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Old World & New World · Article 13 of 22 · 18⁠10–18⁠30

Independence spread across the Americas, but inequality remained

People & builders: Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (17⁠53–18⁠11); Simón Bolívar (17⁠83–18⁠30); José de San Martín (17⁠78–18⁠50); Antonio José de Sucre (17⁠95–18⁠30); Pedro I of Brazil (17⁠98–18⁠34)

Rebellion began within a collapsing imperial order

Napoleon’s 18⁠08 intervention in Spain damaged the legitimacy of the Bourbon monarchy and left people across Spanish America debating who could govern in the king’s absence. Local juntas formed, but they did not all pursue independence immediately. In September 18⁠10 Miguel Hidalgo raised an insurrection in New Spain. His movement mobilized large numbers of people with grievances about hierarchy and land; royal forces captured him, and he was executed in 18⁠11. Independence in Mexico came later, in 18⁠21, after further conflicts and shifting alliances.

The wars were not simply colonists against Europeans. Royalists and independence supporters could come from the same towns and social groups. Enslaved, Indigenous and mixed-descent people weighed promises of emancipation and citizenship against the behavior of armies and officials. New states inherited many colonial tax and property disputes.

The campaigns depended on geography and alliances

Simón Bolívar led armies through difficult terrain and political fractures. The victory at Boyacá in August 18⁠19 helped secure New Granada; Carabobo in June 18⁠21 aided the liberation of Venezuela. José de San Martín organized campaigns across the Andes into Chile and Peru, with independence declared in Lima in 18⁠21. Antonio José de Sucre’s victory at Ayacucho in December 18⁠24 effectively ended the main Spanish royalist army in South America.

Brazil followed a different path. Dom Pedro declared independence from Portugal in September 18⁠22 and became emperor; imperial monarchy and slavery survived independence there. Political independence could therefore coexist with forms of authority that revolutionaries elsewhere had fought to remove.

Borders were won more quickly than trust

Bolívar hoped that political union might preserve the military gains of independence, but Gran Colombia fragmented after 18⁠30. New governments faced regional rivalries, heavy war debts and constrained tax systems. The abolition of slavery and expansion of political rights proceeded unevenly across the new states.

Present-day borders, republican constitutions and recurring debates over central versus provincial authority reflect these early settlements. The old colonial administration lost its formal claim to sovereignty in much of the region. Yet the social burdens of coerced labor, concentrated landownership and unequal legal treatment often outlived the imperial flags.

Dates & turning points

  • 18⁠08: Napoleonic intervention creates a legitimacy crisis for Spain and its colonies.
  • September 18⁠10: Hidalgo begins insurgency in New Spain.
  • 18⁠19–18⁠21: Boyacá and Carabobo strengthen independence campaigns led by Bolívar.
  • 18⁠22: Brazil declares independence under Pedro I.
  • 9 December 18⁠24: Sucre’s victory at Ayacucho breaks the main Spanish royalist position in South America.

Historical references