The Latin American colonies had native born citizens known as creoles and citizens who came over from Europe, the peninsulares. The administrative positions were given to the men who came over from Europe and the creoles felt this was unfair. It made the native born citizens upset with the Europeans. The Latin Americans were aware of the results of the American Revolution and the French Revolution. They were becoming interested in overthrowing there leadership and becoming a democratic society. Some people were afraid that if they revolted against Spain and had problems Spain would no longer help them out. When the Spanish military became tied up with other matters the creoles felt completely ignored. (http://www.latinamericanhistory.about.com) The large Spanish New World Empire produced many natural resources, including coffee, cacao, textiles, wine, and minerals. Spain did not allow the colonies to trade with anyone but them. The rates were advantageous for Spanish merchants but not for the colonies. Many of the colonies were selling their resources illegally to British and American merchants. Spain eventually loosened the trade restrictions it was too late. The producers of the goods demanded a fair price for them. (http://www.latinamericanhistory.about.com) In South America, the American Revolution was seen as a good example of how colonies were getting rid of European rule and replacing it with a more fair and democratic society. (http://www.latinamericanhistory.about.com) There are regions in South America which have lived without much upheaval for three centuries under Spanish rule. The ideals of the American and French revolutions have led some to dream of change. (http://www.historyworld.net) In 1804 Napoleon crowns himself French Emperor. Two years later he enters the German city of Berlin. His territories stretch across Europe. In 1808 Napoleon invades Spain and Portugal. The wars that Napoleon started weakened both Portugal and Spain but also put a strain on his military. Napoleon also invades Russia several years later when the Russians start to resume business with Britain. He removes the Spanish king Ferdinand VII, and places his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the throne. With no Spanish government in Spain, the provinces in Latin America must look after themselves. (http://www.historyworld.net) “The destruction of the Spanish fleet greatly weakened Spain’s ability to control events in the colonies.” (http://histclo.com) Napoleons conquering of Spain and Portugal helped the colonies get one step closer to independence. Mexico was the first colony to revolt after Napoleon conquered Spain and Portugal. They tried to gain their independence. The revolt was led by the Catholic Priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. He held secret meeting to try to decide if it was better to revolt or continue to do whatever their European parents wanted. Eventually it was decided that a revolt was necessary in order to fight for fair treatment of Mexico’s poor people. This revolt was unsuccessful after Hidalgo retreated when he was very close to winning. Historians believe that he retreated to spare his citizens and bad aftermath. Hidalgo was executed. Jose de San Martin started out as a Spanish …show more content…
As a result of Napoleon’s march across the Europe, individual freedoms were gained by many people who had been disregarded. Napoleon’s defeat of Spain and the substantial weakening of Spain’s navy created the conditions which allowed many of the people of Central and South America to form independence movements in the Western Hemisphere. Even after the defeat of Napoleon, the European colonial powers were facing problems of their own. There were a lot of factors during this period of history that created the right environment for the Latin American Independence movements to be successful while at the same time caused European colonial powers not to reassert their