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Independence in Latin America
The Latin American Revolutions
The Seeds of Revolt
What were the complaints of creoles living in the Spanish colonies? How did they hope to
change their society?
In 1810, two colonial powers, Spain and Portugal, controlled most of Latin America. Spain had divided its American
possessions into four colonies in North America, Central America, and western South America. Portugal had one large
colony: Brazil. Both controlled their colonies for almost 300 years—longer than the United States has been a nation!
Like Saint-Domingue, society in Spain’s colonies was very unequal. The peninsulares, or colonists born in Spain (the Iberian
Peninsula), held the most political power, holding most of the top government jobs. Creoles, or people born in the Americas
from Spanish ancestors, had the same political rights as peninsulares. However, the Spanish royalty excluded them from
both political office and economic activities. Some creoles became wealthy landowners, while others were craftspeople and
traders. The term “creole” can be confusing because it can also refer to a new language created by mixing two languages.
The language spoken in Haiti – which evolved from French, African languages and indigenous language – is called Haitian
Creole.
Mulattos and mestizos, the children of Spaniard men and either enslaved black or Native American women, had less
political and economic power than peninsulares or creoles. Mestizos often became soldiers, craftspeople, traders, and
laborers. Some mulattos were free, moving into trades and crafts, while others remained enslaved.
Native Americans and enslaved blacks were at the bottom of Spanish society. They worked in the mines, on the plantations,
and in the workshops of the colonies.
Independence Movement
In the Spanish colonies, creoles led the movement toward independence. Many were educated and had read the works of
the Enlightenment philosophers John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Voltaire. They
were intrigued by ideas of self-government and human rights. The French Revolution against the French monarchy and
aristocracy and the American Revolution against Great Britain had inspired them. Creoles were familiar with the U.S.
Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man.
At the same time, the events of the Haitian Revolution had shown creoles the risks of revolutions for the colonial elite.
Creoles did not want their war for independence to turn into a war to end slavery or their social hierarchy, as had happened
in Haiti. They wanted to maintain the status quo, or the way society was, while increasing their power and opening up trade
with other nations.
In 1808, several European powers came into conflict as Napoleon led French attacks on Spain and Portugal. The Spanish
monarchy, preoccupied with events in Europe, was unable to rule the colonies. Creoles took advantage of the monarchy’s
distraction to challenge colonial authority. In many colonial cities, creoles seized power and established juntas, which were
administrative councils that ruled a country. Although loyalist troops overthrew many of them, the movement toward Latin
American independence had begun.
Rebellions and Mexican Independence
What events led to Mexican independence?
Different regions of the Spanish empire had different paths to independence. In Mexico, a creole parish priest named
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla led the first serious revolt against colonial power. In 1810, Hidalgo led a movement of Native
Americans and mestizos against the ruling peninsulares. However, Hidalgo’s army soon began attacking both wealthy
peninsulares and creoles and destroying their property. In 1811, colonial troops defeated Hidalgo’s army and captured
Hidalgo, executing him for his role in the rebellion. Another priest, a mestizo, Jose Maria Morelos, took command of the
rebellion, supporting a new constitution and independence until his capture and execution in 1815.
In 1820, a liberal reform movement in Spain attempted to limit the power of the king, the army, and the church. Mexican
creoles, concerned about the effect of a weakened army and church, joined with some of the former rebels to liberate
Mexico from Spanish rule. Creole general Agustin de Iturbide, who previously had fought with Spain against the rebellion,
joined forces with rebel leader Vicente Guerrero to help secure Mexico’s independence. They formed the Iguala Plan,
named after the city in Mexico where the plan was signed. The agreement called for Mexico to have a constitutional
monarchy independent from Spain and for the Catholic Church and the military to retain all their powers. It also called for
equal rights for peninsulares and creoles, but not any other groups.
Because Iturbide had so many Spanish troops on his side, the Spanish government conceded. Mexico declared
independence in 1821, and Iturbide named himself Emperor of Mexico in 1822. Although Iturbide had been a strong
general, he was not able to unite and govern the new nation. Creole elites overthrew him in 1823 and established a
constitutional republic based on a federal system in 1824.
Political instability between the Centralists, those who supported a strong central government, and the Federalists, those
who supported a weak central government and more power for local militias, plagued Mexico after independence. Military
leaders overthrew the president in a series of coup d’états. Political parties refused to give up power even when losing a
national vote. Property owners controlled the political process. One leader, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, gained and lost
the presidency 11 times.
Mexico was also burdened by economic problems. Mexico had assumed the debts of the Spanish colony upon
independence. The government also had to pay to maintain its large army. Taxes and other government revenues were not
enough to cover Mexico’s expenses. The Mexican government was forced to borrow money from British banks to cover
expenses. Mexico also had to govern an extremely large tract of land that encompassed present-day Mexico, the U.S.
Southwest including California, and much of the Rocky Mountains.
Mexico’s path to independence was different from that of its South American neighbors, but its effects were similar.
South American Rebellions
What events led to independence in South America?
Creoles in South America, like their counterparts in Mexico, were eager to gain more political and economic power. Two
movements, one from the south and one from the north, moved through South America, liberating it from Spanish rule.
Independence in the South
In the southern region of South America, creoles began to gain power in the city of Buenos Aires when they helped the
Spanish government resist a British invasion in 1806. After that, the creoles pushed the Spanish out of Buenos Aires
entirely, forming a junta in 1810 and taking control of the city.
Independence movements continued to spread. In 1817, a creole military leader, Jose de San Martín, led the independence
movement over the Andes mountains and into Chile. His army worked with local rebels to fight the Spanish forces there.
San Martín secured a major victory in 1817 when he led a surprise attack on loyalist forces in Chile, freeing it from Spanish
rule. San Martín then moved his army north along the coast to Peru. There, San Martín ceded the fight to the more
powerful northern rebels, who liberated Peru in 1821 and Bolivia in 1825 from Spanish rule. Because of disagreements
between San Martín and the leader of the northern rebellion over the new governments in these nations, San Martín let
the northern rebels free their own lands.
Independence in the North
At the same time San Martín was marching through the southern region, rebels in the north were fighting for freedom. In
the colony of New Granada, creoles formed juntas in 1810. By 1812, some provinces—including Venezuela—had declared
independence from Spain. However, these independence movements were short-lived. Spanish troops fought to regain
New Granada. By 1815, they had recaptured the territory.
A Venezuelan creole, Simon Bolívar, was one of the key figures of the independence movement. He led troops, participated
in national assemblies, and wrote political statements in favor of independence and Latin American unity. In 1816, he led
the effort to take New Granada from the Spanish. After three more years of fighting, Bolívar turned the tide and defeated
the loyalist forces. Bolívar was made president of the new Republic of Gran Colombia. Bolívar continued fighting Spanish
forces in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
By 1824, the independence movement had won decisive control of Spain’s colonies in South America. The leaders of the
rebel movements formed six independent nations: Gran Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, United Provinces of Rio de la Plata,
and Patagonia. By 1831, Patagonia and the United Provinces became the countries of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
Gran Columbia broke apart to form Columbia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
Independent Latin America
Who benefited from independence? Who did not?
Newly independent Latin American states faced economic, social, and political problems. Some problems had roots in
colonial times, while others came from the new paths nations were charting.
As nations became independent, they mostly formed republics and drafted constitutions. However, leaders put
constitutions aside when political or social crises arose. During the first half-century of independence, the caudillos, or
military dictators, frequently overthrew governments and ruled by force. Most battles were fought among the creole elite,
but the turbulence affected the rest of society. Local rebellions and conflicts with neighboring countries added to the
disorder.
Social classes remained mostly the same as before independence. Leaders of the new nations attempted to eliminate racial
status systems and secure equal rights for whites and people of mixed race. However, social divisions remained. Slavery and
other systems of forced labor were still in use, and white elites held most political and economic power.
Creole merchants had looked forward to independence and the ability to trade with any nation. However, damage from the
independence wars and continuing political instability hurt the new economies. In addition, free trade with foreign
merchants increased competition and hurt local producers. As the 1800s continued, European investors bought Latin
American industries and controlled many sectors of the Latin American economy.