Latin American Independence
The causes of Independence
The American Revolution, the French Revolution and the Spanish War of Independence
Great Britain gave financial assistance to the supporters of independence
The influence of Enlightenment ideas
the Creole bourgeoisie wanted political and economic control of the colonies and an end to their dependence on Spain when it came to trade
Because they wanted to end Spain's dominance of trade with America
The sequence of events
The independence movements began during the Spanish War of Independence
The colonies refused to accept Joseph I as King of Spain
The councils declared their autonomy and in some viceroyalties, the idea of independence began to spread
In the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico)
A priest called Hidalgo led a social uprising of Indians and mestizos against the Spanish authorities in 1810
In the Viceroyalty of New Granada (Santa Fe de Bogotá) and the Captaincy General of Venezuela
Simón Bolívar led a liberal bourgeois revolution which ended with the proclamation of the First Venezuelan Republic
In the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (Buenos Aires)
General José de San Martín led a series of revolts which spread from Argentina, across Chile, Uruguay and to the Viceroyalty of Peru
When Fernando VII returned to the throne
He sent troops to America to end the revolts
There was also political instability in Spain at that time
The military victories of José de San Martín and the Chilean General O'Higgins at Chacabuco and Maipú led to Chile's independence
Simón Bolívar defeated the Spanish at Carabobo and Pichincha
The military victory of General Sucre at Ayacucho led to the independence of Peru and Bolivia
The consequences of independence
The consequences of Latin American independence were disastrous for Spain
Spain lost its hegemony over Latin America
The loss of the American colonies dramatically reduced Spain's international prestige and power
The Spanish economy suffered, especially the Catalan manufacturing industry, as Spain lost its trade monopoly over the American colonies
The consequences for the new South American countries were different
The Creole bourgeoisie gained the political and economic power it had been fighting for
New countries were formed, such as Venezuela, Argentina and Mexico
Most of the new republics now came under the influence of Great Britain
The establishment of free trade damaged the economies of many countries as they were unable to compete with European and
North American products