Causes and events of Latin American Revolutions.

1. Latin American
Revolutions

2. Review- Age of Exploration
• Through imperialism, the Spanish had
established colonies throughout the
Americas
• Established the Encomienda system to
force the native population to work for
them
• The Spanish became incredibly wealthy
through mercantilism, benefiting from the
riches of their colonies in South and
Mesoamerica
Imperialism-
domination of one
country of the
political, economic, or
cultural life of another
country or region
Mercantilism-
policy by which a
nation sought to
export more than it
imported in order to
build its supply of gold
and silver

3. Latin America- Mexico, Central America,
and South America

4. Discontent
• The people of Latin America were frustrated with the social, racial and
political system they were forced under for the past 300 years.
• The peninsulares controlled society while the natives were forced into
slavery through the Encomienda system
• Enlightenment ideas reached
Latin America through educated
creoles who read the writings of
Enlightenment thinkers and
became inspired by the
successes of the American and
French Revolutions

5. Catalyst for Change
• The people of Spanish-controlled Latin
America saw the opportunity for rebellion
when Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808
• Napoleon made his brother Joseph king of
Spain, and Latin American leaders saw
that as a sign of Spain’s weakness.
• With Spain preoccupied with the French,
the opportunity for them to demand
independence from colonial rule had
arrived.

6. Haiti’s Revolution
• Haiti was a profitable sugar colony for the
French in the 1700s that relied on slavery
• Toussaint L’Ouverture, a self-educated
former slave, helped lead a rebellion
against the French forces and the enslaved
Haitians were set free in 1789 —but Haiti was
still a French colony
• In 1802 Napoleon sent troops to try to regain
control of the colony, and this time L’Ouverture
fought for full independence, but he was
caught and shipped to France as a prisoner,
where he died before Haiti became fully free in
1804

7. Mexico
• In Mexico, a creole priest named Miguel
Hidalgo began a campaign to gain freedom
from Spanish rule
• He inspired a ragged army of mestizos and
Native Americans to march to Mexico City.
They demanded freedom, an end to slavery
and better living conditions for natives
• However, the creoles soon felt threatened
that their way of life would be jeopardized
by major social reforms
• Hidalgo was captured and executed less
than a year after the revolution started
• Calls for reform continued until the Natives overthrew Spanish rule in
the 1820s, though life did not change much for the Mexicans

8. South America
• An educated creole, Simon Bolivar, was inspired by
the French and American revolutions. In 1810 he
led an uprising in Venezuela. He was easily
crushed.
• However, Bolivar created a daring plan to cross the
Andes and attack the Spanish at Bogota (Columbia).
He won, and earned the nickname “The Liberator”.
• After his success in Columbia Simon Bolivar moved
south into Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
• He joined forces with Jose de San Martin, another
creole general, and together they defeated the
Spanish throughout South America.

9. South American Failure
• After the wars of independence were
over, Bolivar attempted to unite South
America into one nation: Gran
Colombia
• However, bitter rivalries made that
impossible, and Gran Colombia split
into various different countries
• Power struggles among rival leaders led
to destructive civil wars, and the wars
for independence left the people of
South America with limited resources
• It would take decades for the nations of
South America to create stable
governments