South American wars of independence
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The South American Wars of Independence were fought in the 1810s and 1820s by colonies of Spain and Portugal that desired to become independent from the nations that ruled them. The wars were fueled by a philosophy known as "nativism" that espoused the unification of people of all races and backgrounds (white Criollos, African-Americans, Native Americans, etc.) to oppose a common enemy.
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[edit] Spanish colonies
Because Spain was virtually cut off from its colonies during the Peninsular War of 1808–1814, Latin America was, in these years, ruled by independent juntas. These provisional governments claimed allegiance to the Bourbon king in exile, Ferdinand VII, but in practice operated independently.
One of the most influential leaders in the Wars of Independence was Simón Bolívar, known as "El Libertador" (the Liberator). Born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1783, Bolívar was able to promote his personal vision of South America powerfully enough to gather and direct the efforts of several of the colonies after their initial revolt. One of Bolívar's first notable victories occurred in 1817 at Angostura in eastern Venezuela. In 1819, he led his army over the Andes and attacked the Spanish by surprise, thereby taking control of Bogotá. He occupied Quito and Caracas soon thereafter, at which point Bolívar controlled all of northern South America. The former colonies Venezuela, New Granada (modern-day Colombia) and Quito (modern-day Ecuador) formed the Republic of Greater Colombia, but after Bolívar's death in 1830 they separated, as the immediate need for unity had disappeared with independence and internal conflicts began to appear. In the absence of a unifying cause, the remaining political and economical ties between the countries were weak and dissent spread among the different territories.
The southern South American colonies of Spain, including Argentina, Chile and Perú, fought their wars of independence under José de San Martín (also known as "the Liberator", especially in Argentina), another influential military leader and politician. He served as "Protector" of Perú until its parliament was assembled. San Martín met with Bolívar at Guayaquil, and on July 26, 1822 they had confidential talks to plan the future of Latin America. Some have speculated that during this meeting Bolívar would have refused to share command of the combined forces, and this may have contributed to San Martín's withdrawal from Perú and subsequent settlement as a farmer in Mendoza, Argentina.
[edit] Brazil
The independence of Brazil, at that time a Portuguese colony, was an exception. In 1807, the Portuguese royal family fled to Brazil during the French invasion of Portugal. In 1815, John VI of Portugal declared Brazil a kingdom of its own, with himself as its king. He returned to Portugal in 1822, after which his son Pedro declared himself Emperor of Brazil in 1822. His father and the Portuguese parliament did not recognize this declaration, and there was isolated armed resistance by loyalist Portuguese troops stationed in Brazil. Officially, there was no war between Portugal and Brazil, and diplomatic efforts granted the acceptance of Brazil's independence in 1825. Therefore, Brazil was the only Latin American country whose independence was acquired without war.
[edit] After the wars
At the end of the Wars of Independence, virtually all of mainland South America was free from European control. The exceptions were the three Guianas, two of them would become independent only in the second half of 20th century: British Guiana as Co-operative Republic of Guyana and Dutch Guiana as Republic of Suriname. French Guiana remains a French overseas department to this date.
Many of the independence fighters (among them Simón Bolívar) dreamed of a United States of South America, but that goal has not been achieved yet.
