Latin American Independence

Colonial Economy

Portuguese and Spanish colonies; Brazil, Mexico, most of South America

Encomienda system Haciendas European diseases kill Indians Slaves introduced to South America

Colonial Society Social classes and ranks; royal officials,

owners of officials, owners of large estates, mine owners

Peninsulares, original citizens of Spain or Portugal

Creoles, Spaniards born in colonies Mestizos, American Indian and European

background Mulattoes, African and European

ancestry

Haiti’s Slave Revolution

1791 slave revolt in Saint Domingue

Mulattoes and blacks united under the leadership of Toussaint-Louverture, a free slave, only successful slave revolted by slaves anywhere in the world

Mexico and Central America Napoleon's conquest of Spain provided

a perfect time for the colonists to gain independence

“the cry of Dolores” Revolts in Mexico led by Hidalgo, Pavon

and Iturbide, all failed Iturbide would declare independence in

1821 Central America declared independence

from Mexico in 1823.

Spanish South America Independence led by Simon Bolivar "the

Liberator" La Palta in 1811, New Granada in 1819,

Venezuela in 1821 Bolivar became president of Gran Colombia

(Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama

Martin and O'Higgins led revolts in Chile and Peru, 1818

Upper Peru became a separate republic and named Bolivia

Foreign Reactions to Independence

The Monroe Doctrine, 1832, President Monroe claimed that US would not intervene in colonies, and would oppose any power that tried to reestablish lost or new colonies