European politics affect Spanish colonial

European Politics and Spanish Colonial

Q 1

The Napoleonic invasion of Spain is considered the precipitating cause of the war of independence. The French invasion of Spain-accounted-for the loss of monarchical unity as the King Charles IV and Ferdinand VII were forced to abdicate the crown in favor of Joseph Bonaparte. With the French occupation, the Spanish empire faced an acute international crisis and domestic: the American colonies reaffirmed their loyalty to the king of Spain, Fernando VII, and-following the example of Spain in Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Chile and other colonial territories were established jointly swearing allegiance to the Junta of Seville (Edwards, 36-39). Despite the initial support, in America was emerging as a crisis of loyalty: who would be loyal? In the absence of the monarch, did Spain power over the colonies? , The Creole elite of Mexico found that, in the absence of the king, Spain had no right to exercise over America.

Based on the principle that sovereignty lay in the institutions Creole, the colonies began to make their own political decisions, which, by implication, represented a separation from Spain. In 1810, they established the Supreme Council Caracas in Caracas, composed of members of the colonial elite and the City Council. While the Board declared its loyalty to the king, however, determined to control and govern the colony without the authorization of the Spanish government. It was evident that the colonial elite was unwilling to abide by the authority at a time when metropolitan which clearly reflected the weakness of the Spanish empire. Therefore, the Creole elite took advantage of the international situation and the weakness of Spain to declare independence.

The War of the Spanish American Independence was bloody, bitter, and showed internal power struggles among the Creole elite. The ruling class was divided into different power groups: patriot's realistic, centralist, federalist, moderates, liberals and conservatives. For example, in Chile, the National Congress was divided into groups: moderate and independence (led by Bernardo O'Higgins). In Venezuela, the National Congress showed also differences between the political groups, however, groups in favor of independence dominated. Francisco de Miranda and Simon Bolivar (both independence) organized in 1810, the Patriotic Society, to achieve separation. Venezuela declared independence in 1811, and drafted a constitution that took the form of the federal republic, similar to the U.S. Constitution. The conflicts internally and mobilization of the Spanish forces stifled and suppressed ...