Creole
Spanish person born in colonial Latin America.
peninsulare
Spanish or Portuguese official born in Europe who resided temporarily in Latin America for political and economic gain and then returned to Europe.
mestizo
A person of mixed European and indigenous descent.
nationalism
A belief that emphasizes one’s national identity and prioritizes national pride and national goals above all else.
romanticism
An intellectual movement that emerged at the end of the eighteenth century in reaction to the Enlightenment; it stressed feelings, emotion, and imagination as sources of knowledge.
liberalism
A political philosophy originally based largely on Enlightenment principles, which holds that people should be as free as possible from government restraint and that the basic rights of all people should be protected.
realism
A mid-nineteenth-century movement that rejected romanticism and sought to portray life as it actually was.
radical
Relating to a political group associated with views, practices, and policies of extreme change
universal male suffrage
The right of all males to vote in elections
multinational empire
An empire in which people of many nationalities live.
plebiscite
A popular vote.
emancipation
The act of setting free.
abolitionism
The movement to end slavery.
constitutionalism
A government ruled by a written constitution.
individualism
Belief in the uniqueness of each person.
militarism
The reliance on military strength.
kaiser
German for “Caesar”; the title of the emperors of the Second German Empire.
realpolitik
The “politics of reality,” which is based on practical matters rather than on ethics.
cash crop
Agricultural crop grown to sell for profit
caudillo
Military or political dictator
Monroe Doctrine
Declaration by U.S. President James Monroe warning Europeans that the United States would come to the aid of any of its neighbors whose independence was threatened.
imperialism
The practice of one nation controlling other nations by diplomacy or military force.