Four Main Causes of Latin American Independence
             During colonization of the New World in the early sixteenth century, explorers
             sought fame and fortune in the wilds of Central and South America. Two countries stand
             out as key players in the colonization of that area; Spain and Portugal. Several colonies
             were established to mine gold and to export the native flora. There are several reasons
             that the Latin American colonies became independent. The main reason is that the
             colonies are so far from Europe they require governors and later viceroys to govern them.
             The second reason is that over time these countries became increasingly self sufficient.
             The third reason is the emergence of a class of landowners that were born in the colonies
             and have little to no ties to Europe. The fourth reason is based on the race relations
             between the mother country and the colony. African slaves were brought in and
             intermixed with the white landowners, creating a mulatto image of that colony in the
             mother country. The independence of Latin America is a result of four main factors: one,
             distance from the home country; two, economics began to centralized in each colony;
             three, a new generation of citizens that were born and died in just that colony; and four,
             the trend of vehement racism of European whites with the ever growing mulatto
             The relationship between Europe and the Latin American colonies must be thought
             of the same way as a man in California and his girlfriend in New York: communication
             flows eagerly at first, but soon dwindles to nothing more than a trickle. As the colonies
             grew in economic importance, Spain and Portugal alike found it hard to keep hand in local
             colonial affairs. The leaders of the new colonies began their political life as governors, and
             over time, were promoted to princes. The crown was often ignored by the colonial
             leaders, especially about native relations.
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