Revolutions Lead to Independence

Many people in the Spanish and Portuguese colonies began advocating for their Independence in the early 19th century. When the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain and installed his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne in 1808, rebel movements in Latin America saw their opportunity for secession. Spain fought desperately to retain its colonies, but leaders like Father Miguel Hidalgo and José María Morelos in Mexico, Simón Bolívar and Antonio José de Sucre in northern South America, and José de San Martín and Bernardo O’Higgins in Argentina and Chile led the revolts that eventually resulted in the independence of most South American countries by 1825. Only Cuba and Puerto Rico remained under Spanish control.   
 
Haiti was the first country in Latin America to become independent. Beginning in 1791, former slave Toussaint Louverture led a revolt of slaves against the French plantation owners. Despite French reinforcements and an attempt by the British to conquer the island, by 1801 Louverture controlled Haiti and conquered the neighboring Spanish colony of Santo Domingo (present-day Dominican Republic). He abolished slavery and declared himself Governor General over the entire island of Hispaniola.

A posthumous painting depicts Haitian liberator Général Toussaint Louverture (1743 - 1803). Engraving by an unknown French artist (1802), Toussaint Louverture Chef des Noirs Insurgés de Saint Domingue.
 
Although Simón Bolívar envisioned uniting the former Spanish colonies into a single new nation, geographical isolation and political divisions led to the establishment of the many individual countries that comprise Latin America today. Only Panama (seceded from Colombia in 1903 because of the creation of the Panama Canal), the Dominican Republic (separated from Haiti in 1844), and Cuba (declared its independence in 1902) are of more recent creation. Many of the former British colonies and the Dutch colony Suriname gained their independence in the second half of the 20th century.  

The statue of Simón Bolívar in Caracas, Venezuela recognizes his important role in the independence movement in South America. Known as the Liberator, he participated in the foundation of the first union of independent nations in Latin America, Gran Colombia, of which he was president from 1819 to 1830. The present country of Bolivia is named for him. Photo by casa.da.photo.
 
For a time, Brazil became the center of the Portuguese Empire. It began when Napoleon invaded Portugal in 1807. The royal court fled to Rio de Janeiro, establishing Brazil as the de facto capital of the Empire. When King Dom John VI returned to Portugal in 1821, he left his son Dom Pedro to rule as prince regent. By the following year, Dom Pedro declared Brazil’s independence from Portugal with the understanding that his father would become Emperor again if he returned to Brazil.

François-René Moreau’s painting Announcement of Independence (1844) depicts Prince Pedro surrounded by a cheering crowd in São Paulo after announcing news of the Brazilian independence on September 7, 1822. Photo of painting in the collection of the Museu Imperial Petrópolis, Brazil.