Failed Movements in the Caribbean
We have now seen about a dozen cases of successful wars for independence from Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal. Some of the American colonies, however, did not achieve independence in the age of revolution. Some chose not to rebel, or the uprisings were weak and relatively easily crushed. In this outline, we will look at […]
Brazil: A Royal Revolution?
The path to independence in Brazil was similar to that of Spanish America but with important differences. Rather than fall under the control of Napoleon, the Braganza royal family fled Portugal in late 1807 and took up residence in Rio de Janeiro. For 13 years, the monarchy ruled its vast empire from Brazil. King João […]
Mexico – Empire and Chaos
In the aftermath of the specter of social revolution and racial war raised by the Hidalgo and Morelos revolts, Spaniards and Creoles closed ranks in Mexico to preserve peace. As they had in 1810, events in Europe sparked the second war for independence. When the supporters of a liberal constitution triumphed in Spain in 1820, […]
Mexico – Race and Class Warfare
The war for Mexican independence took place in two stages. This outline looks at the first stage, a race and class war that began in 1810. One of the two core regions of the Spanish American Empire, Mexico was rich in silver and Indian labor. A small elite of Spaniards (Creoles and Peninsulars) ruled over […]
Liberating Peru
The first war for independence in Spanish America barely touched Peru. As in Mexico, the Creole elites in Peru feared the specter of Indian uprisings and were reluctant to challenge Spanish authority. The liberation of Peru, the great Spanish stronghold in South America, would come from two directions: led by Simón Bolívar from the north […]