“The Roots of Independence”

Viceroyalties => Nation-states

The Wars of Independence in Spanish America

Viceroyalties => Nation-states

Events and situations that prompted the independence movements in Spanish America:

In Spain and Europe:

• The Bourbon reforms (18th century)• Napoleon’s invation of Spain (1808)

In America:

• Tupac Amaru’s uprising (1780)• The protest in Socorro (1781)• Creole discontent

First phase of the independence movements(1810-1815):

Caracas (Viceroyalty of New Granada ->Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador)

- Simón Bolívar

Buenos Aires (Viceroyalty of Río de La Plata -> Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay)

- José de San Martín

Dolores (Viceroyalty of New Spain -> Mexico) - Miguel Hidalgo and José María Morelos

Portraits by Gil de Castro (19th century)

Manuel Hidalgo by Juan O”Gorman

Meanwhile in Spain…

In 1812 the cortes (parliament) of Cádiz proclaimed a liberal constitution

In 1814 Ferdinand VII returns to the Spanish throne and reestablishes the absolute monarchy

In 1820 Ferdinand VII embraces the liberal constitution

Second phase of the Spanish American Independence(1816-1821):

New Colombia (Venezuela, New Granada [Colombia and Panama], Ecuador) and Upper Perú (Bolivia)

Argentina, Chile, Perú and Ecuador

México and Central America (Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica)

And what happened in the other Spanish American colonies?

Which was the last country to achieve independence and when did it happen?

Which country never achieved independence?

Epic of Bolívar (1930) by Fernando Leal