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Dessalines declared Haiti an independent country, becoming the first black colony to free itself from European control. -
The Spanish king, Charles IV, granted passage through Spanish territory to Napoleon’s forces on their way to invade Portugal. -
Napoleon’s conquest of Spain triggered revolts in the Spanish colonies. Removing Spain’s King and making his brother the new king. However, creoles felt no loyalty to a french king. -
Rebellion broke out in several parts of Latin America. The drive toward independence had begun. -
Colombian patriots stirred the population of Bogotá into street protests against Spanish rule. -
Iturbide defeated the Royalist forces still opposed to independence, and the new Spanish viceroy, lacking money, provisions, and troops, was forced to accept the independence. -
Chile broke from Spanish rule, declaring their independence. The Spanish had ruled Chile since the middle of the 16th Century. -
Simón Bolívar’s native Venezuela declared its independence from Spain. -
San Martín’s Argentina declared its independence. However, Spanish forces in nearby Chile and Peru still posed a threat. -
In 1817, San Martín led an army on a grueling march across the Andes to Chile and finally freed the country. -
Bolívar led over 2,000 soldiers on a daring march through the Andes into what is now Colombia. He won. -
Bolívar marched south into Ecuador where he finally met José de San Martín. -
Brazil gained its independence by maintaining a monarchical system of government until the abolition of slavery and the military's subsequent proclamation of a republic. -
San Martín's and Bolívar's army went on to defeat the Spanish at the Battle of Ayacucho and won Peru’s independence also freeing the Spanish colonies in Latin America.