Chapter 03 Self-assessment

. Latin America's debates over nationalism, secularism, and constitutionalism reflected similar debates in Europe and parts of Asia in the nineteenth century.

True.

False.

. Latin American Conservatives tended to favor free trade, whereas Liberals were protectionists.

True.

False.

. Which of the following was NOT TRUE about Liberals's political tendencies versus those of Conservatives?

Liberals favored a larger (more democratic) electorate and broader political participation.

Liberals tended to favor decentralized or federal government, while Conservatives wanted a stronger central government.

Conservatives upheld absolute rights to freedom of speech and other civil liberties, which Liberals often moved to restrict in the name of social progress.

Liberals favored stricter limits on presidential power and tenure in office, while Conservatives embraced stronger and longer-term executive presidencies or even, at times, monarchy.

. Colombia's Liberal politicians, like Liberals elsewhere, tended to see indigenous, Afro-descended, and mixed-race peoples as benighted and backwards, but gradually redeemable through education.

True.

False.

. For some Conservatives such as Ecuador's President Gabriel García Moreno, political stability and strong centralized rule were seen as essential to modernization, not just a defense of tradition.

True.

False.

. The Brazilian Land Law of 1850

Reduced the power of the rural rancher and planter elite.

Reduced the importance of slavery in Brazilian agriculture.

Allowed poor small farmers to validate their claims to the colonial-era estates that they occupied and cultivated.

Was typical of how Pedro II compromised his drive for liberal modernization in order to preserve the social hierarchy.

. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about coffee production in nineteenth-century Latin America?

It led to the expansion of the agricultural frontier into the interior in Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela.

It led to the displacement of many formerly self-sufficient indigenous farmers in Guatemala and El Salvador.

It led to the demise of Costa Rica's former model of small estates, independent subsistence farming, and wage labor.

It demanded improvements in infrastructure such as railroads and port facilities.

. The guano boom in Peru

Transformed bird droppings into feedstock for Peru's booming industrial-chemicals sector.

Relied heavily on migrant Chinese workers for labor.

Enriched the private landowners of the guano islands at the expense of the Peruvian state.

Ended when unexpected rainfall washed away the precious resource.

. For Liberals like Mexico's Benito Juárez and Conservatives like Ecuador's Gabriel García Moreno alike, policy toward the Catholic Church was a key aspect of a larger nation-building project.

True.

False.

. All of the following are true about Juárez's Reforma in Mexico EXCEPT

It targeted the privileges of autonomous indigenous communities as well as those of the Church.

The chief beneficiaries of the Lerdo Law were Liberal elites.

It made all Mexicans equal before the law in secular, government courts.

It made the Mexican government the final authority on matters of Catholic faith and doctrine, as well as legal and financial matters affecting Church property and privileges.

. In general, Liberals moved to treat women as equal citizens under the law, while Conservatives opposed gender equality in the name of traditional values.

True.

False.

. Which of the following statements about US and British influence in mid-century Central America is FALSE?

The US tended to support Conservative parties, while Britain backed the Liberals.

One of the main drivers of the two countries' rivalry was the prospect of controlling a canal route across Nicaragua or Panama.

Enterprising or adventurous citizens often went out ahead of their home government in their efforts to extend US or British sovereignty over Central American territory.

The British were directly responsible for thwarting William Walker's last filibustering expedition.

. When political ill fortune at home required it, both Liberal and Conservative Latin American politicians tended to choose France as their place of exile.

True.

False.

. Emperor Maximilian's errors included all of the following EXCEPT

Overestimating the Mexican public's desire for monarchy.

Alienating his Conservative supporters by upholding the anticlerical policies of their mutual enemy Benito Juárez.

Rushing to consolidate his rule before the end of the US Civil War.

Summarily executing prisoners from the Liberal army as outlaws, rather than treating them with honor as prisoners of war.

. Which of the following was NOT an issue at stake in the War of the Triple Alliance?

Paraguayan shipping via Uruguay's river network.

Brazilian ranchers' access to Uruguayan grazing lands.

The balance of power between Liberals and Conservatives in Uruguay.

Francisco Solano López's claim to the Brazilian throne.

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