The colonists in the Spanish Empire
had many reasons to resent Spanish
rule.
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 The Spanish government controlled
trade for the benefit of Spain. The
colonies had to buy manufactured
goods from the home country and
sell their products to Spain.
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 The unequal distribution of wealth
and power among Latin Americans
created another source of
resentment.
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 Creoles, colonists born in Latin
America to Spanish parents, wanted
more power for themselves. They
were wealthy landowners and mine
owners but they were not appointed
to important political jobs.
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 The desire for
revolution was
strongest among
the Creoles. They
were well-educated
and aware of the
Enlightenment
ideas behind the
American and
French Revolutions.
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 In 1808, the discontented Creoles
got their opportunity to begin a
revolt. In that year, the armies of
Napoleon Bonaparte conquered
Spain.
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 His brother, Joseph Bonaparte,
became king of Spain. The Latin
American colonists refused to
accept French rule.
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 Revolutions broke out in many parts
of Latin America. Even after the
Spanish king was restored to the
throne in 1814, the revolutions
continued.
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 The colonists did not want to return
to the old ways. They wanted
independence.
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 Simon Bolivar
was an
independence
leader of Latin
America. He
was called
“The
Liberator.”
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 Bolivar gathered
enough support
to drive the
Spaniards out of
Colombia in
1819. He also led
Venezuela to
independence in
1821 and aided
Ecuador in 1822.
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 Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia
joined together in one nation called
Gran Colombia. It did not last but
Bolivar dreamed of a union of all
Latin American states.
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