 Finding
cheap labor was a goal of the
Europeans in America in the 1500s.
 Gold and silver found by conquistadors made
Spain and Portugal wealthy.
 The wealth also made them powerful
countries.
 At first, these metals could be taken from
the native people.
 As these supplies were used up, the
Europeans decided to try to set up mines to
get more.
 As
more Europeans came to the Americas,
some tried to find ways to grow crops that
could be sold in Europe.
 Sugar cane grew well in the Caribbean and in
the tropics of Central and South America.
 The sugar cane was used to make sugar,
molasses, and rum.
 Both of these projects required a large and
cheap labor force.
The native people were not a good choice for
labor.
 Millions died from diseases brought by the
Europeans.
 More died because of violence with the
Europeans.
 Natives that were forced to farm or work in
mines faced harsh conditions.
 Many of them died as well.
 Many of the indigenous people simply retreated
into the mountains or into the jungles.
 The Europeans then looked to Africa for labor.

Africans were brought to the Americas by ship.
 For many, the difficult journey ended in death
by starvation or disease.
 Once they arrived in the New World, the Africans
were forced to work on plantations or in mines.
 Long working hours, poor housing, and poor
nutrition made life difficult.
 Children born to the Africans were considered
slaves too.
 They faced a lifetime of work with no chance of
freedom.

 For
about three hundred years, businesses
that depended on slavery grew.
 The laborers—slaves—grew in numbers as the
plantations expanded.
 Most of them lived in the tropical areas near
the coast where large farms could be built.
 This labor force helped to build many of the
countries of Latin America, but most of the
wealth was sent back to Europe.
 As different countries gained freedom from
Europe in the 1800s, they ended slavery.
 The
governments of Spain and Portugal ruled
most of Latin America for nearly three
hundred years.
 In that time, there were numerous battles
for control of the lands.
 At times, the people who were being ruled
by the Europeans grew restless.
 They thought about what it would be like to
be free.
 The
American Revolution in 1776 gave some
in Latin America the idea that they too could
be free.
 In 1789, the French Revolution showed that
the kings and queens of Europe could be
overcome.
 These events encouraged Latin Americans in
the belief that they might be able to
overcome their European rulers.
 Toussaint
L’Ouverture was a famous black
freedom fighter.
 He was a major leader of the slave revolts in
Saint Domingue (present-day Haiti).
 He was later made governor of Saint
Domingue.
 Francois-Domingue
Toussaint was born a
slave in the mid-1700s.
 His father had been a free African who was
captured and sold into slavery in Saint
Domingue.
 He told his son about freedom and what life
was like before his capture.
 Toussaint
was lucky because the plantation
owner allowed him to learn to read and
write.
 Toussaint read every book that he could.
 He read books that were popular in France.
 These books had ideas about freedom and
equality for all men.
 In
1789, the French Revolution occurred. The
new government in France granted freedom
to all free blacks and mulattoes (those with
African and European ancestors).
 However, the plantation owners in Saint
Domingue were furious.
 In 1791, the French government changed its
mind and took back the freedom it had given
to blacks and mulattoes.
 This time, the slaves were furious.
 Toussaint led a slave army and defeated the
French troops.
 By
1793, the French government abolished
slavery altogether.
 Toussaint then led his men against invading
British and Spanish troops.
 During this time, he was nicknamed Toussaint
L’Ouverture, or “opening,” because he
seemed to be able to find openings in the
defenses of his enemies.
 In the end, Toussaint L’Ouverture was left in
charge of Saint Domingue even though it was
officially a French colony.
In 1802, the French emperor Napoleon sent
troops to regain control.
 Some thought that he also wanted to reinstate
slavery.
 Toussaint L’Ouverture was invited to a meeting
with a French general to discuss a peace treaty.
 Instead, Toussaint was captured, arrested, and
sent to France.
 He was imprisoned and died shortly after.
 Within two years, the people of Saint Dominigue
declared their independence and renamed their
country Haiti.

 Simon
Bolivar was a leader in the wars for
independence in South America.
 He and other leaders fought against Spanish
rule.
 They wanted independence for all the people
in Latin America.
 Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru,
and Venezuela won their independence
through his efforts.
 Bolivar
was born in 1783, in Caracas, in what
is now Venezuela.
 He was from a wealthy family.
 He had an excellent education and read
many books with ideas on freedom and
equality.
 He lived at the time of the French Revolution
and through that learned of the defeat of the
French royal family.
 From
1810 to 1824, Bolivar led different
groups of troops against Spanish rule.
 He fought in the lands that are now
Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama.
 He was able to finally defeat the Spanish in
1824 and end Spanish rule in South America.
 The country of Bolivia was named for Bolivar,
and he wrote a constitution to organize the
country.
 Bolivar
is known as “The Liberator” in South
America.
 He is also sometimes called the “George
Washington of South America.”
 He became dictator and tried to create a
single, large South American country called
Gran Colombia.
 It
covered the entire northern part of South
America.
 Fights among different groups caused the
different countries to break up.
 Bolivar became infected with tuberculosis
and died from the disease in 1830.
 Miguel
Hidalgo is known as the father of
Mexican independence.
 He was a priest who led a peasant army
against the Spanish army in Mexico, which
was then called New Spain.
 His force won some victories, but Hidalgo did
not live to see independence.
 Hidalgo
was born in 1753. His family saw that
he got a good education.
 As he grew up, he read books with ideas on
freedom and equality.
 He saw that there was not equality for the
peasant workers in Mexico.
 He also saw that those born in Spain got
special treatment, compared to citizens born
in Mexico.
 After training to be a priest, he worked
among the native people and peasants.
 In
1808, France invaded Spain, and the king
was removed.
 This created problems in Mexico.
 People were not sure they supported the new
French government.
 Others did not support the old Spanish
government.
 A third group thought it was time for Mexico
to be independent.
 Hidalgo and his friends were for the third
choice.
 In
1810, Hidalgo was warned that he was
going to be arrested.
 Those loyal to the French government had
turned him in.
 On September 16, instead of running away,
he ran to his church and rang the bell.
 People from the countryside came in.
 Instead of having a church service, the
people got a speech.
 In this speech, Hidalgo said it was time for
Mexico to be free.
 At
first, thousands of people followed
Hidalgo.
 They won several victories against the
Spanish army.
 However, they did not have training, and
they did not have many weapons.
 Eventually, the Spanish army pulled its forces
together and mounted an attack.
 They
defeated a group of the rebels and
captured Hidalgo.
 He was tried for treason and found guilty.
 He was executed by Spanish soldiers on July
30, 1811, but the war for independence
continued.
 Mexico did not win its independence for
another ten years.
 In 1821, Spain withdrew the last of its troops
from Mexico.
 Describe
the influence of African slavery on
the development of the Americas.
 Explain the Latin American independence
movement; include the importance of
Toussaint L’Ouverture, Simon Bolivar, and
Miguel Hidalgo.