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Napoleon Invades Portugal
Napoleon invaded Portugal and exiled the royal family to Brazil where they stayed even after Napoleon was defeated. Eventually, the King returned to rule Portugal and left his son in charge. This undermining of the authority of colonial officials marked the very beginning of Latin America's endeavor to get independence. (Image:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_propaganda) -
Juntas and Uprisings
The Junta Central, which had been put in place to govern Spain and its South American colonies while the king was a French prisoner, was accepted by most colonial residents. However and wealthy and vocal minority disapproved of this, and wanted to create their own local juntas until the king's return. This resulted in armed uprisings. However each time a local Spanish officials, other Spanish officials quickly restored order and punished the leaders of the uprisings. (image: sites.google.com) -
Movements Toward Independence
The effects of the uprisings against the juntas were not lost. In fact, they caused many people to start to think about separating from spain completely. In 1810, the uprisings became more focused on independence. (Image: dipity.com) -
Revolutionaries in Venezuela Declare Independance
A "Junta" of Landowning Creoles rebelled against Spanish influence to expand their own power. However, they did not support freedom of slavews to Spainards were able to rally the slaves for their cause. Revolutionaries appointed
Simon Bolivar to lead them in the fight. (Image:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim%C3%B3n_Bol%C3%ADvar) -
Bolivar Attempts to Gain Spanish Support
Simon Bolivar was set on making gaining more support, and after defeats would adapt his policies and objectives to attract new allies. One of these was Spain. However, his incentive for people to follow him was more not a nice one; he threatened that any Spaniard who would not support him would be considered and enemy and traitor, and shot by a firing squad as punishment.
(Image:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim%C3%B3n_Bol%C3%ADvar) -
Political Chaos in Argentina
After the United Provinces of Rio de la Plata declared independence, both patriots from Buenos Aires and Spanish loyalists wanted control over the area. The loyalists eventually gained the upper hand, and the government in Buenos Aires lost control of regional rivalries and political differences very quickly. Various form of attempted governments tried to handle the situation, but all of them lost control over the interior of Argentina.
(Image:http://history.howstuffworks.com/south-american-hist -
Prince Pedro of Portugal Appointed Leader of Brazil
Prince Pedro was the son of Joao VI (king of Portugal) and was put in charge after his fathr returned to Portugal. Eventually, Pedro decided that he wanted to be the official Emperor of Brazil rather than the Prince of Portugal. This meant that he was in charge of Brazil which sparked most of their revolution. (Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_IV_of_Portugal) -
Pedro Declares Brazil A Constitutional Monarchy
Once Pedro was put in charge of Brazil, he found that the Brazillian Parliament (called the Cortese) was trying to take over his rule. The Cortese would have ruled Brazil very strictly so Pedro sought the support of two Brazilian provinces, Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais, to help him reign in control. With them at his side, Pedro was able to take back full control of the government and create the Constitutional monarchy that he had wanted.
(Image:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_IV_of_Portugal) -
Defeat of Spanish Armies Results in Attempted Unification
After liberating today's Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador and occupying Peru and Bolivia, Simon Bolivar's army defeated the Spanish armies. He and his supporters tried to make these former Spanish colonies into a confederation, which began with turning Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador into Gran Colombia. Peru and Bolivia also were coaxed into uniting because of Bolivar. However, all of these unified nations fell apart by 1830.
(Image:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim%C3%B3n_Bol%C3%ADvar) -
Brazil Signs Treaty to End Slavery
The Brazilian government officially agreed to stop the slave trade. However, Brazil was the hub of the slave trade for many years so it was difficult for them to stop something that was so integral to their economy and society. Therefore, the slave trade continued in secret for many more years. (Image: http://histclo.com/act/work/slave/am/sa-bra.html) -
Brazil Forced to End Slavery by Britsh Navy
The British utilized their Naval power to force Brazil to sstop trading slaves illegally. This was one of the biggest steps toward the Abolition of slavery in Brazil. However, it still took many years for the change to be complete.
(Image:http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/About-the-Royal-Navy/Organisation/Life-in-the-Royal-Navy/History/Battles/Royal-Navy-and-the-Slave-Trade/Defeating-the-Slavers) -
Going Against Indigenous Peoples
Because of their differing political and cultural views, the indigenous people of Argentina and Chile were at odds. By the 1860s, The two countries had the means to attack the natives because of military modernization, population growth, and political stability. Government authorities justified the offensive on the natives by portraying them as brutal, cruel, and obstacles to progress. (image: uncorneredmarket.com)
(image: absoluteastronomy.com) -
War of the Triple Alliance
Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil teamed up in a war against Paraguay. After five years of fighting and the death of 20% of Paraguay's population and its dictator, the three allies came out on top. Paraguay lost territory to them and their militaries occupied it. The final result was that Paraguay had to open its markets to foreign trade. (image: latinamericanstudies.org) -
Native Resistance Crushed
The Amerindians who had become obstacles for the modernizing governments of Chile and Argentina were finally too much to allow to be in their countries. Chile and Argentina crushed their native resistances with overwhelming military force, killing thousands of Amerindians. The survivors relocatedd to marginal land. Although some of the resistance forces made progress at first, they were no match for modern weapons in the end. (image: uncorneredmarket.com) -
Poulation Reaches Roughly 40 Million
Immigration to Latin America meant that their population skyrocketed. Much of this poulation was comprised of slaves, however, becuase one landowner could own many slaves at a time. There were also many different ethnic groups living together at this time. This lead to many issued with class divisions.
(Photo is an Example of a Casta painting from: http://www.smith.edu/vistas/vistas_web/gallery/detail/casta-ptg_det.htm) -
Women Education
Argentina and Uruguay both introduced coeducation in the 1870s. This meant that these two nations provided public education for both women and men. They were among the first in Latin America to do this, along with Chile and Brazil, which also had advancements for women's education, especially in law and medicine. (image: rotaplast.typepad.com) -
War of the Pacific
Chile was already established as an economic and military power on South America's west coast, and proved itself again in this war. It began with a dispute over nitrate mines in the Atacama Desert, which was a disputed border region between Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. Chile won a crushing victory over the others in 1881. Its winnings included what had been Bolivia's only sea outlet and Peru's rich mining areas. Image: eu.art.com -
More Immigration!
As the slave trade began to come to an end, European immigration to Latin America became more influential. There was a huge wave of immigration, which caused a huge growth in economies. Urbanization was also quickly occuring, and cities like Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo had large immigrant populations. (image: worldmapsonline.com) -
Slavery Officially Abolished by Brazillian Government
The law banning slavery (Lei Aurea) finally passed through the Brazillian government and was approved by the Emperor. This meant that slaves in Brazil were finally freed many years after the original treaty was signed. Brazil was one of the last countries to abolish slavery. (Image: http://www.theinfostrides.com/index.php?topic=14951.0) -
Development
Despite their efforts to industrialize and expand, many Western countries experienced economic difficulties during this time, and most people made a considerably less amount of money than Europeans. However, Argentina, along with the U.S. and Canada were able to keep their income levels very similar to those in Europe. This was because of the open land, diverse resources, temperate climates, and large numbers of immigrants that each of these nations had. (images: maggieblanck.com)
