Revolutions in South America - AP World History: Modern

Simon Bolivar succeeded in defeating Spanish forces on August 10, 1820 in Bogota, marking the first independent nation called Gran Colombia. While uprisings against Spanish presence in South America occurred earlier in the 19th century, the taking of Bogota marked the first time that the viceroyalty capital and control was in the hands of South Americans. In the subsequent years, other nations in South America followed suite and gained independence.

In 1824, Simon Bolivar led decisive victories against the Spanish forces in Peru in Junin and Ayacucho. In August of 1825, the Congress of Upper Peru, the Republic of Bolivia was established with Bolivar as its first president. After a brief several months as President, Bolivar was succeeded by Antonio Jose de Sucre in December of 1825.

In 1822, forces led by General Antonio Jose de Sucre defeated Spanish forces near Quito, which guaranteed Ecuador's independence. Although Guayaquil gained independence before the Battle of Pichincha, it was this battle that saw the whole country become independent. After the battle, Ecuador joined Gran Colombia until separating in 1830.

Simon Bolivar was from a wealthy Creole family and he was one of the major leaders in the revolutions that created all of the above nations, so he would be the best choice. Moctezuma II was the ruler of the Aztecs when the Spanish arrived, so he would not be a good answer to this question. George Washington was a revolutionary general but he was only active in the modern United States, so he would not be a good answer here. King Ferdinand II was an Old World monarch and sponsored Christopher Columbus's voyage, so he would not be the best choice here. Lastly Pablo Escobar was an infamous 20th century drug smuggler, so he would not be a correct answer.

Juan Peron was a champion of the working class and his platform exemplified this. He was in favor of ridding the country of multinational corporations and giving the jobs, that he believed they had taken, back to the Argentinian people. He therefore was in favor of organized labor and wished to keep foreign investors out of the country. He also did not believe in giving tax cuts to the wealthy.

Due to Napoleon's conquest, the Portuguese royal family had already moved to Brazil, setting up the path towards independence with the establishment of the Empire of Brazil in 1822.

Venezuela declared its independence from Spain on July 5, 1811. It was the first country to do so during the general Spanish American Wars for Independence that occurred between 1810 to 1823. The collapse of the Spanish Monarchy in 1808 led to a power vacuum in South America that allowed several colonies to move to independence. Even though Venezuela declared its independence in 1811, the last Spanish Loyalist forces did not stop fighting until 1823.

The Battle of Pichincha was the final battle on the Ecuadorian rebels' advance to Quito. It was the culmination of Ecuador's struggle for independence that started in 1820. Even before conflict began, Spanish Loyalist forces were already on the retreat throughout the continent. Thus, Ecuador's fight for independence was shorter and less bloody than other conflicts on the continent. The Battle itself occurred over 3,500 meters above sea level on the slopes of the Pichincha volcano. Victory by General Antonio Jose de Sucre allowed the rebels to enter Quito, in effect guaranteeing the formation of Ecuador as an independent country.

The Battle of Ayacucho was the last great battle of the South American wars for independence. Peruvian rebels led by Jose Antonio de Sucre (the same general from the Battle of Pichincha crushed the remnants of Royalist control of Peru. Although the battle occurred in Peru, it also resulted in the formation of the nation of Bolivia, which incorporated parts of Upper Peru that had been led by Simon Bolivar.

Bolivar began his efforts to encourage revolution a year after the Peninsular War began in 1807. The Peninsular War was a conflict between France, the United Kingdom, Portugal, and the Bourbon and Bonapartist Spanish forces. By 1821, Bolivar had helped Venezuela secure its independence.

Juan Peron was elected President of Argentina three times, ruling from 1946-1955, and then again from October 1973 to his death in July 1974. Peron was a military leader who espoused a "third way" form of economics and government between capitalism and communism that was referred to as "Peronismo." Typically, this is called "corporatism," as Peron and his followers sought to have the government work with corporations and labor unions to create economic balance.

For several centuries, Latin America was a series of European colonies, mostly Spanish and Portuguese. In the nineteenth century, most of these achieved independence; however, that independence was to become profoundly illusory in the twentieth century as the United States began to exert overwhelming control over Latin American economic and political life. American investors took control of mines, plantations, and financial institutions throughout Latin America, and the American government took an active role in encouraging revolutions to further political interests.

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the nations of Latin America were generally either colonies or republics, with a few exceptions. When the economic crisis of the Great Depression hit in the 1930s, many states lost faith in their republican governments, and military dictatorships were able to seize power. This happened in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, and several other countries.

In the early twentieth century, more than three quarters of the worlds coffee was grown in Brazil. The country was governed by a proto-republican oligarchy that was able to maintain power as a result of the high cost of and demand for coffee; however, during the Great Depression, the demand for coffee collapsed, causing the price to collapse and plunging Brazil into an economic crisis. This led to the overthrowing of the republican government, which was replaced by a military dictatorship.

Juan Perón is the most famous Argentinian president who served during the tumultuous years of revolution and military dictatorships that defined Argentinian politics in the middle of the twentieth century. He came to power shortly after the end of the Second World War before being overthrown and ostracized from the government by a military coup in 1955.

During the military dictatorship regimes of the mid-twentieth century, most Latin American countries were almost entirely reliant on exporting their raw resources to the industrial nations of Europe, North America, and Japan; however, as the economies of many Latin American countries began to struggle in the 1970s, their governments reacted by taking massive loans out from the banks and governments of the developed world. By 1982, Latin American debt had spiraled out of control, and many governments declared themselves unable to pay off the debt. This led to a movement towards democracy as the people of the various Latin American nations lost faith in the ability of the military dictatorships to provide safe and effective government.

The Iran-Contra Affair was a political scandal that occurred during the Reagan administration. It involved the sale of arms to Iran (illegal under an international embargo) and the use of that money to fund rebels in Nicaragua (prohibited by Congress). It was also an attempt to arrange for the release of American hostages in Iran.

The Iran-Contra Affair was a political and diplomatic scandal that occurred during the second term of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. It involved the sale of arms, illegal under an international embargo being enforced at the time, by the American government to the Iranian government. The money was then used to fund rebel soldiers in Nicaragua (the contras) which had also been prohibited by the United States Congress. Because the President’s administration effectively acted in secret and in knowing violation of two laws it was a significant scandal for Reagan to try to deal with.

Dollar Diplomacy was part of the early period of American imperialism, at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. It was most frequently used under President William Howard Taft. Dollar Diplomacy involved establishing businesses and lending money to investors in foreign countries (particularly Central America) and taking economic, political, and financial control over a country by wielding the power of big business and financial obligation.

The history of Latin America in the twentieth century is a history of revolution, populism, military coup d'etats, and American interference. Argentina is often held as the classic example of these competing trends and movements and Juan Peron is one of the most famous rulers. He came to power following the coup d'etat of 1943, in the elections of 1946, and ruled until 1955 when he himself was overthrown by a separate coup d'etat.