Latin American Independence: Key Phases and Battles

The First Phase of Independence (1808–1815)

It all started after the power vacuum that was created in Spain during the War of Independence. In 1810, various boards were organized, which began to form their own armies and establish diplomatic relations with the United States and Britain. Even liberal revolutionary governments were formed, which promulgated Constitutions and assumed a republican regime.

The return of King Ferdinand VII to the throne in 1814 marked the restoration of Spanish power, which regained all lost territories except the Río de la Plata.

The Second Phase of Independence (1817–1824)

The absolutist restoration of Ferdinand VII was intolerable to the colonies and favored the success of the insurgents.

Liberation of the South and the Andes

The movement began in Argentina, which, under the influence of General San Martín, became independent in the Congress of Tucumán (1816). Later, General San Martín crossed the Andes and won the victory of Chacabuco that sealed the independence of Chile in 1818.

Bolívar and the Creation of Gran Colombia

In the north, Simón Bolívar gained independence for Colombia in 1819 and proclaimed the Angostura Gran Colombia, which he conceived as the germ of the future United States of South America and which later partnered with Venezuela and Ecuador. This personal project subsisted until his death in 1830.

The Final Defeat of Spanish Power

Drawing on the Spanish political instability during the Liberal Triennium, the movement became definitive. In 1821, there was a simultaneous attack from the north and south by Bolívar and San Martín on the Viceroyalty of Peru. The area definitely gained independence after the victory of Ayacucho by Bolívar in 1824, which ended Spanish power in South America.

Mexican Independence and Central America

In Mexico, Agustín de Iturbide proclaimed independence following the principles of the 1821 Plan of Iguala (Catholic religion, racial equality, and constitutional monarchy) and came to be named emperor. Finally, the Mexican Federal Republic was proclaimed in 1824.

Mexican independence was influential in Central America, where they came to proclaim the independence of the United Central Provinces in 1823 as a single State, which broke apart in 1828.