Latin American Independence: Causes and Key Figures

Factors in the Latin American Independence Movement

Several factors influenced the Latin American independence process:

• The example of U.S. independence.
• New ideas of liberty, contrary to the old regime.
• The modernization that affected all of Europe during the Napoleonic Empire.
• The power vacuum that occurred during the French occupation of the Iberian Peninsula.
• The military and political weakness of Spain after 1814.

The Creoles (ijos, children of Spanish and Portuguese) led the emancipation processes. There were areas where the population was almost entirely Creole or white, while in others, the indigenous population was the majority. In Brazil and the Caribbean, Black slaves predominated. The leaders of the economy and politics of these societies were Creoles.

The First Revolutions

The power vacuum created by the transfer of the Spanish royal family to France provoked the same reaction that had occurred in Spain: the creation of governing juntas. In Buenos Aires, a junta formed in May 1810 by local patricians successfully extended its influence into the interior. Artigas led an individual government in Uruguay, and Rodriguez of France led a double independence from Spain and the Junta of Buenos Aires in Paraguay. In Chile, O'Higgins took the lead of a junta. These processes were repeated in major cities; in this way, the natives began a first experience of self-government.

In 1811, a conference of notables met in Caracas, proclaiming independence and adopting a federal constitution. The independence leader Simon Bolivar played a prominent role in this event. Another colonial capital, Santa Fe de Bogota, broke ties with the metropolis and convened a national congress of the territories of New Granada.

In Mexico, the first independence movements had a peasant character, led by priests Miguel Hidalgo and Jose Maria Morelos. Although independence was proclaimed in 1813, the affluent Creole and Spanish army liquidated the revolt and its leaders between 1814 and 1816. The American Revolution suffered a major setback.