Module 6: Revolutions and Unity

Prince Pedro giving the news of the Brazilian independence in 7 September 1822.

As Spain and Portugal, the dominant European powers in Latin America, established colonies there, they maintained strict control of the government and the social order. Unfortunately for these powers, when news of the American and French Revolutions reached this region, it inspired people to seek independence from their tyrannical rule.

Some of the notable leaders of independence movements in this region were Father Miguel Hidalgo in Mexico, Toussaint L’Ouverture in Haiti, and Simon Bolivar in the northern areas of South America. After these countries established their independence from Europe, the United States promised to protect them from future European colonization and interference by issuing the Monroe Doctrine. This document stated that the United States would view any attempt by Europe to re-colonize territory or interfere with these new countries as an act of aggression towards the U.S.

Meanwhile in Europe, Napoleon failed at his attempts to unify Europe under his rule. As part of his legacy, he left behind the Napoleonic Code and a continent transformed by a growing sense of nationalism among its people. During the Congress of Vienna of 1815, the leaders tried to minimize the impact of nationalism by issuing its “balance of power” doctrine, restoring monarchies that had been defeated by Napoleon, and drawing up a new political map of Europe. As a result of the Congress of Vienna, liberalism and conservatism will develop and divided political classes in Europe.

Discontent with the outcomes of the Congress of Vienna resulted in nationalistic movements that exploded throughout Europe. With the help of Count Cavour and Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italy united as a country under its modern boundaries. Meanwhile in Prussia, Otto von Bismarck pursued his Realpolitik policies in his ultimate goal of uniting Germany under Prussian rule.

This period of independence movements and revolutions established many of the boundaries for European and Latin American countries as we know them today. At the same time that all this political turmoil was taking place, the world's economies were being transformed by the Industrial Revolution, which had a tremendous impact on the power of nations and the lives of their people. We'll take a look at that in the module on the Industrial Revolution.