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Modernization in Latin America_ Russia_ and China Session # 1
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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
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