Bourbon Reforms In Latin America

The wars of independence in Latin America must not only be traced back to the impact of the Bourbon reforms but take into consideration the other factors and how these factors are more important for the origins of the wars of independence, such as the French, American and Haitian Revolutions and the creole discontent. The Bourbon reforms, in the 18th century, were aiming to establish administrative uniformity in the region, but also to strengthen Spain’s control of its colonies. This could be considered a spark towards the existence of wars of independence, but not as the main factor, because although there were Spanish Americans, such as Simon Bolivar that considered Spain the ‘unnatural stepmother-Spain’ (Bolívar, [1815] 1951: 2), the population …show more content…
In order for this to work, they increased production and trade within the colonies, as they were looking to ‘extract large amounts of revenue from modest regional economies in the kingdom’ (Andrien, 2009: 638). This must be taken into account for the origins of the wars of independence because the only way to achieve higher production and higher revenue was for the population lower in the hierarchy, such as slaves and free blacks to forcefully work for the crown. This led to the feeling of discontent among the slaves and around Spanish America, which led to rebellions, such as the Túpac Amaru revolt in 1780, which was considered to be a revolt against the abuses of the Indians. Arguably, the Bourbon reforms led to the revolts, such as the one mentioned above and the great rebellion in New Granada in 1781, which encouraged people to believe in a possible independence from the Spanish crown and thus leading to the wars of independence. In addition to this, under the Bourbon reforms, the crown also aimed to weaken the power of the Creoles. They were able to do so by increasing the number of Audiencias and excluding Creoles. This increased the feeling of hatred towards the crown, as only the Peninsulares were privileged in the country of the Americanos. This led to a heightened feeling of patriotism and independence which led to the wars of independence. Therefore, the …show more content…
By 1810, South America could easily be influenced and attracted by the success of the revolutions in France, America, and Haiti. It started with the American revolution in 1775 and France in 1789. Inspired by the idea of liberty, revolutionaries fought against the aristocratic and colonial rule, which also sparked the Haitian Revolution of 1791. The revolutions must be considered an important factor in the wars of independence, because in other parts of the world, they were successful, which inspired the people of Spanish America to fight for their rights. Both the American Revolution and French revolution inspired liberals and nationalists, which also means that nationalism was growing in Spanish America, which destabilised the connection with the crown and led towards a united patria, as mentioned by Archer, ‘the patria is based upon patriotism’ (Archer, 2000: