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 rebellions, insurgencies, and counterinsurgencies that led to independence for Spanish America were wars in every sense of the word."
             (http://ehostvgw5.epnet.com/ehost.asp?key=204.179.122.130_8000_-1207685194&site=ehost&return=n&custid=eacc&profile=asp) This predicament, aggravated by outside forces and thus outside the Spanish political system, was the spark that ignited the blaze of independence movements.
             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. At the end of the eighteenth century, Latin America was going through ...