creoles
- benefitted greatly during the 18th century
- established plantations/ ranches
- participated in trade with Spain and Portugal
- disliked being controlled by over seas governments
- took part in tax revolts and popular uprisings
- sought no social reforms, only to displace the peninsulares
- won independence for most Iberian colonies
Mexican Independence
- Napoleon's invasion of Spain brought about the rebellion of many Iberian colony uprisings, due to weaken royal authority
- 1810- rebellions had broken out in Argentina, Venezuela, and Mexico
- Miguel de Hidalgo - a priest who rallied indigenous people and mestizos against colonial rule
- 1821- Augustin de Iturbide seized the capitol, making himself emperor and ending colonial rule in Mexico
- 1822- Augustin de Iturbide was overthrown by creole elites and the republic of Mexico was created
- 1804- Southern Mexico rebelled, making the Central American Federation, which later formed into Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua
Simon Bolivar
- South American Creole elite
- led movements for independence
- believed in enlightenment ideas and fought Spanish rule
- 1819- assembled an army that crushed Spanish military in Columbia
- Campaigned in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru and joined forces with other creoles in Argentina and Chile
- 1824- creole forces had removed Spanish control throughout Latin America
- Bolivar dreamed of creating a United States of South America with the newly Freed Latin countries
- Created Gran Columbia in northern South America, but it broke apart due to political and regional differences
- Bolivar then pronounced South America "ungovernable" and died while traveling for Europe
Brazilian Independence
- Napoleon invaded Portugal, forcing the royal family to move to Lisbon
- 1821- The king returned to Portugal and left his son Pedro in Brazil to rule
- 1822- Pedro agrees to creole calls for independence, led the creole resistance to Portuguese forces ignoring his father's commands
- 1822- Pedro overthrows Portuguese forces and is crowned first emperor
Creole Dominance
- Creole elites dominated Latin American society
- peninsulares went back to Europe but society stayed rigid
- caudillos- local strongmen allied to creole elites that were granted military authority
- slavery, repressed lower class, power of the church remained the same