The War of Independence in the American Spanish Colonies was a war of liberation by the Spanish American people against Spanish rule. In the 300 years since Columbus discovered the Americas, Spain has been cruelly exploiting the people of its colonies in the Americas. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Spanish colonial empire had 4 governorships and 4 generals: the governorships were New Spain, New Granada, Peru, and La Plata; the generals were Guatemala and Venezuela. , Chile area, Cuba area. The entire economic life of these colonies was subordinated to the economic interests of the sovereign state, and the local residents were discriminated against.
During the 16th and 18th centuries, anti-Spanish uprisings rose one after another. The development of capitalist relations aroused the awakening of the nation. The North American War of Independence from 1775 to 1783, the French Revolution from 1789 to 1794, and the struggle for the liberation of slaves in Santo Domingo from 1791 to 1803 were of great significance to the development of the national liberation movement. The occupation of most of the territory of the Pyrenees Peninsula by Napoleonic France shows the weakness of Spain. The revolutionary events in Spain in 1808 directly promoted the vigorous rise of the national liberation struggle in its colonies. On April 19, 1810, Caracas uprising broke out; on May 25, Buenos Aires uprising broke out; July 20, Bogota uprising broke out; September 16th, 18th, Dolores Uprisings also broke out in Santiago and Santiago. These uprisings led to the demise of the Spanish colonial system and announced the beginning of the War of Independence.
In 1811, Venezuela and Paraguay declared their independence one after another, forming the New Granada United Province Representative Conference.
In 1813, Mexico declared independence. Because the colonial territories were isolated from each other, the Spanish colonists were able to gradually restore their rule in the centers of insurrection that were not closely connected.
By the end of 1815, except for the La Plata area, Spain finally suppressed all the uprisings everywhere. Another reason for the failure of the uprising is that there are sharp social contradictions within the anti-Spanish camp. Many leaders of the liberation movement were killed and a few moved abroad.
However, the Spanish colonists only gained power temporarily. By 1816, the liberation movement had another climax, and the talented military generals and political activists Bolívar and San Martin played a big role in this regard. The Liberation Army established by Bolivar liberated most of Venezuela from 1817 to 1818, liberated New Granada in 1819, and Quito in 1822, completely defeating the Spanish colonial army. The Independent Federal Republic of Colombia was established on the aforementioned liberated lands.
Within the American continent, where Spanish colonial rule has not been restored, the combined provinces of La Plata declared their independence. Subsequently, the patriot team, led by San Martin, set off from La Plata, and after an extremely arduous march, crossed the Andes Mountains, and successively liberated Chile and parts of Peru. In 1822, San Martin withdrew from political and military activities due to differences with Bolivar, and Bolivar assumed the leadership of the liberation struggle in Peru. The Bolivarian Army defeated the Spanish Army one after another. On December 9, 1824, they defeated the enemy's last large army group near Ayacucho. From 1825, Upper Peru was renamed Bolivia to commemorate Bolivar. In 1821, Mexico and China and the United States declared independence. In 1823, China and the United States announced the establishment of the China-US United Provincial Federation. On the east coast, patriots fought a long-term struggle against Spanish colonists and later Portuguese invaders. At the beginning of 1826, the last Spanish garrison surrendered. So far, the Spanish colonies in the Americas have gained political independence except Cuba and Puerto Rico.
In the course of this war, the People's Liberation Movement forces often defeated powerful enemies whose numbers and equipment far exceeded them to win major victories. The cavalry's operations in the grasslands are particularly effective. The insurgents had few artillery, and they often fought with cold weapons, so the fighting was extremely cruel, and they often fought hand-to-hand. The Liberation War also eliminated many remnants of feudalism, abolished slavery and established a republic in most countries that declared independence. However, the war that killed more than 1 million lives did not fundamentally change the socio-economic structure of Latin American countries.