1.  What was the “Grito de Delores”?  Who was Father Miguel Hidalgo?  How did the Age of Enlightenment change traditional ways of thinking?  What role did the “precursors” of the revolutions, such as Francisco de Miranda, play in encouraging new ways of thinking?  How did Spain change its policy regarding the hiring of government officials in the colonies?  How did Creoles and Peninsulares feel about each other?

2.  What issues of trade and commerce aggravated many Creole businessmen?  How did the Spanish colonies of Latin America view their place within the Empire?  How did Napoleon’s invasion of Spain and Portugal play out?  Where did the Portuguese royal family move to?  Whom did Napoleon place on the throne of Spain?  What was a junta?  How did the colonial juntas respond to the juntas in Spain?

3.  In what way was the Napoleonic invasion of the Iberian Peninsula the straw broke the colonial back?  Why did the Hidalgo revolt receive little support from the Creoles of New Spain?  What policies was Hidalgo looking to change in his attempted revolution?  What was Bolivar’s appraisal of Latin America according to his “Jamaica Letter” of 1815?  What did the Creoles of Venezuela declare on July 5, 1811?  Was that declaration welcomed by everyone in Venezuela?

4.  Who was Simon Bolivar?  How did his experiences in Europe shape his political beliefs and ambitions?  Whom did Bolivar convince to lead the first attempt at establishing Venezuelan independence?  What role did an earthquake play in bringing about an end to the First Republic in Venezuela?  How did Bolivar react to news that Miranda was secretly negotiating a surrender with Royalist forces?

5.  What happened in Buenos Aires on July 27, 1806?  What was the purpose of the English invasion?  How did the viceroy and peninsulares respond?  How did the local Creoles respond?  What did the British do after being driven out of Buenos Aires?  How did the occupation of Montevideo turn out for the British?  Why did the Creoles not welcome the British?

6.  What did the locals do with the Spanish viceroy of the La Plata region?  What is a cabildo abierto?  What sort of reforms did the new junta of Buenos Aires bring in?  What were portenos?  Why was there a split between many of the portenos and their compatriots who lived farther inland?  Describe the socio-economic structure of Bolivia.  How had the Tupac Amaru II uprising in the late 1700s affected the Creole elite in Bolivia?

7.  From where was the idea of revolution introduced to Bolivia? How?  In 1810 Buenos Aires sent an army into Bolivia to bring freedom. How did the expedition go?  Why did many of the Bolivian Creoles not welcome the liberating army from Buenos Aires?  How did the second expedition, launched in 1813, turn out?  How did the third expedition, in 1815, end up?

8.  Who were the montoneros?  Why were Lima and Buenos Aires so determined to take control of Bolivia (Upper Peru)?  Why did the local Creole elite tend to side with Lima?  What were the obstacles Buenos Aires faced in trying to subdue Bolivia?  What were some of the advantages and disadvantages to independence minded Montevideans as a result of the city’s location?

9.  Who was Jose Artigas?  What is a caudillo?  What was the “Grito de Asuncion”, issued in February 1811?  How did the Spanish viceroy in Montevideo handle the dual attack from Uruguayan and Argentine patriots?  How did the Argentines respond to Brazil’s incursion into the Rio de la Plata region?  Why is Artigas’ retreat from Montevideo into the hinterland considered a significant moment in Uruguayan history?  What happened in 1817 after Artigas has taken control of Montevideo?

10.  How long would it be until Uruguay became an independent country?  Why did it take so long?  What was Paraguay’s social and economic state as of 1810?  How did the Paraguayans react to Spain’s attempt to speak for all the colonies?  How did Buenos Aires react to Paraguay’s refusal to go along with its junta?  How did the military campaign go for the Argentines?  What did Paraguay do on May 17, 1811?

11.  Did Paraguay develop into a democracy right away?  What did Jose Francia declare himself to be in 1815?  Why do you think it was relatively easy for Paraguay to reach independence?  Why would many Chilean Creoles already consider themselves to be Chilean by the time Napoleon invaded Spain?  How did the Creoles of Chile outmaneuver the viceroy?  What did the cabildo abierto of September 10, 1810 decide?

12.  What steps did the junta take that were clear indicators of a desire for independence?  What did Jose Carrera do in July of 1811? Why?  What reforms did Carrera institute while in power?  Was everyone happy with Carrera’s style of leadership? Why not?  Who was Bernardo O’Higgins?  Where did the most serious opposition to Chilean independence come from?  Where did O’Higgins and many of the survivors of the Battle of Rancagua flee?  What were the following years like for the patriotic Creoles of Chile?

13.  How did the journey to independence begin for the people of Ecuador?  Why did they not achieve independence until Bolivar’s armies marched south from Colombia in 1822?  Why did the juntas of Colombia ultimately fail?  Why did most of the Creoles of Peru not take up the cause of Independence?  What impact did the native rebellion led by Mateo Pumacahua have on the Creoles?  What role did the Viceroy of Peru, Jose Fernando de Abascal play in the counter-revolutionary movement?

14.  What was happening in Spain while the colonies were considering independence?  What was the Cortes convened in Spain and what sort of decisions did it make?  Were Creole representatives from the Americas permitted to attend?  How did the Creoles who went feel about their treatment?  Why was the liberal constitution of 1812 short lived?  Why was Ferdinand VII able to reassert royal control over the colonies?

15.  Who was Jose Maria Morelos?  What did he declare in 1810?  Why was popular with the lower classes in Mexico?  Why did the Creoles of Mexico not support him?  What happened to Morelos on December 22, 1815?  To where did Bolivar flee after the defeat of the First Republic in Venezuela?  What did Bolivar call for in the Cartegena Manifesto?

16.  What would have caused Bolivar to come to the conclusion that unity was the key to winning independence?  What moment of glory did Bolivar experience in 1813?  Why didn’t it last?  Who were the llaneros?  When did the second Venezuelan republic come to an end?  What was the state of Spanish America by the end of 1816?