Why did the Creoles lead the revolutions in Latin America?

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Although the Creoles wanted to continue to be considered superior to non-Europeans in Latin America, they also felt strong connections to the native Indians because of their sense of nationalism, or loyalty to their homeland. As Creole revolutionary Simon Bolivar explained, "we are disputing the natives for titles of ownership, and at the same time we are struggling to maintain ourselves in the country that gave us birth" (Doc A). While the Creoles were proud of their European ancestry, they were also born in, and lived in, Latin America. They did not consider themselves Spaniards, so, while they often fought with natives because of their sense of entitlement, they could also be fiercely loyal to the natives. In many ways, they were aligned with the natives against the Spanish, whom some Creoles, like Simon Bolivar considered "invaders" (Doc A) of their homeland. Mexican priest and Creole Father Hidalgo also expressed this belief that the Spanish were evil conquerors, demanding that the people of Latin America "recover the lands stolen three hundred years ago from [their] forefathers by the hated Spaniards" and "defend [their] rights as true patriots" (Doc E). For those Creoles, and many others, revolution was an act of pride on behalf of their country. The Spanish were invaders had no right to occupy Latin America, so revolution was necessary in order to put power in the hands of the people who were actually born in Latin America, including the Creoles. The Creoles considered themselves Americanos, not Spaniards, and they wanted independence from their oppressive mother country.

Conclusion

Because of the political conditions in the Latin American colonies, Creoles had the most to lose if they did not stage a revolution. They feared that they would lose their supremacy over non-European social classes and possess even less authority and political influence than they did under peninsulares. Because of the economic status of Latin America, Creoles also had the most to gain from a revolution. They could take advantage of the economic turmoil caused by the devastating drought to seize control, and they could create a new system where Latin America's wealth went into their own pockets, not into the pockets of Europeans on the other side of the Atlantic. Besides politics and economics, Creoles were also motivated by nationalism. The may have been of European heritage, but they were not treated as equals by the peninsulares, so they felt more connection to their birthplace than Spain. These factors motivated them to lead the revolutions for independence in Latin America, creating new, independent, self-governing nations. Not every new nation survived, but they still had a huge global impact. The Creoles' revolts in New Spain inspired revolutions in other colonies like Brazil, so, not only did European nations lose their American colonies, but the entire political landscape of the New World also changed. The Latin American nations grappled with internal conflict, democratic ideals, and each other as they formed new societies and governments.

Introduction

Beginning in the 15th century, European explorers crossed the Atlantic Ocean and conquered almost all of the New World. Mexico, the Caribbean islands, and South America all became part of a vast area of European colonies known as Latin America. The British, French, Dutch, and Portuguese all had territory in this region, but the most notable conquistadors were the Spanish. New Spain included most of the Caribbean islands, Mexico, almost all of Central America, and the entire western coast of South America. Throughout all of these colonies, Spanish society was controlled by a strict social system. At the top of the social hierarchy were the peninsulares, European-born colonists who dominated the government. The peninsulares were followed by the Creoles, who were of Spanish descent, but were considered inferior because they were born in Latin America. The next social class consisted of people of European and Native American ancestry, or mestizos, who were followed by people of European and African ancestry, or mulattos. Mulattos ranked directly above African slaves. At the very bottom of colonial society was the largest group, the Native Americans. New Spain and its social hierarchy existed for several centuries in the Latin American colonies. However, at the beginning of the 19th century, widespread revolution broke out. In a span of just two decades, almost all of what had once been New Spain became independent from European rule. Although all the social classes except the peninsulares were involved, the Creoles took the leading role in the fight for freedom. The Creoles led the revolutions in Latin America because of a desire for political power, nationalism, and economic conditions.

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Creoles were also driven by the state of the economy in Latin America. The first economic problem they faced was a recession. As Alan Knight explains, "In 1808-1809 drought produced a great mortality among Mexico's livestock and decimated the harvest... Food prices tripled... agrarian crisis soon affected the rest of the economy" (Doc D). The recession provoked widespread unrest throughout Latin America and threatened the Creoles, who controlled much of the economy. They worried that the depression would leave them powerless, since they were already deprived of political authority and relied on their economic influence. Thus, Creoles took the drought as an opportunity to seize control by taking advantage of the chaos and channeling their frustration towards a revolution. Creoles were also motivated by a second economic factor. Even as Latin Americans struggled with drought and famine, Spain prospered off its colonies. Spain's economic laws forced Latin Americans to "sell [their] products at artificially low prices and buy what [they] need at artificially high prices" (Doc C). Spain levied taxies, limited commerce, and regulated production in order to control the economies of the colonies in the way that bested suited themselves, not the Latin Americans. This mercantile system angered Creoles, who felt that the Spanish were taking advantage of their efforts and preventing them from making the profits they deserved . Frustration over economic policies only served to deepen the divide between the Spanish and Latin Americans and motivate them to consider moving away from colonial rule. Because of oppressive economic policies, Creoles thought that independence might offer them the only opportunity to succeed.

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Political power was a huge motivator for the Creoles. As the second highest class in the New World, "The Creoles had growing economic and social influence, but the peninsulares monopolized all administrative positions" (Doc B). Even though Creoles composed a much larger percentage of the population than did peninsulares, only 12 Creoles were judges, compared to 87 peninsulares. The Creoles possessed some power, but real authority remained tantalizingly out of reach, residing only in the hands of the peninsulares. The peninsulares' power over all other Latin Americans was an important source of frustration for each social class, but it was especially infuriating to Creoles, since many of them were educated in Europe and well-versed in Enlightenment thinking. They believed in the democratic ideals of fair representation and equality, values that conflicted with the very foundation of the hierarchical Spanish colonial system. Just as those Enlightenment ideas had led the bourgeoisie to revolt in Europe during the French Revolution, they caused the Creoles to revolt in New Spain during the Latin American revolutions. However, at the same time, the Creoles were also motivated by power in a way that was much less reflective of Enlightenment values of equality. While Creoles desired to overthrow the peninsulares to gain political representation for themselves, they also wanted to continue to deny the other social classes power. As Leslie Bethall explains, "[If] the Creoles had one eye on their masters [the peninsulares], they kept the other on their servants [non-Europeans]. The Creoles were intensely aware of social pressure from below, and they strove to keep the coloured people at a distance" (Doc F). The Creoles were well-aware of the volatility of the situation in the colonies. They knew that, just as they wanted power over peninsulares, the mestizos, mulattos, Africans, and Indians wanted power, too; thus, they revolted in an attempt at self-preservation. Not only did the Creoles lead the revolutions to gain more political power; they also revolted to retain the power they already had over the other social classes.