Latin American Wars of Independence - Later Developments in Latin America

Later Developments in Latin America

Internal divisions also resulted in internecine wars. For example, Gran Colombia proved too fragile and the South American nation collapsed within ten years. Because many of the rulers of this period (often called caudillos) who came to power were from the military, a strong authoritarian streak marked many of the new governments. There were countless revolts, coup d'états and inter-state wars, which never allowed Latin America to become united. This was exacerbated by the fact that Latin America is a land of various and very diverse cultures that do not identify with, or have a sense of unity, with one another.

The Spanish Empire in America was reduced to three Caribbean islands: Cuba and Puerto Rico. Santo Domingo was under Spanish rule for some years before definitive independence was achieved. After three independence wars in Cuba, the Spanish–American War finally took away the islands from Spain at the end of the nineteenth century.

The Empire of Brazil an anomaly in Latin America as a large, successful and stable monarchy until 1889, when the República Velha ("Old Republic") was founded.