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The colonists in the Spanish Empire had many reasons to resent Spanish rule.

The Spanish government controlled trade for the benefit of Spain. The colonies had to buy manufactured goods from the home country and sell their products to Spain.

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The unequal distribution of wealth and power among Latin Americans created another source of resentment.

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Creoles, colonists born in Latin America to Spanish parents, wanted more power for themselves. They were wealthy landowners and mine owners but they were not appointed to important political jobs.

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The desire for revolution was strongest among the Creoles. They were well-educated and aware of the Enlightenment ideas behind the American and French Revolutions.

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In 1808, the discontented Creoles got their opportunity to begin a revolt. In that year, the armies of Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Spain.

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His brother, Joseph Bonaparte, became king of Spain. The Latin American colonists refused to accept French rule.

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Revolutions broke out in many parts of Latin America. Even after the Spanish king was restored to the throne in 1814, the revolutions continued.

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The colonists did not want to return to the old ways. They wanted independence.

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Simon Bolivar was an independence leader of Latin America. He was called “The Liberator.”

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Bolivar gathered enough support to drive the Spaniards out of Colombia in 1819. He also led Venezuela to independence in 1821 and aided Ecuador in 1822.

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Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia joined together in one nation called Gran Colombia. It did not last but Bolivar dreamed of a union of all Latin American states.

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