Causes Of The Latin American Independence Movement

Chap. 24, 1: Discuss the causes of the Latin American independence movement. The independence movement of the Latin American colonies was heavily influenced by European Enlightenment ideas and the successful revolutions in America and France. Latin American social structure was critically important to the jobs and respect a person received, and it was based primarily on place of birth. With the Spanish-born peninsulares at the top, resentment among the Latin America natives was common. Peninsulares formed only a small portion of the population, but they were the only people who could hold the highest offices in the Spanish colonial government. Beneath them were the creoles, Spanish people born in Latin America. Though they could not hold the highest offices in government, they could rise significantly in the Spanish colonial armies. The peninsulares and the creoles combined controlled land, wealth, and power in Spain 's Latin American colonies. However, the majority of the Latin American population consisted of mestizos (mixed European and Indian ancestry), mulattos (mixed European and African ancestry), enslaved Africans, and Indians. The success of the Americans in their revolution encouraged Latin American territories to begin fighting for their own freedom. Saint Domingue, a French …show more content…
economic imperialism had profound effects on Latin America. Both before and after independence, the majority of Latin American laborers worked for large landowners. Their wages were low, and many ended up in debt. Meanwhile, large landowners became wealthier after independence. When new, free Latin American governments into power, they often bought up lands owned previously by the Church or natives and resold it at prices only the wealthy could afford. The incompetency of the landowners and the unequal nature of the land 's distribution prevent economic and social development in Latin