Latin American Independence

When Napoleon seized Spain in 1808, its American colonies were left without a king. Local elites began to govern themselves.

Simón Bolívar in the north and José de San Martín in the south led armies across the Andes. In 1824 the battle of Ayacucho ended Spanish rule on the mainland; Brazil broke from Portugal peacefully.

Bolívar dreamed of one united republic, but South America split into many states, often ruled by generals.