Wars of Independence, Part I

How have the independence movements been interpreted by historians over time, and in film documentaries?

I. “Historiography” (how have various historians interpreted these events?)

1. Nationalist: heroes, freedom from Spanish tyranny, American unity
2. Revisionist (beg. 1970s): not social revolutions but change of power from Spanish to Creole elite
3. Recent approaches (beg. 1990s): more complex than either freedom or continuity of power, active participation of common people and their engagement with new ideals

II. Historical Context

1. Interaction between events in Metropole (Spain) and America
2. Changes since succession crisis century earlier

a. Bourbon Reforms and reactions to them
b. Emerging American identity
c. New political philosophies and examples of Republics (e.g. US and France)

3. Enduring loyalism to monarch: among both elites and common people

Why did Spanish colonies declare independence or not, and how did they achieve it?

III. Catalyst

A. Events in Spain

1808: Napoleon captured Ferdinand VII; Spaniards elect juntas to govern in his absence
1810: Appointment of Regency to rule for king
1812: Election of Parliament (Cortes) which passes a Constitution
1814: Ferdinand VII restored: Rescinded Constitution and Reconquest of American colonies

B. Elite Creole Responses

1. Formed local juntas and sent representatives to Cortes (Parliament)

a. Early optimism for reform within system
b. Growing disillusionment

i. Treated as 2nd-class citizens within Cortes
ii. violent retribution during “reconquest” after 1814

2. Faced hypothetical questions:

a. Q1: More to gain remaining within the empire or declaring independence?
b. Q2: Could they prevent revolution from below?

IV. Clip on Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin from "The Buried Mirror, Part 4: The Price of Freedom" (Author Carlos Fuentes, Producer, Michael Gill, Director, Peter Newington; presented by Sogetel in association with the Smithsonian Institutions and Quinto Centenario Espana, 1991). Available in the Learning Resource Center (Walter Library) or the CLA Language Lab (Jones Hall).

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