Latin Americans in The United Kingdom - History and Settlement - Early Presence of Political Figures

Early Presence of Political Figures

Latin Americans have inhabited what is now the United Kingdom for centuries, albeit in much smaller numbers than there are currently. The earliest migrants date back to the late 18th century/ early 19th century, these were politicians and writers who were living largely in London in hope of raising funds for weapons to help free Latin America from Spanish and Portuguese rule. The reason for London being a prime choice for such individuals to temporarily reside in is that Britain was quite happy to support them and see the Spanish Empire weaken as the British Empire continued to grow across the world. Simón Bolívar who played a key role in the Spanish American war of independence visited London for six months in 1810 as leader of a diplomatic mission. Bolívar's forerunner Venezuelan-born Francisco de Miranda spent fourteen years of his life as a political exile in the British capital, originally a member of the Spanish Navy he made a decision to help free Latin America after witnessing the American War of Independence. de Miranda was a close ally of British Prime Minister William Pitt, and after several meetings between the two Pitt pledged money from the British government to help Latin America in their war of independence. Within a matter of years many Latin American countries gained independence and many Latin American political figures remained in London in a bid to search for loans to aid the development of their respective new nations. It wasn't only political figures who took advantage of London's welcoming and safe environment, many Latin American writers who would most likely have been executed or imprisoned for their work in their native lands, published their work in the UK, good examples of this being Brazilian, Hippolyto da Costa and Colombian, Garcia del Rio.