Latin American Wars of Independence
Continental wave of independence wars that broke Spanish and Portuguese imperial rule in the Americas.
Historical overview
Overview adapted from a Wikipedia summary and stored locally on May 11, 2026.
The Spanish American wars of independence were a series of conflicts that took place across the Spanish Empire during the early 19th century. The struggles in both hemispheres began shortly after the outbreak of the Peninsular War forming part of the broader context of the Napoleonic Wars. The conflicts were fought between Royalists, who favoured rule from a unitary Spanish monarchy, and Patriots, who supported either autonomous constitutional monarchies or independent republics, separated from Spain and each other. These struggles ultimately led to the independence and secession of most of Spanish America from Spanish rule, which, beyond this conflict, resulted in a process of Balkanization in Hispanic America. If defined strictly in terms of military campaigns, the time period in question ranged from the 1809 Battle of Chacaltaya in present-day Bolivia, to the 1829 Battle of Tampico in Mexico.
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Border context
Revolutionary and Napoleonic borders
Revolutionary France and Napoleon redraw much of Europe before the Congress of Vienna restores a new settlement.
French satellite states and annexations replace older dynastic borders. Latin American independence wars begin during Iberian crisis.Vienna settlement and independence waves
The post-Napoleonic European settlement coexists with new states in Latin America and the eastern Mediterranean.
Latin American republics emerge from Spanish imperial collapse. Greek independence changes the Ottoman frontier.