There are many ways and means by which nations can modernize and adapt to rapidly changing times. However, While countries attempted and proposed different means of modernization throughout the discussed time period, many nations looked to reshape not just technology and innovation, but identities and values as well. However, one can essentially lump these conquests into two basic ideas of modernization. The first deals with exploited states had to adapt and grow if they wanted to remain in the mix and have a stable structure on which to run. The second deals with westernization. These two theories overall shape the process of modernization in 1900.
In The Export Boom of Modernity, the discussion of Latin American modernization is somewhat unique compared to the rest of the world. They had to struggle out of the poverty and end of slavery that had come with the previous centuries. Their important exports such as sugar, rubber, copper, etc. were all needed in the North during the time. Much like the Brazil in-class lecture, port cities began a period of urbanization and rapid growth with Latin America as whole.
However, for some countries this growth had been in the works for some time now. Mexico was a prime example. President Porfirio Díaz’s 34 year reign from the 1800’s into the 1900’s showed expansion, promise, and much more. Infrastructure and public projects were at an all-time high. Similarly, Argentina was also one of the most prosperous countries at the beginning of the 1900’s. Their sleek, modern city of Buenos Aires along with its massive population growth shot Argentina up the list. Through photography, the concept of modernity intensified greatly. There is much power in high quality images. The revolution of type photographs was essential to the identities of different places.
Through all this, the modernization of the 1900’s became a quickly growing trend and helped eventually globalize and form the world we see today.