing crops uh and
they're paying tribute to a landlord
that in return the landlord landlord has
to provide protection you know this is
the kind of feudal system again that
existed before of course the arrival of
capitalism into Spanish America so this
is extremely important to
note that at some point during the
colonial period we're going to see the
gradual rise of capitalism again
capitalism is not going to just simply
appear in the 19th century uh in Latin
America it began to emerge very early on
you know in earlier times you know
during the colonial period and that
occurred around the mid
1600s we see the rise of capitalism the
early rise again this is not full-blown
capitalism this is really the early rise
when we see the rise of a market economy
in Spanish America a market economy
again this is now an economy moving
towards the market people are trying to
create something to make money profit
that's what capitalism is again markets
and profit okay not just controlling
land in order to collect
grants that's the fu system so we're
seeing now a market oriented economy and
that begins around the mid
1600s when suddenly around 1650 the
indigenous population be begins to
recover from the epidemics you know
there's going to be a rebound effect in
other words starting around 1650 and we
see a population boom all over Spanish
America not only because the indigenous
population was recovering it's also
because we see the emergence of what is
called mixed races as well again people
that have both European indigenous
ancestry or African
and Indigenous or African and European
Etc and what we see is now the rise of a
multiplicity of different
groups and with the rise of population
this is going to place an enormous
demands of essential goods and products
and they are colonist and they are in
need of clothing they are in need of
food uh shelter they're in need of
hardware tools Etc and the like so this
created a commercial revolution a
revolution in Commerce because yeah
there's a great demand for products and
Spain was unable to bring in and import
all of those products into her own
colony so at some point uh Spain the
mother country needed to open up the
economy in other words look you know we
need to open up the economy and allow
allow the economy to kind of flourish
and allow producers in other words uh to
create businesses and the like we need a
monetary system and the like we need to
allow that and what we see is the
formation of a new kind of quote
unquote capitalist type of Enterprise
and that is the commercial
Henda what is the commercial Henda was I
mentioned you know there were hias
already and those were just landed
States people were tending cattle you
know Etc you know to feed the
populations but now the Henda will be
the most important economic unit in
Spanish America in which everything that
the colonist the colonies require and
needed will be produced there okay so
this is a multifaceted type of
Enterprise it is really a combination of
a farm it is also a combination of a
cattle ranch and also a kind of a
factory as well I mean this is not
really the kind of factory we see in the
industrial revolution where there's
machines uh but there are Artisans that
are weaving or they're crafting you know
uh clothing items Etc Hardware
blacksmiths for example and so on a kind
of factory so still again we see the
major again uh uh unit of production the
hen owned by the asend the land owner
and we see of course a new class of
people you know that will start
dominating the Colonial economy they're
the first capitalist you know the Ascend
so to speak that are engaged in this
commercial revolution they're producing
you know the grain the food uh for the
colonist you know the grain is grown
there uh the Sheep cattle in the cattle
ranches Animal Farms within the asend as
well and also the clothing all the
textiles that are being sold in across
Spanish America once again are produced
in the commercial lendas you know other
kinds of Commodities like chocolate
leather dyes Etc are also manufactured
there what this led to was not just a
commercial revolution a revolution in
Commerce it also led to a new class of
people
producers Independent Producers who in
their own right they're going to become
also part of this new emerging
capitalist
class their middle class producers and
they're not centered in the major cities
of Spanish America they're centered in
the small towns particularly in the
provinces you know they're the
provincial
Elites again they constitute really a
middle class unto themselves like
artisans for example they have their own
shop in their own homes and they're
trying to manufacture something for the
market outside of the Henda again there
are Artisans doing that as well they're
independent cattle ranchers as well
ceasing land trying to also grow cattle
for the market and also shopkeepers as
well again in the small towns scattered
across Spanish America so this is
important because this is really Paving
the road for capitalism you know in uh
Spanish America in in which we're not
only see seeing the emergence of a new
economic system based on markets and
profits and of course a series of
producers emerging out of this but also
a new kind of identification that people
are no longer identified as members of
their cast
you know we talked about the cats system
in the past you know that's the colonial
Legacy of Spain dividing the colonist
along racial categories and identities
for example separating them
Etc although people continue to see
themselves in that light somebody might
say I'm indigenous for example I'm
native and so on so forth you know or
I'm a creole because my parents are
Spaniards so you know and so on yeah
it's true but now people are are
identifying themselves as a member of a
Class A social class okay mightbe middle
class might be an upper class for
example or working class so again we see
a class system now that is slowly but
surely replacing the old feudal way of
identifying People based on cast or race
in other words so from racial identity
to class identity is taking
place in uh in Latin America
particularly as we're moving into the
1700s and the 1700s still uh created
further changes that advanced these
emerging capist
system this is happening in the early
part of the 1700s when we see a change
in the colonial administration of Spain
when we see the replacement of the old
hapsburg
Dynasty that had ruled Spain for
centuries and there were the ones
engaged in the conquest in the initial
process of colonization they were
replaced by a new Dynasty that was a
French Dynasty that is now going to rule
the Spanish Empire they were known as
the Bourbons okay the bourbon
Dynasty and the Bourbons come in and
they're trying to reamp the entire
Imperial
Administration they feel that the
hapsburgs were quite outdated and that
the colonies in the new world were not
really serving the true purpose that
they should serve in other words that
they should be productive and they
should benefit the mother country in
every possible way that there was this
very passive
paternalistic kind of system that was
still lingering again in Spanish America
that kept people pretty much in their
place and that they needed to kind of
Liberate the e economy in other words
set it free to a certain degree uh for
the economy to become even more
productive to build more more wealth so
the Bourbons implemented a series of
economic reforms were known as the
bourbon reforms and they were really key
to start really building the very first
uh Stepping
Stones uh towards uh a capless
system they introduced for examp example
this idea of the free market you know we
needed a free market in other words uh
uh in the colonies for example we need
to liberate more and more create more
Enterprises in other words okay so
instead of just having a hand few of
individuals controlling all the land
okay uh we need to release that to the
market so more people can participate
because what we need is more and more
Enterprise Rises more and more
businesses to be more productive in
other words so they believe in something
called private property you know uh this
idea that look you know we need to
privatize some lands which lands well
lands that the natives are in control
you know the indigenous land Holdings
for example uh and perhaps even some
lands that the church controls now this
is not to say that the crown was really
going against the church what we're
really trying to do is create a new
commercial economy a new commercial
Elite they want to create more and more
commercial hias in other words not only
to produce what the colonist
needed they wanted to maximize exports
they wanted a new type of Henda in this
case a Mercantile Henda a Henda that
will be geared totally for the exports
of cash crops in other words words for
Spain you know Spain is really now
trying to extract the maximum the
maximum amount of resources and wealth
out of the land out of agriculture in
other words so from the Henda that was
just geared to provide the needed
resources and products for the domestic
economy we are seeing the privatization
of lands particularly Indian lands in
this case to be given to individuals
uh land owners commercial land owners
that will run a commercial Henda for the
production of things like sugar coffee
hakin for example and and cotton again
so this is really leading to another
wave
of a commercial revolution that is kind
of
introducing uh a capless system of sorts
in Spanish America again to a certain
degree and of course that required you
know uh moving against the village lands
controlled by the natives undermining
the Mercedes land grants again that kind
of protected the communal landh Holdings
uh of the natives to a certain degree
and at the same time turning the
landless peasants into peons again those
are actually individuals that f into
debt they have been displaced from the
lands and because they have nowhere to
go they must borrow money from a
landlord for example in order to subsist
and in order to pay back the debt they
must work for the landlord in the Henda
growing things like sugar coffee hakin
or or cotton for example so again this
is the rise of P of panich this of
course this is giving rise to a new type
of vua SE it's a creole vua SE uh that
that um again are made up of Spaniards
born in Spain there so called Creoles or
Creos that are pretty much becoming more
and more dominant in the economy it's a
new Elite but they're not controlling
industry they're controlling commercial
agriculture now we have run out of time
but when we come back we're going to
proceed with the independence movements
and from there we're going to start
looking at modernity itself in Latin
America and after we cover that uh we
will be moving into uh part
two uh to look at Russia again so all of
that will be explained when we come back
in session two this is all I have for
you thank
you