Ideo

If anywhere in the world has felt the consequence of New Imperialism and been moulded by it, it is Latin America. Therefore, divergent views on the subject are better understood by reading salient, primary-source material from the era. Sources include a myriad of media types ranging from travel accounts to political cartoons, each revealing views on the topic of New Imperialism from the American, Hispanic, and foreign perspective. These perspectives reveal themes such as the ideologies of American leaders, the competing of imperial powers for dominance, the influence of key figures in Latin America, and the opposition to imperialist actions.

For their value in understanding divergent views on New Imperialism, many historians have explored the themes evident in these sources. Thomas G. Paterson explains the rise of imperialism in the United States during the 19th century and its manifestation in the Spanish-American war for Cuba. Gene Yeager, however, reveals how Porfirio Diaz's Mexico courted foreign imperialist investors at world expositions on trade, and sought to establish and export based economy. John M. Kirk approaches imperialism through the lens of the life of JosÐ"© MartÐ"­, who at first admired the U.S. model, but later came to represent the opposition to imperialism in Latin America and sought to warn his fellow citizens of the intentions and ignorance of the United States. These historians are among the many who have tried to explain the economic and ideological factors that led to New Imperialism in Latin America.

The late 19th century marked a turning point in imperialism world wide: with the diminishing influence of the British Empire, the United States began to emerge as a world power, requiring expansion into the young Latin American nations to fuel growth and strengthen the economy. This expansion was both military, as seen in the annexation of Hawaii, the Filipeans, and the intervention in Cuba in 1898, and economic, as seen in the purchase of huge land tracts in Mexico and the subsequent building of railroads to import Mexico's raw materials. This expansion was welcomed by the young Latin American nations, as their governments saw it as an opportunity to provide much needed foreign capital and further their progressive policies. However, these policies required them to overlook many liberal rights and freedoms in the name of progress, usually impoverished the populace and resulted in total economic dependence on other countries. In the southern cone, Argentina sold enormous plots of land and almost all export industry such as meat packing plants to foreign capitalist, modernizing Buenos Aires at the expense of the interior and the general population, and Chile sold its vast nitrate fields to British investors, depriving itself of its own richest resources. The trend towards new imperialism in the 19th century was, indeed, an international movement.

Theodore Roosevelt's corollary to the Monroe doctrine reveals U.S. imperialistic ideologies and the ideas behind the military and economic expansion. His claim of the U.S. being among "the most civilized powers... with most sense of international obligations and with keenest and most generous appreciation of the difference between right and wrong" reveals the attitude of superiority that fuelled imperialist expansion, and sought to establish American morality as a template for civilization throughout the world. This attitude confirms Thomas Paterson's observation that the U.S wanted to gain international recognition as a great people. Furthermore, Roosevelt states that this morality must be enforced by the U.S. maintaining "a sufficient armament... to serve the purposes of international police." Roosevelt's corollary to the Monroe doctrine is the window through which we see the U.S. attempts at establishing a moral superiority over other nations, or paternalism, which is at the heart of new imperialism.

While very useful for the purpose of understanding U.S. views on imperialism, Roosevelt's message is limited by being exclusively American. Since the speech was an address to Congress, Roosevelt speaks on behalf of American interests, and refers to American citizens when he speaks of "a great free people," but as Paterson points out, the United States was only one of many imperial powers of the era, and not the only one with interests in Latin America. , Other sources, such as British newspaper articles, grant a perspective on imperialism from a different nation, and explain in some measure, the vying for power by rival imperialist countries.

Issues of The Times, a London newspaper, provide a glimpse at the old imperialist view of new imperialism. While not sharply critical of U.S. policy, the British papers do speculate about the underlying motives of the war, and mention what would be unmentionable in the United States: imperialism. In one article, The Times' correspondent in Washington says that "populism is swallowed up in imperialism and the prospect of unexampled industrial prosperity convinces multitudes... that financial honesty is the best permanent national policy," confirming Michael Polushin's claim that new imperialism is a product of economic expansion into Latin America. , While some articles point fingers at U.S. advancement, others reaffirm Britain's own protectionist policy. Another article reveals that the British also profited from the war in Cuba with the following: "It seems that the recent war between the United States and Spain greatly increased British shipping in Vera Cruz and raised freights, while Cuba afforded an important market for Mexican foodstuffs." The new imperialism was obviously not a purely American phenomenon.

These same papers do not offer a pure or unbiased view of the world of their time either, but served to please British interests and attract British readers. Just as was done in U.S. newspapers, The Times largely ignores Latin America and her people, and speaks of a war between the United States and Spain, and merchant competition between rival European countries. No attempt is made to understand the sentiments of the citizens of Cuba, or any other Latin American country, and therefore this source offers no explanation to the real origins of the conflicts in Latin America. Travel accounts do, however, examine Latin American culture from a more intimate perspective. William Curtis' writings on life in Mexico offer a closer look at life in Latin America.

The U.S. diplomat William Curtis wrote about life, progress, and politics in Mexico in 1887 in a report to the United States seemingly designed to encourage economic expansion into Mexico. This goal of expansion was mutually held by U.S. capitalists and the Diaz administration in Mexico, with U.S. diplomats encouraging trade from