Latin American Revolutions

Review- Age of Exploration Through imperialism, the Spanish had established colonies throughout the Americas Established the Encomienda system to force the native population to work for them The Spanish became incredibly wealthy through mercantilism, benefiting from the riches of their colonies in South and Mesoamerica Imperialism- domination of one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country or region Mercantilism- policy by which a nation sought to export more than it imported in order to build its supply of gold and silver

Latin America- Mexico, Central America, and South America

Discontent The people of Latin America were frustrated with the social, racial and political system they were forced under for the past 300 years. The peninsulares controlled society while the natives were forced into slavery through the Encomienda system Enlightenment ideas reached Latin America through educated creoles who read the writings of Enlightenment thinkers and became inspired by the successes of the American and French Revolutions

Catalyst for Change The people of Spanish-controlled Latin America saw the opportunity for rebellion when Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808 Napoleon made his brother Joseph king of Spain, and Latin American leaders saw that as a sign of Spain’s weakness. With Spain preoccupied with the French, the opportunity for them to demand independence from colonial rule had arrived.

Haiti’s Revolution Haiti was a profitable sugar colony for the French in the 1700s that relied on slavery Toussaint L’Ouverture, a self-educated former slave, helped lead a rebellion against the French forces and the enslaved Haitians were set free in 1789 —but Haiti was still a French colony In 1802 Napoleon sent troops to try to regain control of the colony, and this time L’Ouverture fought for full independence, but he was caught and shipped to France as a prisoner, where he died before Haiti became fully free in 1804

Mexico In Mexico, a creole priest named Miguel Hidalgo began a campaign to gain freedom from Spanish rule He inspired a ragged army of mestizos and Native Americans to march to Mexico City. They demanded freedom, an end to slavery and better living conditions for natives However, the creoles soon felt threatened that their way of life would be jeopardized by major social reforms Hidalgo was captured and executed less than a year after the revolution started Calls for reform continued until the Natives overthrew Spanish rule in the 1820s, though life did not change much for the Mexicans

South America An educated creole, Simon Bolivar, was inspired by the French and American revolutions. In 1810 he led an uprising in Venezuela. He was easily crushed. However, Bolivar created a daring plan to cross the Andes and attack the Spanish at Bogota (Columbia). He won, and earned the nickname “The Liberator”. After his success in Columbia Simon Bolivar moved south into Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. He joined forces with Jose de San Martin, another creole general, and together they defeated the Spanish throughout South America.

South American Failure After the wars of independence were over, Bolivar attempted to unite South America into one nation: Gran Colombia However, bitter rivalries made that impossible, and Gran Colombia split into various different countries Power struggles among rival leaders led to destructive civil wars, and the wars for independence left the people of South America with limited resources It would take decades for the nations of South America to create stable governments