Americanos by John Charles Chasteen
8 out of 10Spanish and Portuguese colonies faced major uncertainty after Napoleon's takeover of the Iberian Peninsula. Fernando VII was kidnapped and João VI moved his court to Rio de Janeiro. Initially, New World territories wanted to be seen as equal to Spain and Portugal while maintaining their respective empires. After a while, strong idealistic military leaders emerged in opposition to the crown--e.g. San Martín's constitutionalism, Bolívar's republican goals and populist revolts lead by Hidalgo. After more than a decade of rebellion, reconquest and civil wars many new nations formed. Even though most countries had conservative beginnings (Mexico and Brazil created monarchies) the historical message is clear: Eventually, popular sovereignty becomes too attractive to abandon.