Chapter 11

Society and Culture in the Nineteenth Century

The following material is designed to help you sort out the major themes and important information in our textbook Benjamin Keen, A History of Latin America, 5^th ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996). You will be quizzed over this material in class. Also use this information as a study guide to prepare for the exam.

Learning Objectives

After you have read and studied Chapter 11, you should be able to:

1. Describe the changes in colonial society brought about by independence.
2. Discuss the process of modernization and how it was reflected in daily life, social relations, and attitudes.
3. Explain the relation between the romantic revolt in literature and contemporary political and economic struggles using illustrative examples.
4. Explain the relation between literature and social change from 1880 to 1910 using illustrative examples.

Chapter Summary

The chapter opens by assessing the changes in social structure and relations as a result of independence and goes on to describe a gradual process of modernization or Europeanization of the daily life and attitudes of elites in the first half-century after independence. The discussion then turns to the relation between literary romanticism and the struggle for political and social reform in Argentina, Mexico Chile, and Brazil, with illustrative examples provided. In conclusion, note is made of the exhaustion of the romantic movement and the rise of new literary styles (such as modernism) linked to the changing political, economic, and cultural climate in the period from 1880 to 1910.

Identification Terms

Be sure that you are able to identify and explain the historical significance of each of each of these terms from this chapter.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. This material is presented as a study guide exclusively for the use of students in Latin American History at Illinois State University. Please direct any questions to Marc Becker at mbecker@ilstu.edu.