The English colonies were allowed more self-governance and elected their own legislatures, preparing them for independence. The French and Spanish colonies were more tightly controlled by their monarchs. Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin led independence movements in South America against Spanish rule, with Bolivar pushing out Spanish forces from Venezuela and San Martin attacking Peru from the south with Bolivar's troops from the north. Brazil gained independence non-violently when the Portuguese king fled to Brazil and left his son Pedro in charge, who later became Emperor Pedro I of the newly independent Brazil.