Chapter 21, Sections 3,4

Winning Independence

and

The New Republics

Touissant L’Ooverture: this self-educated slave organized a fighting force and drove all foreign

forces out of Hispaniola.

• In 1802 Napoleon Bonaparte sent an army to retake Haiti. L’Overture was captured and sent to prison in France, where he died.

Simon Bolivar

• Fought the royalists in Venezuela with Haitian aid. He marched his army over the Andes and conquered Bogota, capital of viceroyalty of New Grenada.

Jose de San Martin- born in Argentina, he fought for Spain, and then returned to Argentina to fight

for freedom, which it won in 1816.

• He liberated Chile and then then helped Bolivar liberate Ecuador and Peru.

Father Miguel Hidalgo wanted to help the poor in Mexico and he started a fight for independence

against Spain.

But it was Agustin de Iturbide who joined with Indians and Mestizos who declared independence and made himself emperor.

Napoleon invaded Portugal and the royal family fled to Rio de Janeiro. When they left, they put son Pedro in charge of the newly independent

nation of Brazil.

Brazil remained a monarchy until 1889, when they forced the emperor to step down and became a republic.

The old social structure remained with creoles taking over for peninsulares. A tiny wealthy elite controlled the lands and mines and the rest lived

in poverty.

Slavery ended, but natives did not regain any lands. Most peasants were peons and the wealth

gap led to unrest.

Rise of caudillos: military leaders arose and ruled as dictators. General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna seized power on six different occasions.

Many caudillos had been heroes for independence and had promised democratic

reforms, but instead rewarded friends with jobs and put their own interests ahead of their nations.

Liberals wanted their countries to modernize, and they looked abroad for investment capital to build steamships, railroads, and telegraphs. During the late 1800’s, Britain and the US invested heavily in

Latin America.

Economic imperialism

Many Latin American nations borrowed funds to modernize. Upon failure to repay, foreign governments threatened military action.