Latin American Independence

How it all started… Spain and Portugal held colonies in the Americas without any threat to their rule. This changed in the 1800s. The change was inspired by the American and French revolutions.

The social order in the American colonies… PeninsularesCreolesMestizosMulattos Peninsulares: people born in Spain or Portugal Creoles: sons/daughters of people born in Spain or Portugal Mestizos: people of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry Mulattos: people of mixed African and European descent and enslaved Africans

How did people feel? Unless you were a peninsulare, you hated Spanish and Portuguese rule. You had no power to change anything. However, Spain and Portugal were weakened by Napolean’s wars, so now there was a chance for change.

Where did the revolutions start? Haiti Colony belonged to France- made their wealth in sugar and coffee France was busy with their revolution and wars. Leader of rebellion = Toussaint L’Ouverture led the enslaved Africans 1804- Haiti became the first colony south of the US to win independence

What’s next? Mexico Leaders= 2 priests, Hidalgo and Morelos Led mestizos and Native Americans in a revolution against Spain 1823- Mexico declares themselves a republic ***Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua also announce independence from Spain that same year***

And then? South America Leader: Jose de san Martin freed Argentina Leader: Simon Bolivar led revolts in Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, and Ecuador Leaders: Martin and Bolivar joined forces to free Peru from Spanish rule By the end of 1824, nearly all of South America had revolted and gained independence through revolutions

Brazil was different… Brazil won their independence from Portugal in a bloodless revolution. They were the only colony to achieve independence this way.

Challenges to freedom… Colonies had never been free before, so they didn’t know what to do. There were huge social divisions and lack of trust within the colonies. Power rested in the hands of landowners (oligarchy), which made people want democracy. Caudillos dictators ruled by military force in some areas who did nothing to help the poor Meanwhile, US and Europe were going through industrial revolutions, so they turned to Latin America for cheap labor and markets.

Conclusion: It took Latin American countries a really long time to fully gain their independence. Think of it more like a marathon than a sprint…independence does not come easy.