Decolonization of the Americas
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Decolonization of the Americas refers to the process by which the countries in North America and South America gained their independence.
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[edit] United States
The United States was the first country in the Americas to gain independence, declaring independence from Britain in 1776, which was recognised with the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
[edit] Haiti
Following the French Revolution, many of the ideals of liberty spread to Haiti, where a slave uprising began in 1791. On January 1, 1804, Dessalines declared Haiti a free republic and joined the United States as the second independent nation in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti is the only country in the Western hemisphere in which a slave uprising directly led to freedom.
[edit] Spanish colonies
The Spanish colonies in South America won their independence in the first quarter of the 19th century, in the South American Wars of Independence. Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín led their independence struggle. Although Bolívar attempted to keep the Spanish-speaking parts of the continent politically unified, they rapidly became independent of one another as well, and several further wars were fought, such as the War of the Triple Alliance and the War of the Pacific. In the Portuguese colony Dom Pedro I (also Pedro IV of Portugal), son of the Portuguese king Dom João VI, proclaimed the country's independence in 1822 and became Brazil's first Emperor. This was peacefully accepted by the crown in Portugal, upon compensation.
During the Peninsula War, several assemblies were established by the criollos to rule the lands in the name of Ferdinand VII of Spain. This experience of self-government and the influence of Liberalism and the ideas of the French and American Revolutions brought the struggle for independence, led by the Libertadores. The colonies freed themselves, often with help from the British Empire, which aimed to achieve political influence and trade without the Spanish monopoly.
A similar process took place in Spain's North and Central American colonies in the 1810s with the Mexican War of Independence and related struggles.
[edit] Portuguese colonies
Unlike the Spanish, the Portuguese did not divide their colonial territory in America. The captaincies they created were subdued to a centralized administration in Salvador which reported directly to the Crown in Lisbon. Therefore, it is not common to refer to "Portuguese America" (like Spanish America, Dutch America, etc.), but rather to Brazil, as a unified colony since its very beginnings.
As a result, Brazil did not split into several states by the time of Independence (1822), as happened to its Spanish-speaking neighbors. The adoption of monarchy instead of federal republic in the first six decades of Brazilian political sovereignty also contributed to the nation's unity.
[edit] Canada
On July 1, 1867, Canada became a dominion within the British empire. At this point the Dominion of Canada included Upper and Lower Canada (southern Ontario and Quebec, repectively), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The British colonies of British Columbia (1871), Prince Edward Island (1873), and Newfoundland (1949, following World War II) would eventually join Confederation. Britain also ceded control of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory (1870), and the Arctic Islands (1880) to Canada.
Newfoundland was also given Dominion status on September 26, 1907, although as noted above, this was superseded when it joined the Confederation in 1949.
From 1867 until 1931, Britain maintained control of foreign policy. The Treaty of Westminster transferred that control to Canada. Formal permission of the British Parliament, however, was required for some amendments to Canada's basic law, the British North America Act, 1867. With the passing of the Canada Act, 1982, this last formal legislative link with the mother country was severed, and Canada assumed total independence from H.M. Government in London.
[edit] Spanish-American War
In 1898, the United States won the Spanish-American War and occupied Cuba and Puerto Rico, ending Spanish territorial control in the Americas. Still, the early 20th century saw a stream of immigration of poor people and political exiles from Spain to the former colonies, especially Cuba, Mexico and Argentina. After the 1970s, the flow was inverted. In the 1990s, Spanish companies like Repsol and Telefonica invested in South America, often buying privatized companies.
[edit] 20th Century
A few countries did not gain independence until the 20th century:
- Bahamas: The British granted the islands internal self-government in 1964 and, in 1973, Bahamians achieved full independence while remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
- Guyana: from the United Kingdom, in 1966.
- Suriname: from the Netherlands, in 1975
- Trinidad and Tobago: from the United Kingdom, in 1962
- Belize (formerly British Honduras): from the United Kingdom, in 1981
[edit] Current colonies
Some parts of the Americas are still controlled by European powers, including:
- Anguilla (UK)
- Aruba (Netherlands)
- Bermuda (UK)
- British Virgin Islands (UK)
- Cayman Islands (UK)
- Falkland Islands (UK)
- French Guiana (France)
- Guadeloupe (France)
- Martinique (France)
- Montserrat (UK)
- Netherlands Antilles (Netherlands)
- Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (France)
- Turks and Caicos Islands (UK)
In addition, Puerto Rico and United States Virgin Islands are controlled by the United States.
Strictly speaking,
- Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles on January 1, 1986, and became a separate, self-governing member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence by 1996 was halted at Aruba's request in 1990.
- French Guiana, Guadeloupe and Martinique are not considered colonies of France, but an "integral part" of the homeland of France - an overseas département (département d'outre-mer, or DOM) of France.
