Respostas
Hi! i am alice,
Napoleon in power in France proved to be contradictory and authoritarian, thus renouncing the principles of the French Revolution and beginning its expansion across Europe. The only country that could prevent this expansionist project was England.
As the French topas were unable to destabilize England, in 1806 France decreed the continental blockade (European countries were forbidden to open their ports to English trade). Countries that did not accept the continental blockade would be invaded by Napoleon's troops.
Spain does not accept and therefore it is invaded in 1808. King Fernando VII is deposed and Napoleon's brother, José I.
However, both the Spanish colonies and Spain resisted the French occupation. With the support of England and the Criolla elite (descendants of Spaniards born in America), Governing Boards were organized in the colony, which in several cities began to defend the idea of a definitive break with the metropolis.
Spain's economic policy, based on mercantilism, sought to develop the metropolises by exploiting the wealth produced in the colonies.
But in this same policy, loopholes began to appear, which allowed the colonies to develop somewhat. By creating universities and freeing commerce in the colonies, King Carlos III (1759-1788) stimulated its development, as well as the desire for liberation.
In general, the first manifestations of discontent that arose in America dominated by the Iberians were not separatist. Rather, they expressed the colonists' malaise over the abuses of the metropolis, their opposition to mercantilist politics and their search for economic freedom.
In Spanish America, the occupation of Spain by Napoleon's troops weakened the metropolis' control over the colonies. In 1811, Father Hidalgo tried unsuccessfully to proclaim the independence of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico). Another attempt in 1813, another failure: Hidalgo was executed. The conquest of independence came in 1821, led by General Itúrbide, who proclaimed himself emperor. Forced to abdicate in 1823, he was shot dead. Mexico then became an independent federal republic.
Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador emerged from the Viceroyalty of New Granada, freed by Simón Bolívar, respectively, in 1817, 1819 and 822. The Viceroyalty of Peru gave rise to three countries: Peru, Chile and Bolivia.
From the Viceroyalty of Prata, three other countries emerged: Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Paraguay was liberated without wars in 1811. Uruguay, invaded by Portugal in 1816 and annexed to Brazil with the name of Porvênia Cisplatina, only became independent in 1828.
Faced with the generalized revolt, the Spanish king Fernando VII even asked for help from Santa Aliança (an organization in which Spain participated and which claimed the right to intervene in the colonies). But the United States and England opposed the intervention and recognized the independence of the Spanish colonies. The US position can be summed up in the policy established in 1823 by President James Monroe, the so-called Monroe Doctrine, which declared "America for Americans". England was driven by economic interests, as the new countries could represent a safe market for their products.
Without the help of the Holy Alliance, Spain's domination of America came to an end
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