AP® World History: Modern · Unit 5 · Topic 5.2
Latin American Independence
Napoleon's 1808 takeover of Spain broke the colonies' loyalty to the crown, letting creole elites lead independence wars under Bolivar and San Martin, but those elites kept their own power and the old racial hierarchy in place.
Spain held its American empire for three centuries by convincing colonists that the king's authority was legitimate and worth obeying. In 1808 Napoleon forced King Ferdinand VII to abdicate and put his own brother Joseph on the Spanish throne. Colonial elites, mostly creoles (American-born people of Spanish descent), refused to recognize a French puppet king. They formed juntas, local governing councils ruling supposedly in Ferdinand's name. That was the opening. Once creoles got used to governing themselves, many saw no reason to hand power back even after Ferdinand was restored in 1814.
Two military campaigns converged on this opening from opposite directions. Simon Bolivar pushed south from Venezuela and Colombia, winning Ecuador. Jose de San Martin pushed north from Argentina, crossing the Andes to liberate Chile, then sailing to Peru. Their armies met in Peru around 1824, finishing off the last major royalist stronghold. By 1830 the map of Spanish America had gone from one empire to a patchwork of republics: Mexico, Gran Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Chile, and more.
Independence changed who held the title of ruler, not who held the land or the power. Creole elites who led the revolutions stepped into the offices Spanish officials vacated, kept the haciendas, and kept indigenous, enslaved, and mixed-race people at the bottom of the same hierarchy. This matters for what follows: new republics built on colonial-era inequality struggled with instability, since the people doing the work had no real stake in the new nations' politics.
Key terms
- Creole
- A person of Spanish descent born in the Americas, often part of the colonial landowning elite.
- Junta
- A local governing council formed to rule in place of an absent or illegitimate monarch.
- Crisis of legitimacy
- A breakdown in people's belief that a ruler or government has the right to rule.
- Simon Bolivar
- Venezuelan revolutionary leader who led independence campaigns through northern South America into Peru.
- Jose de San Martin
- Argentine revolutionary leader who led independence campaigns from Argentina across the Andes into Chile and Peru.
Watch it explained
- How it worksTrace Bolivar's and San Martin's campaigns converging on Peru from the north and south.
- How it worksHow does Napoleon putting his brother on the Spanish throne trigger revolts an ocean away?
- Worked exampleShow me the Spanish empire in the Americas in 1800 and the new republics in 1830 as two maps.
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't independence for these colonies mean the social hierarchy changed with it?
- Going furtherWhat happens to a new republic when its creole elite keeps every institution it inherited?
Check yourself
End of topic.