The Monroe Doctrine
The struggle for the nations of Spanish America to gain independence from Spain had a profound effect on the United States and its foreign policy. The United States was one of the earliest nations to recognize the independence of the emerging South American nations, and as such was determined to prevent their being re-colonized by Spain or conquered by another European power. At the same time it was determined to prevent the expansionism of the new nations, particularly Brazil and Mexico. When Mexico planned to expand its empire into Cuba, the United States made it clear that Cuba was to remain Spanish territory.
The Monroe Doctrine was announced during President Monroe’s seventh annual message to Congress, what later came to be known as the State of the Union Address. Its intent was clear; Spain and the other European powers’ intercession in the independence of the South American nations was not to be tolerated. Great Britain, happy to see the decline of its rivals Spain and France in the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars, accepted the Monroe Doctrine, and backed it at sea with the strength of the Royal Navy. The British welcomed the trade from the former colonies of Spain, and had no desire to see Spain regain them.
In the Spanish colonies, with many still fighting the local royalists and Spanish expeditionary forces, the Monroe Doctrine was given a mixed reception. Simon Bolivar was pleased with the announcement and its intention, but was realist enough to know that the United States lacked the military strength to enforce it on their own. The Royal Navy of Great Britain enforced the doctrine when it was in their interests to do so, but there was no official announcement by the British government that they would be the military teeth for the American declaration. Other revolutionary leaders questioned American motives.
During the American Civil War both Great Britain and France violated the tenor of the Monroe Doctrine, but the United States did not take steps to enforce it, concerned that doing so could lead to recognition of the Confederacy. The British reclaimed their crown colony of British Honduras, (today’s Belize) in 1862 and the French invaded Mexico, installing the Emperor Maximilian. In 1865 the United States moved a large army to the Mexican border, and the presence of the veteran troops convinced the French to abandon their Mexican adventure, leaving Maximilian to his fate at the hands of Mexican insurgents.
The Monroe Doctrine had little effect on the wars which emerged between the former Spanish viceroyalties and colonies which became the nations of South America. Throughout the nineteenth century, civil wars, revolutions, and coup d’ etats plagued the South American continent, and the United States intervened in Venezuela and other nations on several occasions. The South Americans initiated the ejection of Spain from the New World, but it was the Monroe Doctrine which prevented the Spanish from reasserting their authority and regaining their lost empire. After the Monroe Doctrine the Spanish Empire was reduced to Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and a few other small possessions.