Independence Won: Latin America, the Monroe Doctrine, and the Price of Freedom

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Bolívar's argument that patriot disunity caused Venezuela's first republic to collapse; called for unity among independence supporters.

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Bolívar's decisive victory after a surprise Andes crossing; liberated New Granada and led to the founding of Gran Colombia.

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San Martín's victory after crossing the Andes into Chile with the Army of the Andes; helped secure Chilean independence alongside Bernardo O'Higgins.

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Sucre, commanding for Bolívar, defeats the last major Spanish royalist army, effectively ending Spanish rule in South America.

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Meeting between Bolívar and San Martín; afterward San Martín withdrew from the independence struggle, leaving Bolívar to finish the war in Peru.

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Argentina: Spain's king was deposed, leaving a power vacuum → popular revolution and war. Brazil: the Portuguese king relocated to Brazil, so his son could simply declare independence without a revolution.

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Dom Pedro's declaration "Independence or death!" in Brazil, leading to his crowning as Emperor Pedro I of an independent Brazilian monarchy, with little warfare.

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US declaration that the Americas were closed to further European colonization and that interference with new republics would be seen as hostile to the US; in exchange the US would not interfere in Europe.

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The US navy was too weak; Britain's navy (opposing Spanish reconquest for its own trade reasons) was the real deterrent against European intervention.

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Mines, plantations and infrastructure destroyed; silver production collapsed for decades; new nations carried heavy war debts; trade shifted from Spain/Portugal to Britain.

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Creoles became the new ruling elite, replacing Spanish-born officials. Indigenous peoples often lost prior legal protections and communal lands under new liberal, property-favouring governments.

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Mixed picture: some republics (e.g. Gran Colombia, Chile, Argentina) began gradual abolition, partly rewarding soldiers who fought for independence; Brazil kept slavery for decades longer (until 1888).