Latin American Independence Movements

Vocabulary practice cards outlining key figures, treaties, concepts, battles, and institutions from the Spanish-American and Brazilian independence movements.

Plan de Iguala

A 1821 political manifesto formulated by Agustín de Iturbide with three core guarantees: independence from the Spanish Crown, the supremacy of the Roman Catholic Church, and equality between peninsulares and creoles.

Treaty of Córdoba

The agreement signed between Agustín de Iturbide and Spanish political chief Juan O’Donojú that formally recognized an independent Mexican sovereign state.

Agustín de Iturbide

The military commander who forged a coalition between creoles, peninsulares, the Catholic hierarchy, and royalist troops under the Plan de Iguala, later becoming Emperor of Mexico in 1822.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

An image of the Virgin Mary appearing to Juan Diego in 1531 that became a religious and political rallying symbol for the Mexican masses seeking independence, social equality, and agrarian reform.

Francisco de Miranda

A Venezuelan revolutionary precursor who initiated a localized war for independence against Spanish colonial rule in 1806.

José Tomás Boves

A Spanish royalist officer who led a largely mixed-race army against creole patriots, captured Caracas in 1814, and brought down the First Republic of Venezuela.

Alexandre Pétion

The president of Haiti who supplied Simón Bolívar with money, weapons, and volunteers under the condition that Bolívar expand the independence struggle to include the emancipation of enslaved people.

British Legions

Foreign volunteer military brigades consisting primarily of Napoleonic War veterans and German soldiers who fought under Simón Bolívar at pivotal engagements such as Vargas Swamp, Boyacá, and Carabobo.

Guayaquil Conference

The sole historical meeting between Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín on July 26, 1822, where they discussed differing visions for South American military strategy and governance.

Able Despotism

Simón Bolívar's concept of a strong, centralized, dictatorial executive designed to enforce legal equality and governance over a multi-racial society while guarding against majority class tyranny.

Gran Colombia

The northern South American republic established under the leadership of Simón Bolívar in 1819, originally encompassing modern-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama before dissolving in 1830.

Army of the Andes

The liberation force led by José de San Martín that performed a grueling, high-altitude crossing through the Andes mountains in 1817 to engage royalist forces in Chile and Peru.

Battle of Chacabuco

The February 1817 military engagement in Chile where José de San Martín, Bernardo O'Higgins, and General Soler divided their forces to outmaneuver and defeat the royalist army, enabling the capture of Santiago.

Bernardo O'Higgins

A Chilean revolutionary leader and general who partnered with José de San Martín's Army of the Andes, commanding patriot forces during the victory at Chacabuco.

Dom João

The prince regent and later king of Portugal who relocated the Portuguese royal court to Rio de Janeiro in 1807 under British naval protection, opened Brazilian ports, and elevated Brazil to equal kingdom status in 1815.

Dom Pedro

The son of Dom João left as regent of Brazil who defied the Portuguese Cortes, declared Brazil independent on September 7, 1822, and was crowned its first emperor.

Portuguese Cortes

The parliamentary assembly established after the 1820 revolution in Portugal that drafted a constitution intending to re-establish colonial rule over Brazil and demanded the return of Dom Pedro.

Constitution of 1824 (Brazil)

A centralized constitution enacted by Emperor Dom Pedro following the dissolution of the constituent assembly; it featured an imperial veto, a bicameral legislature with life-tenured senators, and state-sanctioned Catholicism.

Balkanization

The geopolitical phenomenon characterized by the fragmentation or division of a large administrative entity—such as the Spanish viceroyalties—into multiple smaller, independent, and competing states.

Juntas

Autonomous, local governing bodies organized by creoles in 1810 asserting popular sovereignty to govern in the name of the deposed King Ferdinand VII rather than recognizing Joseph Bonaparte.

Grito de Dolores

The proclamation issued on September 16, 1810, by Father Miguel Hidalgo that initiated the Mexican War of Independence, advocating for racial equality, land reform, and an end to Spanish dominion.

Father Miguel Hidalgo

A Mexican parish priest who mobilized roughly 80,000 indigenous and casta peasants in 1810 demanding the abolition of slavery, land redistribution, and the end of tribute before his capture and execution in 1811.

Father José María Morelos

The Mexican insurgent leader and priest who continued the revolution after Hidalgo's death, establishing an independent republic in 1814 infused with Catholicism and the abolition of slavery.

Constitutional Decree for the Liberty of Mexico

An 1814 revolutionary charter drafted under Father José María Morelos that formally declared Mexico an independent republic, mandated Catholicism as the sole faith, and abolished slavery.