Philip Wayne Powell – The Pull Of The Land

I much appreciate these guest posts by Mike Ashe. We Americans are often accused — sometimes unfairly, sometimes fairly — of being somewhat insular. I have always been impressed meeting folks from South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico, who possess a knowledge of the United States — sometimes incomplete, sometimes imperfect, but that, nevertheless, often far surpasses our knowledge of their lands.

Thank you, Mike

Part I

Mexico’s Independence from Spain

I always wondered how a small European Country could rule over vast lands in Mesoamerica for three centuries.

In the case of New Spain, the conquest of the Aztecs preserved the colonization of Mesoamerica. The principal reason to invade was to secure a large population of somewhat docile/sedentary people. Its principal architect and leader was Hernando Cortes; it would be very doubtful if anyone else would have been that successful. Cortes was a driven person for the Crown but also for himself.

In the early 16^th century and pre-industrial revolution, a large labor force was a tremendous asset for the Crown. The population in the central valleys were over 19 million; as a frame of reference Europe’s population was 61 million and Spain’s was almost 10 million, but after expelling the Jews and Moriscos it fell to 7.5 million. The Inca empire was the only population that was comparable to New Spain. The Incas were a very technologically advanced culture but unfortunately with no written language like the Aztecs.

The consolidation of the central valleys (present day states of Mexico State, Mexico City, Morelos, Puebla, Tlaxcala and Veracruz) was ultimately the key to longevity in New Spain. Any attempts to venture out of that central region proved to be difficult and the risk reward was not there. There was an attempt to conquer the Mayan controlled area south of Vera Cruz but the oppressive heat and the ferocity of the Mayans resulted in a Spanish retreat and complete abandonment of any future plans of conquest.

Northern Mexico was arid with a population of aggressive indigenous people (The Chichimecas-Zacatecos); there was no plan to colonize the north. That changed in the mid-16^th century when vast deposits of silver were discovered in Zacatecas (located in the Central Mexican Plateau). When the Spaniards moved in, they were met with fierce opposition from a formidable Zacateco warrior culture.

The Chichimeca war proved to be very costly and lasted 40 years. The Zacatecos were smart and fierce fighters with weaponry that could pierce Spanish armor. Like the present-day special forces, they were agile and physically fit, opposing a sedentary Spanish and indigenous ally force. The fighting finally ended through Catholic evangelism from the Catholic church.

The prospects of similar encounters with the Apache and Comanche tamed down any significant move further into the north.

[For those interested in learning further about the pacification of the fierce nations in the north of Mexico, I recommend Mexico’s Miguel Caldera by Philip Wayne Powell. Excellent history with much reliance on primary sources — RMB]

Decolonization of the Americas/Philippines

The decolonization of the Americas began with The American Revolutionary war 1775-1783. The Continental forces fought against primarily against British and Hessians (30,000 German mercenaries forces) with some assistance from colonial loyalists. The Continental forces were interestingly supported by Spain and France against their common enemy the British. Prelude to war included disputes between Royal Governors (Viceroys) and the colonial legislatures in each of the thirteen colonies. Self-rule was the overriding issue for war.

New Spain, all the Spanish Colonies in South America, and Brazil began decolonization in 1808-1825 triggered by Napoleon’s conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. Unlike the American Revolution the combatants were mainly internal (Loyalist vs Insurgents) with only minimal military support from Spain or Portugal.

The war in Mexico was between the Peninsulares and Creoles with some but not much assistance from Spanish forces. The revolutionary/liberator leaders include Iturbide (Mexico) Bolivar (Venezuela, Colombia), San Martin (Argentina, Ecuador, Peru), O’Higgins of Chile, Dom Pedro (Brazil), and Manuela Saenz (Ecuador, Colombia).

However, decolonization was not really completed until the Spanish American War in the late nineteenth century.

The common belief through the years has been that the war started with the mysterious sinking of the US battleship (Maine) in Havana Harbor in 1898. At the time folklore also centered around the roughriders (including Teddy Roosevelt) charging up San Juan Hill to victory. Actually, the war was fought on two fronts: the Philippines and Cuba. The first shot was not fired in Cuba but in the Philippines when Admiral Dewey entered Manila Bay and destroyed the Spanish fleet.

The naval operation was repeated in Cuba with the same results. With their naval forces destroyed and its army stranded, Spain was forced to accept surrender under the US president’s terms. The war was a mostly a naval operation, not a ground war.

Terms of surrender included freedom for Cuba and cession of Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States, and the sale of the Philippines to the US for $20 Million.

A second revolt, this time against the US occupiers resulted in the Philippine American war that lasted three years (1899-1902). The war was bloody, with 20,000 Filipino fighters and 4,200 American soldiers killed along with 200,000 civilian deaths. In 1935 the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established and full Independence was granted in July 4, 1946. This was mostly a ground operation.

[For those interested in learning further about this period, a readable history which seeks to be even-handed as possible is Ivan Musicant’s Empire by Default: The Spanish-American War and the Dawn of the American Century — RMB]

Decolonization of New Spain

In 1803 Father Miguel Hidalgo Grito de Dolores lit the fuse for Independence from Spain in 1824 known as the First Mexican Republic with a total population of 6 and ½ million living in 31 states.

The First Emperor of Mexico

The Treaty of Cordoba ended New Spain dependence on Spanish rule in 1821 and established Augustin Cosme Damian y Iturbide as “The First Emperor of Mexico”. Coronated in 1822, he served only one year as emperor. Iturbide’s was the only former Spanish colony that established a monarchy after gaining independence.

The first Mexican monarchy reign was short lived when after dissolving congress and operating with a depleted treasury a revolt broke out which resulted in the loss of support of the army. After a revolt he reconvened congress and offered his abdication. A provisional government was appointed which ended the first Mexican Monarch.

In 1824 Iturbide returned from exile in England to Mexico and was arrested and executed by firing squad.

[His words before the firing squad were “Mexicans! In the very act of my death, I recommend to you the love to the fatherland, and the observance to our religion, for it shall lead you to glory. I die having come here to help you, and I die merrily, for I die amongst you. I die with honor, not as a traitor; I do not leave this stain on my children and my legacy. I am not a traitor, no.” — RMB]

While Emperor, Mexico territory included California and all of Central America. After the abdication the Central American provinces formed the Republic of Central America with only Chiapas remaining part of Mexico.

Next: Generals and More Generals — One Constant Is the Army’s Involvement in Mexico’s Politics in the 19th and 20th Centuries.

For those interested in learning more about this critical period, a good place to start.

Theodore (“Teddy”) Roosevelt and his Rough Riders, Cuba, 1898

For those interested in learning more about Mexico’s policies and successes in the north, hardly a better place to start than with Philip Wayne Powell.

Each of us creates memories which, properly interpreted, become the figurative or metaphysical tissue of one’s life and home and of the communities in which one lives out his existence on earth. Our very lives run a course that is greatly fashioned by memories sown and cultivated decades and centuries before our birth.

Some children have a stronger “connection” to that generational memory than others. For example, many children almost instinctively ask their parents to tell them about “when you were a boy” or “tell me about grandmother,” etc., while others do not ask such questions. In such cases, many parents “volunteer” such stories. In doing so they play a part in perpetuating those generational memories, although they might not think about it in that context.

Memory creates history and determines relations between nations and civilizations. For example, someone wrote that the “conflicting memories of World War I left a gulf between Europe and the United States, one that has shaped their relations down to the present.” The literature engendered by that war further strengthened the outlines of the memories which persist to this day. For an analysis of that literature, I would recommend Paul Fussell’s The Great War and Modern Memory.

Similar conclusions can be drawn, perhaps even more forcefully, about the memories created over the centuries of the Spanish and English empires and their often deleterious influence on the relations between the United States and Latin America. Philip Wayne Powell’s Tree of Hate is a scholarly yet accessible study of that phenomenon.

A nation’s memory is but a fruit or product of her people’s collective memories, sown, and harvested over many generations. And, for many of us, childhood Christmases are a great part of such collective memories.

Many have noted the sadness and depression experienced by many in America during the Christmas season. Mental health professionals offer many reasons for this, including loneliness, anger at perceived commercialization of the season, subliminal envy at seeing or perceiving a joy in others, and more.

Perhaps a major reason for sadness is the nostalgia brought forth by childhood memories, especially those of Christmas, and a longing for recreating such times now, as older adults. Of course, one cannot re-puff soufflé, and if that is one’s goal, it will be met with failure.

Nevertheless, that does not mean one would do wrong to pause, dim the lights, sit on the sofa or easy chair, contemplate the Christmas tree, and remember those childhood days of Christmas….

Standing next to the diminutive Mrs. Bebita de La Torre singing “Noche de Paz” in the club on Christmas Eve. She was very short, but I was lots shorter than she at the time. I know, because her beautiful voice drew my attention and I could not help but look up to see her singing.

Rehearsing our school Christmas plays. Learning the words of Christmas hymns, especially as we rehearsed in the home of Mrs. Shingler, who worked indefatigably to make us all feel at home and whose visage immediately comes to mind whenever I think of Christmases in El Pao.

Receiving my aunt and uncle and cousins on Christmas Day. We would repay the visit on New Year’s Day by driving to their home in San Félix.

Bing Crosby, Perry Como, and Frank Sinatra singing Christmas Hymns and The Robert Shaw Chorale doing so more magnificently. Listening to Nat King Cole sing “The Christmas Song”, and not wondering how he knew I was hoping to see reindeer.

Accompanying my mother to set up the record player in the small church in the labor camp and play Handel’s Messiah, an event which attracted many in the camp to the church building to listen to a free concert.

Waking up on Christmas Days over the years of childhood and finding a silver bike, a roller coaster (I still can’t believe my father put that together overnight in the back yard), water rockets, a Lionel Ho electric train, a German-made rifle … opening presents around the tree.

Hearing the preacher caution us to remember that many children get nothing for Christmas and to be compassionate and to share.

Receiving visitors from households in the camp; they’d come and go, offering Christmas greetings and, often, gifts.

Visits by the aguinalderos with their expert musicianship and their hilarious lyrics; rewarded by my father with generous tips.

Childhood friends and their parents, many of whom are now gone.

Reading the Christmas story from Luke as we sat before the Christmas tree, and much, much more.

Those memories are not unique. What I mean is they are memories that are replicated numberless times over generations, with variations due to location and family traditions. Multiplied by the million, they serve to create mystical bonds across time and space that provide a common “pull”, a common experience, a common or shared memory. In this case, an American and Venezuelan memory.

For me, the pull of the land is in large measure the pull of memory. Not just childhood memory, but generational memories even of those whom I have never met but whose lives and works I and my generation inherited. That pull is strong; it is even felt by short-term visitors to Venezuela.

Others may be able to develop this much further than I.

But for now, it is important to point out that memories in and of themselves are not what bring joy. Memories are not the source of joy although their origins do proceed from that Source. Material things or events do not engender joy. Joy does not even spring from a happy childhood, as magical as that can be. Joy issues from the Person for Whom Christmas is named: Jesus Christ, God in the flesh.

He is the foundation for all that is good in our lives, whether or not we recognize it.

While it is true that, as some have so eloquently noted, the Christianity of mid-century America tended to be bland or generic, it was nevertheless recognized and honored. To attack Christmas in that time would have resulted in an invitation to leave town. That has changed, of course, but the memory is still there and is still strong. That explains the frenetic attempts to erase it.

But we can strengthen that generational memory by building, not on the manifestations of the memory, but on its Foundation: Jesus the Christ and His eternal Word. And as we build, the fruits will manifest themselves not only in evidences many of us remember fondly from our childhoods, but in many more that our children and grandchildren will remember and appreciate.

His Word promises this.

And after all, He is the Word made flesh.

Merry Christmas to all!