Latin American Independent Movements
There are several reasons why Latin American movements for independence did not fulfill the high expectations of their protagonists. First of all, it is important to look at why the Latin Americans craved independence and indeed there were many causes for this. These causes included the French Revolution, the Enlightenment, Spain's increasing inability to provide colonial defense and other needs, and more importantly the Imperial Crisis. "Under the influence of the Enlightenment and the American and French revolutions, leaders of independence movements in Latin America were clearly inspired more by concepts of liberty and sovereignty than by the ideal of creating a "cultural nation-state" that fired the imaginations and struggles of the romantic European nationalists in later decades."(Stavenhagen, R. Vol. 45 Issue 2, p421) The Imperial Crisis pretty much caused the collapse of the Spanish governmental system. During this time many of the people in Spain became uncomfortable with the changes that were taking place, which included the occupation of many French armies in Spain. The Spaniards began to fight a series of small wars while the Spanish leaders argued about who should take the king's place in Spain. "...the rebellion
The Spanish crown was limiting the economic freedoms of the colonies, at the same time the political control was becoming stronger for Spanish-born administrators at the cost of the Creoles local-born Europeans. The independence of Latin America from Portugal and Spain can be seen with the world economy, the direct means was supplied by historical events in Europe, Napoleon's invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. One key reason for this would probably be because they sought for independence prematurely, before they were ready. The sprawling Portuguese and Spanish empires had a heterogeneous population, and there were serious divisions within every colony. It may even be safe to say that they would have experienced more benefit had they stayed in the conditions they were in until the conflict and conditions of the area had been resolved. 45 Issue 2, p421) Many people call to mind the fact that independence brought very little economic benefits to the new countries by putting a halt to the drain of economic resources and putting an end to the trade monopoly in Spain. " (Ralph, Lerner, Meachum, Wood, Hull, Burns, p. But even though there were important benefits later on because of what the Spaniards did, the fact remains that there was much that was lost. s, insurgencies, and counterinsurgencies that led to independence for Spanish America were wars in every sense of the word. The yearning for control by the crown and also by the desire of the colonies to be free was bound to produce resentment. Commercial enterprises and plantation owners in Latin America discovered that they could make more money by selling products on the international market rather than selling their products to only Portugal and Spain. There were vast differences; the revolutionary experiences of the United States and Latin America, and these differences help explain why the Latin American movements for independence did not fulfill the high expectations of their protagonists.
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