Secret Wars and Secret Policies in the Americas, 1842-1929

The conflicts that culminated in the First and Second World Wars had their origins in the rise of imperial powers in North America, Europe, and Asia in the late nineteenth century and the imperialist quests for the resources of colonies and former colonies. American expansionists, encouraged by a growing U.S. Navy, nurtured U.S. policies with illusions of easy access to South America. Policy makers in the fledgling empires of Germany, Japan, Spain, and Italy relied on clandestine means to rival U.S. ambitions. In this original and thoroughly researched book, based on new sources from previously unused collections in Germany and Spain, Friedrich E. Schuler details their attempts to suborn ethnic groups within Latin America but also the United States to establish ethnic "beachheads" that would serve to undermine U.S. interests. These deeply disturbing lessons became central historical reference points for U.S. policy makers during World War II. Not surprisingly, though rarely covered in Latin American historiography, Latin American nations, but also Spain, developed their own plans to exploit these imperialist rivalries after World War I. The resulting intrigue and subterfuge revealed in this revisionist study add a fascinating new dimension to our understanding of transpacific and transatlantic politics during this critical period of world history. ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS Friedrich E. Schuler is professor of history at Portland State University. ACCLAIM "Latin American, diplomatic, and military historians will benefit from this book. Espionage 'buffs' will enjoy it as well. Adding to their interest will be Schuler's wonderful array of historical photographs." --The Americas Cover Contents Acknowledgments Introduction I. IMPERIAL POWERS TURN ETHNIC PEOPLE INTO A SECURITY THREAT (1860–1914) 1. Before European and Japanese Governments Manipulated Immigrants in the Americas 2. Becoming Useful: The First Japanese and German Experiments with Ethnic Manipulations in the West 3. Mexico Discovers Japan as a Potential Strategic Wedge against the United States II. THE SECRET WARFARE THAT ESTABLISHED THE BENCHMARK FOR FUTURE ALLIED WAR FEARS (1910–18) 4. The Mexican Revolution: The First Complex Japanese Policy in Latin America beyond Diplomacy 5. Four Waves of Secret Warfare 6. Japan’s Navy Exploits the Opportunities World War I Offers 7. President Carranza Explores Warfare against the United States: Certainly Not a Victim 8. The War Breaks All Certainties of Imperialism: The Battle of Jutland and the Collapse of Allied War Financing 9. The Zimmerman Telegram and Its Aftermath: A Research Update 10. Argentina’s President Hipólito Irigoyen: Personalist Hispanista Secret Diplomacy III. IN EXPECTATION OF FAILURE OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS (1919–22) 11. Venustiano Carranza and Japanese Spies Move Next to Ethnic Businessmen and Emigrants in Latin America (1919–22) 12. Argentina Imagines Arming Itself in the Midst of More Japanese Spying IV. NOT ACTING AS U.S., BRITISH, AND FRENCH POLITICAL IDEALISTS HAD HOPED (1922–24) 13. Latin American Diplomats Assert a Policy of Armed Peace 14. Italian, German, and Japanese Governments and Soviet Communists Resume Manipulations of Ethnic Communities and Workers in the Americas (1923) 15. Spain’s Elites Lay the Foundations for a Global Iberian Commonwealth V. FORGING MILITARY CONNECTIONS FOR THE TRANSNATIONAL FASCISM OF THE 1930S (1925–28) 16. Now That We Can Arm Freely 17. Primo de Rivera and Alfonso XIII Exploit Germany’s Secret Rearmament VI. IN PLACE OF AN END: A SKETCH OF THE NEW ROUND OF SECRET ACTIVITIES Notes Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

The conflicts that culminated in the First and Second World Wars had their origins in the rise of imperial powers in North America, Europe, and Asia in the late nineteenth century and the imperialist quests for the resources of colonies and former colonies. American expansionists, encouraged by a growing U.S. Navy, nurtured U.S. policies with illusions of easy access to South America. Policy makers in the fledgling empires of Germany, Japan, Spain, and Italy relied on clandestine means to rival U.S. ambitions. In this original and thoroughly researched book, based on new sources from previously unused collections in Germany and Spain, Friedrich E. Schuler details their attempts to suborn ethnic groups within Latin America but also the United States to establish ethnic "beachheads" that would serve to undermine U.S. interests. These deeply disturbing lessons became central historical reference points for U.S. policy makers during World War II.

Not surprisingly, though rarely covered in Latin American historiography, Latin American nations, but also Spain, developed their own plans to exploit these imperialist rivalries after World War I. The resulting intrigue and subterfuge revealed in this revisionist study add a fascinating new dimension to our understanding of transpacific and transatlantic politics during this critical period of world history.

The intrigue and subterfuge revealed in this revisionist study add a fascinating new dimension to our understanding of transpacific and transatlantic politics following World War I