Bell Work 9/15/10
After
the students finished
there assignments they were
graded by mr davis and ms
jacobs
Latin America of
Independence
Simon Bolivar
He became a strong admirer of the ideals
of the French Revolution.
 He made a Oath never to allow his hands
to be idle nor his soul to rest until he had
broken the chains that bound them to
Spain.
 Bolivar would fulfill his oath, leading the
struggle to liberate northern South
America form Spain.

Ethnic and social Hierarchy
Spanish born peninsulares dominated Latin
American political and social life. Only they could
hold top jobs in government and the Church.
 Meanwhile, a growing population of mestizos
and mulattoes were angry at being denied the
status, wealth, and power that were available to
whites. Native Americans suffered economic
misery under the Spanish, who had conquered
the lands of their ancestors.

Enlightenment Ideas
In the 1700s, educated creoles read the works
of Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire,
Rousseau, and Montesquieu.
 Women actively participated in the exchange of
ideas. In some cities, women hosted and
attended salons, called tertulias, where
independence and revolution were discussed.
 Many young creoles were inspired by they
Enlightenment ideas.

Napoleon
The spark that finally ignited widespread revolt
in Latin America was Napoleon’s invasion of
Spain in 1808. Napoleon ousted the Spanish
king and placed his brother Joseph on the
Spanish throne.
 Latin America leaders saw Spain’s weakness as
an opportunity to reject foreign domination and
demand independence from colonial rule.
 President of the Second Republic who
proclaimed himself emperor of France

Haiti’s Struggle
In a French ruled colony on the island of
Hispaniola. Haiti, as it is now called, was
France’s most valued possession in the 1700s.
 French planters owned great sugar plantations
worked by nearly a half million enslaved
Africans. The sugar trade was hugely profitable,
but conditions for enslaved workers were
horrendous. Many were cruelly overworked and
underfed.
 Haiti also, had a population of both free and
enslaved mulattoes. Free mulattoes, however
had few rights and were badly treated by the
French.

Haiti’s Struggle
 In
1791, a slave revolt exploded
in northern Haiti. Under the able
leadership of Toussaint L’
Ouverture. Haitians would fight
for freedom and pave the way for
throwing off French rule.
TOUSSAINT L’ OUVERTURE
Was born into slavery in Haiti. But his father
taught him to take pride in his African heritage.
 He learned to speak both French and the African
language of his ancestors.
 He learned how to read and pored over stories
of slave revolts in ancient Rome and of military
heroes like Julius Caesar.
 He was determined to be a brave leader and
bring his people to liberty.

The Uprising Begins.
When a slave revolt broke out in 1791, Toussaint
was nearly 50 years old. His intelligence and
military skills soon earned him the position of
leader.
 The struggle was long and complex. His army of
former slaves faced many enemies. Mulattois,
promised high pay, joined French planter against
the rebels.
 France, Spain, and Britain each sent armies to
Haiti. The fighting took more lives than any
other revolution in the Americas.

An Inspiring Commander
Although untrained, Toussaint was a brilliant
general. He was also a inspiring commander. On
the eve of one crucial battle, he issued this
stirring call to his army.
 “do not disappoint me. Prove yourselves men
who know how to value liberty and how to
defend it…. We are fighting so that liberty the
most precious of all earthly possessions may not
perish. We are fighting to preserve it for
ourselves, for our children, for our brothers, and
for our fellow citizens.”

Rebuilding

By 1798- Toussaint set our to improve
agriculture, and to expand trade to give
Haiti a constitution of their own. He even
tried to heal rifts between classes by
opening his government to whites and
mulattoes as well as Africans.
Renewed Struggle
In the meantime Napoleon Bonaparte rose
to power.
 Toussaint again took up arms, this time to
fight for full independence. His guerrilla
forces were aided by a deadly ally, yellow
fever, which took a growing toll on the
ivaders. In April 1802, with soldiers dying
at the rate of a hundred a day, the French
agreed to a truce, or temporary peace.

The Tree of Black Liberty



Shortly after a trusted French friend lured Toussaint to
his house, where he betrayed him. Soldiers seized the
haitian leader and hustled him in chains onto a French
warship. As the ship sailed, Toussaint told the captain.
“In overthrowing me, the French have only felled the
tree of black liberty in Haiti. It will shoot up again, for it
is deeply rooted, and its roots are many.”
Ten months later, in a cold prison in France, Toussaint
died. But Haiti’s struggle for freedom continued. 1804
Haitian leaders declared their freedom. With yellow fever
destroying his army, Napoleon abandoned Haiti.
Call of Freedom in Mexico




1810- creole priest in Mexico Father Miguel Hidalgo
raised a cry for freedom that would echo across the
land.
El Grito de Dolores Father Hidalgo presided over the
poor rural parish of Dolores. On September 16, 1810, he
rang the church bells summoning the people to prayer.
He said “ My children, will you be free? Will you make
the effort to recover the lands stolen from your fore
fathers by the hated Spaniards 300 year ago?”
Father Hidalgo speech was known as el Grito de dolores
the cry of Dolores. This called the people of Mexico to
fight for their independence.
Jose Morelos
Another priest he was a mestizo who called for
wide ranging reform. He wanted to improve
conditions for the majority of Mexicans, and to
abolish slavery and give the vote to all men.
 Independence achieved- In Spain in 1820
liberals forced the king to issue a constitution.
This alarmed Agustin de iturbide a conservative
creole in Mexico. He feared the Spanish
government might impose liberal reforms on the
colonies as well. In 1821 he reached out to them
and overthrew the Spanish and Mexico was
independent at last.

Revolutions in South America
Tupac Amaru – A native American Tupac
demanded that the government end the brutal
system of forced Indian labor by the Spanish. He
organized an army but was crushed by the
Spanish. The revolt did have an effect. The
Spanish would soon abolish forced labor on the
Native Americans.
 San Martin- was a creole. Born in Argentina but
went to Europe for military training. In 1816, he
helped Argentina win freedom form Spain.
