Chapter 8

The Independence of Latin America

The following material is designed to help you sort out the major themes and important information in our textbook Benjamin Keen, A History of Latin America, 5^th ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996). You will be quizzed over this material in class. Also use this information as a study guide to prepare for the exam.

Learning Objectives

After you have read and studied Chapter 8, you should be able to:

1. Outline the causes of the Latin American wars of independence.
2. Explain how and why the Latin American and North American struggles for independence differed.
3. Describe the course of the struggle for independence in its four main centers.
4. Discuss the main political, economic, and social consequences of the wars for independence.

Chapter Summary

The chapter opens with a discussion of the background that set the stage for the Latin American revolutions and the events that immediately preceded them. These revolutions are compared to the North American Revolution. A survey of the revolutionary process in each of the four main centers follows, with attention to the leadership roles of the great liberators. The relatively peaceful nature of the Brazilian transition to independence and the initial social revolutionary character of the Mexican Revolution are stressed. The chapter concludes with a summary of the major political, economic, and social changes resulting from the achievement of independence.

Identification Terms

Be sure that you are able to identify and explain the historical significance of each of each of these terms from this chapter.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. This material is presented as a study guide exclusively for the use of students in Latin American History at Illinois State University. Please direct any questions to Marc Becker at mbecker@ilstu.edu.