Chapter 4; Independence

Napoleonic Catalyst for Revolution

  • 1807

    • napolean invades protugal, portuguese royal family flees to brazil making rio temporary capital of portuguese empire

  • 1808

    • napolean invades spain, removes king ferdinand and installs his brother as king

  • 1810-1915

    • initial independence movements emerge across spanish america in response to legitimacy crisis

  • 1824

    • battle of ayacha makes decisive end of spanish power in south america

  • napoloeans invasion of portugal and spain created unprecendent political vacuum in latin america

    • colonies face legitimacy crisis, opened the door of creole elites to question who held authority

creole response and cabildos abiertos

  • political opportunity

    • creole elites used open town councils to claim power while maintaining nominal loyalty to deposed king ferdinand

  • lemited goals

    • most creoles sought political independce from spain but were reluctuant to dismantle colonial social order or caste system

  • strategic positioning

    • assemblies, though framed as loyalist, laid groundwork for indepence movements across spanish america

    • reflected creoles frustartion with peninsular (spanish born) dominance while preserving their privilged position in the colonial hiearchy

mexicos radical beginning

  • father miguel hidalgo (1810)

    • ralied indigenous and nestizo peasents under the virgin of guadalupe banner; rebellion became violent and lost creole support

  • hidalgos execution (1811)

    • captured and executed after initial successes, but rev spark continued

  • father jose maria morelos (1811-1815)

    • offer more focused agenda, end slavery, abolish caste system, eliminate indigenous tribute

  • morelos defeat (1815)

    • without elite backing, his disciplined insurgency was ultimately defeated and he was executed

revolutionary rhetoric: uniting diverse populations

  • nativism

    • leaders promoted unifying identity of americanos that encompassed all american born people against foreign peninsular elites, regardless of racial background

  • popular sovereignty

    • revolutionary concept that legitimate political authority arises from the people themselves became a powerful mobilizing idea

  • inclusive discourse

    • unlike the u.s revolution, latin american indpendence movements included racially diverse pops in their nationalist discourse

regional paths to independence

  • peru

    • creole elites remained cautious and loyal to spain longer

  • brazil

    • unique path; portuguese royal court relocated to rio; prince pedro declared independence and became emperor pedro

  • rio de la plata

    • early independence; regions economic orientation toward atlantic trade fueled seperatist sentiment

the liberation campaigns

  • simon bolivar’s northern campaign

    • venezuelan creole led forces thru andes, securing decisive victories at boyaca and carabobo, liberating colombia, venezuela, ecuador, and later bolivia

  • jose de san martins southern campaign

    • agentine general led forces across andes into chile and peru meeting with bolivar in guayaquil

  • battle of ayachuco

outcomes and contradictions

  • political independence (most of latin america gained independence by 1825

  • social continuity (colonial hiearchies largely preserved)

  • peristant inequality (slavery and informal caste systems continued)

  • creole dominance (new nations ruled by american born white elites)