The Aftermath of the South American Revolutions
Regional differences, geographical isolation, trade rivalries, and religious policies, as well as the despotic nature of some leaders and the varying tribes of Amerindians, precluded the union of the South American nations into a confederation. It became a reflection of European nationalism rather than American union. Wars of conquest and revolutions against ruling governments continued for decades in nearly all of South America which had formerly been part of New Spain. Brazil, which had not, fought three major wars during the reign of Pedro II, including the Paraguayan War, which killed more than 70% of the adult male population of Paraguay.
Instability in the former Spanish empire led to numerous interventions by the United States, including the Mexican War, itself descended from unresolved border disputes left over from the Texas Revolution. The United States intervened in Venezuela, in still Spanish Cuba in the 1890s, and in the Mexican Revolution of 1911. Wars conducted between the South American countries invited the intercession of Great Britain, which in the early nineteenth century was the largest trading partner and financial investor in the former Spanish lands. The United States increased its trade with the former Spanish colonies to reduce British influence and interest throughout the nineteenth century.
The influence of Catholicism in the Spanish Empire continued in the independent nations after they broke away from Spain. Freedom of religion came gradually. Brazil established freedom of religion in 1890, the Catholic Church remained the state religion in Colombia until 1991. The influence of the Roman Catholic Church was such that Paraguay recognizes Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Feast of the Assumption, and other Catholic feasts as national holidays. Religion classes are allowed in public schools. Bolivia did not grant freedom of religion until 2008.
Problems over slavery, which had been allowed in the Spanish Empire, plagued many of the nations which emerged from it. Mexico formally abolished slavery in the 1820s, after having invited American settlement in the Mexican state of Texas. Many of the Americans who migrated to Texas brought slaves with them, and they were a major factor in the Texas Revolution of 1835-36, which led to the Battles of the Alamo, Goliad, San Jacinto, and Texas independence. Brazil remained a stable constitutional monarchy until it abolished slavery in 1889, leading to an overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of the first republic.
The revolutions within the Spanish Empire, coupled with the damages inflicted on the Spanish economy and infrastructure, removed Spain from the great powers of Europe, and as a rival with Great Britain for global empire. Independence was achieved, but in many cases individual freedom was severely curtailed, and the many changes of government and policy restricted the growth of the newly emerged nations. By the 1890s the caricature of the tinpot Latin American dictator emerged, and it continued to thrive throughout the twentieth century, long after the dictatorial viceroys of Spain were long forgotten.
Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“The Peninsular War”, by Charles Esdaile, 2003
“Simon Bolivar’s Quest for Glory”, by Richard W. Slatta, 2003
“Citizen Emperor: Pedro II and the Making of Brazil”, by Roderick J. Barman, 1999
“The Independence of Latin America”, by Leslie Bethell, 1987
“The Mexican Wars for Independence”, by Timothy J. Henderson, 2009
“Liberators: Latin America’s Struggle for Independence 1810-1830”, by Robert Harvey, 2000
“Independence in Spanish America: A Comparative Approach”, by Richard Graham, 1994