  Island of Haiti (aka Santo Domingo) colonized by Spanish and French, each controlling half  Economy based on sugar  Only large scale slave revolt to succeed in New World

 Leader of rebellion was Francois Toussaint L’Ouverture, a literate slave & talented military commander  Inspired by American Revolution & caused by events related to French Revolution  Once independent L’Ouverture wanted a country for freed blacks, but France wanted control  After fighting with France for several years French gave up, Napoleon’s troops could not beat tropical diseases & had to focus on war elsewhere

 Caused by a growing sense of national identity & local resentment of Spanish & Portuguese economic policies  1807 & 1809 Napoleon invaded Spain & Portugual

 Known as “the liberator”  Took control of the independence movement in South America in 1810

 Felt a successful revolt wouldn’t take place unless it attracted all classes, he promised to fight for rights of mixed-race Latin Americans & for emancipation of slaves  Gained control of Venezuela & Colombia  Joined forces with another revolutionary, Jose de San Martin

 Freed Argentina, Chile, Uruguay & Paraguay  Under Bolivar’s leadership, they together freed Bolivia, Ecuador, & Peru

 1820 the king of Portugal returned to Europe to reclaim his throne, leaving his son, Prince Pedro, in charge  “if Brazil starts to demand independence make sure you are the one to proclaim it, then put the crown on your own head”  1822 Pedro declared independence, without bloodshed

  Father Miguel Hidalgo called for independence from Spain, after his death in 1811, Father Jose Maria Morelos continued the fight  want equal rights for Indians, mestizos and slaves  want constitutional rule

 Agustin Iturbide finally overthrew Spanish rule in 1821, then attempted to establish a dictatorship before being overthrown  A Mexican republic was proclaimed in 1823

 Political breakdown  Bolivar thought Latin America would be divided into a small number of sizable states, but many split into small states quickly  Failure of constitutional law in many new countries, making political rights meaningless  Tendency for dictators to gain control of governments

 Economic Backwardness  developed only a small set of resources  required large reserves of slaves or cheap labor  did not diversify economies  profits tended to only benefit the elite  slow to modernize and industrialize

 Social and racial divisions  Social inequity persisted  People of mixed race, natives and blacks were the victims of informal prejudice  Sometimes racial tensions led to uprisings and guerilla wars  Economic inequalities  Slavery continued in Brazil and Cuba until the 1880s

 US gained vast amounts of territory from Mexico in the Mexican-American War ( )  Napoleon III tried to install a Habsburg emperor, Maximillian, as the ruler of Mexico in 1860s  Foreign investors, especially from US & Britain, worked with Latin American elites to control Latin America economies & take profits  “dollar diplomacy”  Monroe Doctrine

 Spain maintained a presence in the Caribbean, harshly controlling Puerto Rico & Cuba  Cubans who fought for independence were placed into concentration camps

 Pan-American Union formed in 1889 to promote cooperation among Latin American nations  unify Latin American nations against imperial domination  Strengthen peace & security  Improve the economies  Spanish-American War (1898) gave US a “Latin American Empire”  US built Panama Canal in early 1900s, another sign of US regional dominance

 Industrialization came in late 19 th century  Immigration from Europe & Asia increased populations, making Latin America more diverse  Limited modernization and industrialization