The Creoles: The Colonization Of Latin America

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

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". 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" 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 forefathers by the hated Spaniards" and "defend rights as true patriots" . 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

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". 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". 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