Latin American wars of independence

American Revolution

The rebellion by the Thirteen Colonies in lower British North America from Great Britain was shifted by several factors, including a number of imposed taxes, repressive acts, and the lack of American representation in British government. This infuriated many colonists, and eventually became the spark that ignited the American Revolutionary War. Initial fighting began in 1775 and lasted until October 1781, when with French aid under Lafayette defeated the British army. British General Cornwallis surrendered in Yorktown, Virginia. The American colonists subsequently, coming after or later, founded a federated republican government grounded in Enlightenment thought. A wave of revolutions followed the conclusion of the American Revolution. The remaining portion of British North America (Upper and Lower Canada) remained loyal to the British crown.

French Revolution

The French Revolution (1789–1799) started during the storming of the Bastille, and was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on Enlightenment principles of democracy, citizenship, and inalienable rights. These changes were accompanied by violent turmoil, including executions and repression during the Reign of Terror, and warfare involving every other major European power.

Napoleonic Wars

Evolving from the wars that Revolutionary France fought with the rest of Europe, the Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought between France (led by Napoleon Bonaparte) and alliances involving Britain, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Russia and Austria at different times, from 1799 to 1815.

In the case of Spain and its colonies, in May 1808, Napoleon captured Carlos IV and King Fernando VII and installed his own brother, Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish Throne because he didn't want anyone outside of his own bloodline to rule Spain. This pivotal point greatly disrupted the political stability of both Spain and its colonies. Cities throughout Spain and its colonies in America each formed governing bodies primarily consisting of local elites. These ruling local elites were called juntas and their underlying principal in taking power over their communities was that "in absence of the king, Fernando VII, their sovereignty devolved temporarily back to the community." The juntas swore loyalty to the captive Fernando VII and each ruled different and diverse parts of the colony. Most of Fernando's subjects were loyal to him in 1808, but after he was restored to the Spanish crown in 1814, his policy of restoring absolute power alienated both the juntas and his subjects. He abrogated the Cadiz Constitution of 1812 and persecuted anyone who had supported it. The violence used by royalist forces and the prospect of being ruled by Fernando shifted the majority of the colonist population in favor of separation from Spain.

Spanish military presence in its colonies

The royalists were the American and European supporters of King Ferdinand. Americans and formed the royalist army, with Americans composing 9% of the royalist forces in all fronts. There were two types of units: the expeditionary units created in Spain and militias created in the Americas. The militias included some veteran units (called the disciplined militia). Only 11% of the personnel in the militias were European or American whites.

After Rafael del Riego's revolution, in 1820, no more Spanish soldiers were sent to the wars in the Americas. In 1820 there were only 10,001 Spanish soldiers in the Americas, and Spaniards formed only 10% of all the royalist armies, and only half of the soldiers of the expeditionary units were European. By the Battle of Ayacucho in 1824, less than 1% of the soldiers were European.

Other factors

Other factors included Enlightenment thinking. The Enlightenment spurred the desire for social and economic reform to spread throughout Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula. Ideas about free trade and physiocratic economics were raised by the Enlightenment.

Portuguese America

After several failed revolts, The Portuguese colony of Brazil declared independence, forming a separate, local Empire founded by Prince Regent Dom Pedro I. The war between the Brazilians and Portuguese lasted from February 1822, with the burst of first skirmishes between militias, to November 1823, when the last Portuguese garrisons surrendered. The Brazilian Empire lasted until a coup in 1889 overthrew the monarchy leading to its current status as a republic.

Spanish America

The crisis of political legitimacy in Spain with the Napoleonic invasion sparked reaction in Spain's overseas empire. The outcome in Spanish America was that most of the region achieved political independence and instigated the creation of sovereign nations. The areas that were most recently formed as viceroyalties were the first to achieve independence, with the old centers of Spanish power in Mexico and Peru with strong and entrenched institutions and elites were the last to achieve independence in this era. The two exceptions to independence were the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico, which with the Philippines, remained Spanish colonies until the 1898 Spanish-America War.

Argentina

After the defeat of Spain in the Peninsular War and the abdication King Ferdinand VII, the Spanish colonial government of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, became greatly weakened. Without a rightful king in the Spanish throne to render the office of the Viceroy as legitimate, the right of Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros to govern came under fire. The local elites, tired of the Spanish trade restrictions and taxes, seized the opportunity and during the May Revolution of 1810, removed Cisneros and created the first local government, the Primera Junta.

Following a half a decade of battles and skirmishes with provincial royalist forces within the former Vice-royalty along with military expeditions across the Andes to Chile, Peru and Bolivia led by General José de San Martín to finally end Spanish rule in America, a formal declaration was signed on July 9, 1816 by an assembly in San Miguel de Tucumán, declaring full independence with provisions for a national constitution. The Argentine Constitution was signed in 1853, declaring the creation of the Argentine Republic.

Bolivia

Bolivia proclaimed independence from Spain in 1809, during two separate revolutions. One in Chuquisaca on May 25, 1809 and one on July 16, 1809 (the latter clearly breaking all ties with Spain). Sixteen years of struggle followed before the establishment of the republic.

The fight for independence culminated in the Battle of Ayacucho, on December 9, 1824, when a combined Colombian-Peruvian army of 7,000 under the command of Sucre defeated José de la Serna's Spanish army of 10,000. The republicans suffered more than 1,000 casualties, but the Spanish suffered more than 2,000 casualties and more than 2,000 captured, among them La Serna. The Spanish surrender came the next day.

The Caribbean

Independence movements in South America can be traced back to slave revolts in plantations in the northern-most part of the continent and Caribbean. In 1791, a massive slave revolt sparked a general insurrection against the plantation system and French colonial power. These events were followed by a violent uprising led by José Leonardo Chirino and José Caridad González that sprung up in 1795 Venezuela, allegedly inspired by the revolution in Haiti.

When Mexico achieved its independence in 1821 with the Treaty of Córdoba, the Captaincy General of Guatemala that had ruled Central America became politically independent as well, without the necessity of violent struggle. Guatemala declared its own independence September 15, 1821, likely to prevent the Mexican Army of the Three Guarantees from "liberating" Guatemala and over-riding nascent local autonomy. However, Guatemala chose to the annexed to the First Mexican Empire, led by royalist-turned-insurgent military leader Agustín de Iturbide, who was proclaimed emperor of Mexico in 1822. When Iturbide abdicated from the monarchy and Mexico took steps to be a republic, Central America claimed its independence.

Chile

On September 18, 1810 Chile broke from the Spanish rule, declaring independence (although they were theoretically loyal to the king Ferdinand the seventh of Spain, then a captive of the French.). The declaration lead to a decade of violence and warring until the royalist strong hold collapsed in 1826. The Chilean Independence Day is on September 18.

The Chilean Independence movement was led by Chilean-born criollos, who sought political and economic independence from Spain. The movement for independence was far from gaining unanimous support among Chileans, who became divided between independentists and royalists. What started as an elitist political movement against their colonial master, finally ended as a full-fledged civil war. Traditionally, the process is divided into three stages: Patria Vieja, Reconquista, and Patria Nueva.

Colombia

By the end of 1815, the independence movements that began in Venezuela where starting to fade. The large military expedition under the loyalist Pablo Morillo managed to recapture Venezuela and most of New Granada while the Bolívar's intent of annexation of Colombia in 1816 was failing miserably.

Years later, in June and July 1819 Bolívar's forces crossed the Andes from the Venezuelan Llanos into New Granada. At the Battle of Boyacá on August 7, his army of 3,000 defeated a Spanish and colonial force of 2,500. On August 10, 1820, Bolívar's forces took Bogotá. Upon his return to Venezuela, he became the first president of the Gran Colombia only to leave immediately for Peru to fight the last Spanish stronghold.

Ecuador

The first uprising against Spanish rule took place in 1809, and criollos in Ecuador set up a junta on September 22, 1810 to rule in the name of the Bourbon monarch; but as elsewhere, it allowed assertion of their own power. Only in 1822 did Ecuador fully gain independence and became part of Gran Colombia, from which it withdrew in 1830. At the Battle of Pichincha, near present-day Quito, Ecuador on May 24, 1822, General Antonio José de Sucre's forces defeated a Spanish force defending Quito. The Spanish defeat guaranteed the liberation of Ecuador.

Mexico

Independence in Mexico was a protracted struggle from 1808 until the fall of royal government in 1821 and the establishment of independent Mexico. In the Viceroyalty of New Spain, as elsewhere in Spanish America in 1808, reacted to the unexpected French invasion of the Iberian peninsula and the ouster of the Bourbon king, replaced by Joseph Bonaparte. Local American-born Spaniards saw the opportunity to seize local control from Viceroy José de Iturrigaray, who may well have been sympathetic to creoles aspirations. Iturrigaray was ousted by pro-royalists. A few creole elites sought independence, including Juan Aldama, and Ignacio Allende, but especially secular parish priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. Hidalgo made a proclamation in his home parish of Dolores, which was not recorded in writing at the time, but denounced bad government and gachupines (pejorative for peninsular-born Spaniards), and declared independence. The unorganized hordes following Hidalgo wrought destruction on property and the lives of whites in the region of the Bajío. Hidalgo was caught, defrocked, and executed in 1811, along with Allende. Their heads remained on display until 1821. His former student José María Morelos continued the rebellion and was himself caught and killed in 1815.

The struggle of Mexican insurgents continued under the leadership of Vicente Guerrero and Guadalupe Victoria. From 1815 to 1820 there was a stalemate in New Spain, with royalist forces unable to defeat the insurgents and the insurgents unable to expand beyond their narrow territory in the southern region. Again, events in Spain intervened, with an uprising of military men against Ferdinand VII and the restoration of the liberal Spanish Constitution of 1812, which mandated a constitutional monarchy and curtailed the power of the Roman Catholic Church. The monarch had repudiated the constitution once the Spanish monarchy was restored in 1814. For conservatives in New Spain, these changed political circumstances threatened the institutions of church and state. Royal military officer Agustín de Iturbide seized the opportunity to lead, making an alliance with his former enemy Guerrero. Iturbide proclaimed the Plan de Iguala, which called for independence, equality of peninsular and American-born Spaniards, and a monarchy. He persuaded the insurgent Guerrero to form an alliance with him and creating the Army of the Three Guarantees. Crown rule in New Spain collapsed, with the incoming Viceroy Juan O'Donojú signing the Treaty of Córdoba, recognizing Mexico's sovereignty. With no European monarch presenting himself for the crown of Mexico, Iturbide himself was proclaimed emperor Agustin I in 1822. He was overthrown in 1823 and Mexico was established as a republic. Decades of political and economic instability ensued.

Uruguay

Following the events of the May Revolution, in 1811 José Gervasio Artigas, launched a successful revolt against the Spanish forces in the Provincia Oriental, now Uruguay, joining the independentist movement that was taking place in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata at the time. In 1821, the Provincia Oriental was invaded by Portugal, trying to annex it into Brazil under the name of Província Cisplatina.

The former Vice-royalty of the Río de la Plata, The United Provinces of the River Plate, fought back Brazil in a war that lasted over 2 years, eventually turning into a stalemate. The Brazilian forces withdrew with the United Provinces keeping them at bay but failing to win any decisive victory. With neither side gained the upper hand and the economic burden of the war crippling the United Provinces economy, the Treaty of Montevideo was signed in 1828. Fostered by Britain, declaring Uruguay as an independent state.

Paraguay

Paraguay gained its independence on the night of May 14 and the morning of May 15, 1811, after a plan organized by various pro-independence nationalists including Fulgencio Yegros and José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia.

Peru

Spain initially had the support of the Lima oligarchs because of their opposition to the commercial interests of Buenos Aires and Chile. Therefore, the Viceroyalty of Peru became the last redoubt of the Spanish Monarchy in South America. Nevertheless, a Creole rebellion arose in 1812 in Huánuco and another in Cusco between 1814 and 1816. Both were suppressed. These rebellions were supported by the armies of Buenos Aires.

Peru finally succumbed after the decisive continental campaigns of José de San Martín (1820–1823) and Simón Bolívar (1824). While San Martin was in charge of the land campaign, a newly built Chilean Navy led by Lord Cochrane transported the fighting troops and launched a sea campaign against the Spanish fleet in the Pacific. San Martín, who had displaced the royalists of Chile after the Battle of Maipú, and who had disembarked in Paracas in 1820, proclaimed the independence of Peru in Lima on July 28, 1821. Four years later, the Spanish Monarchy was defeated definitively at the Battle of Ayacucho.

After independence, the conflicts of interests that faced different sectors of Creole Peruvian society and the particular ambitions of the caudillos, made the organization of the country excessively difficult. Only three civilians—Manuel Pardo, Nicolás de Piérola and Francisco García Calderón—acceded to the presidency in the first seventy-five years of Peru's independence. The Republic of Bolivia was created from Upper Peru. In 1837 a Peru-Bolivian Confederation was also created but was dissolved two years later due to Chilean military intervention.

Venezuela

Verde defeated the Venezuelan revolutionary army, led by Francisco de Miranda, which surrendered at La Victoria on July 12, 1812, ending the first phase of the revolutionary war.

After his defeat in 1812, Simón Bolívar fled to New Granada. He later returned with a new army, while the war had entered a tremendously violent phase. After much of the local aristocracy had abandoned the cause of independence, blacks and mulattoes carried on the struggle. Elites reacted with open distrust and opposition to the efforts of these common people. Bolívar's forces invaded Venezuela from New Granada in 1813, waging a campaign with a ferocity captured perfectly by their motto of "war to the death". Bolívar's forces defeated Domingo Monteverde's Spanish army in a series of battles, taking Caracas on August 6, 1813 and besieging Monteverde at Puerto Cabello in September 1813.

With loyalists displaying the same passion and violence, the rebels achieved only short-lived victories. The army led by the loyalist José Tomás Boves demonstrated the key military role that the Llaneros came to play in the region's struggle. Turning the tide against independence, these highly mobile, ferocious fighters made up a formidable military force that pushed Bolívar out of his home country once more. In 1814, heavily reinforced Spanish forces in Venezuela lost a series of battles to Bolívar's forces but then decisively defeated Bolivar at La Puerta on June 15, took Caracas on July 16, and again defeated his army at Aragua on August 18, at a cost of 2,000 Spanish casualties out of 10,000 soldiers as well as most of the 3,000 in the rebel army. Bolívar and other leaders then returned to New Granada. Later that year the largest expeditionary force ever sent by Spain to America arrived under the command of Pablo Morillo. This force effectively replaced the improvised llanero units, who were disbanded by Morillo.

Bolívar and other republican leaders returned to Venezuela in December 1816, leading a largely unsuccessful insurrection against Spain from 1816 to 1818 from bases in the Llanos and Ciudad Bolívar in the Orinoco River area.

In 1819 Bolívar successfully invaded New Granada, and returned to Venezuela in April 1821, leading a large army of 7,000. At Carabobo on June 24, his forces decisively defeated Spanish and colonial forces, winning Venezuelan independence, although hostilities continued.