How Did Latin America Gain Independence From Spain
Essay 3: Revolution and Independence
Even since most of Latin America gained independence from Spain in the period of 1800’s, the region has been the scene of numerous disastrous civil wars and revolutions.
During the 19th century, Spain and
Portugal made the political transition from corporatism to democracy. Both countries shared a common geographical setting, history, religion, and corporatist dictatorships. However, markably different factors caused the political changes, producing different government and social structures in each society. Spain and Portugal may have similarities, but these factors cloud the very different processes that occurred in each country’s transition to democracy, bringing the appearance of correlation when in fact there is little. …show more content…
Thus the juntas in the Americas justified self government under the principle of retroversion of the sovereignty to the people. These nations were usually led by a strong centralized government with a perpetual military ruler.
The strong autocratic governments led to the breakup of these nations. One reason is because of the poor topography, and the lack of good transportation. Unlike Brazil, which is relatively compact, the Spanish speaking parts of Latin American are basically strung out in a long, thin, line. Even the six or seven central American countries basically consist of settlements along the coasts, with jungle in between disconnecting the main cities. At the time of Latin American independence, only a few land routes connected the colonies. Long-distance travel was subject to native raids, and the Spanish's cherished horses couldn't cross areas without pasturage, making the Sonoran and Atacama deserts practically impassable. The distance between Spain and the New World encouraged the evasion of Portugal. The ordinary problems of human ambition came into play; the colonists often thwarted the Crown. The
Even since most of Latin America gained independence from Spain in the period of 1800’s, the region has been the scene of numerous disastrous civil wars and revolutions.
During the 19th century, Spain and
Portugal made the political transition from corporatism to democracy. Both countries shared a common geographical setting, history, religion, and corporatist dictatorships. However, markably different factors caused the political changes, producing different government and social structures in each society. Spain and Portugal may have similarities, but these factors cloud the very different processes that occurred in each country’s transition to democracy, bringing the appearance of correlation when in fact there is little. …show more content…
Thus the juntas in the Americas justified self government under the principle of retroversion of the sovereignty to the people. These nations were usually led by a strong centralized government with a perpetual military ruler.
The strong autocratic governments led to the breakup of these nations. One reason is because of the poor topography, and the lack of good transportation. Unlike Brazil, which is relatively compact, the Spanish speaking parts of Latin American are basically strung out in a long, thin, line. Even the six or seven central American countries basically consist of settlements along the coasts, with jungle in between disconnecting the main cities. At the time of Latin American independence, only a few land routes connected the colonies. Long-distance travel was subject to native raids, and the Spanish's cherished horses couldn't cross areas without pasturage, making the Sonoran and Atacama deserts practically impassable. The distance between Spain and the New World encouraged the evasion of Portugal. The ordinary problems of human ambition came into play; the colonists often thwarted the Crown. The