Military Aspects of Latin American Independence
© 2001 Donald J. Mabry
There is a lot we don't know about the military aspects. Have to understand
the military aspects to understand the independence movements as well as the early
national histories of the Spanish American republics. The wars on the whole and in
comparison to the United States independence movement (1) lasted longer and (2) were more
brutal. The military side affected social conditions more than in the United States.
Fighting falls into two periods: (1) 1810-1816. In some places it
appeared that the Spanish were winning at the end, and (2) 1817-1824 when the Americans
General Pablo Morillo headed Spanish army sent to New Granda
(Venezuela-Colombia-Panama-Ecuador). He defeated patriot armies.
Military struggle to become independent of Spain not important
in Río de la Plata, Mexico, Central America, Caribbean islands. Not prolonged fighting
against royal forces. There were fights among the criollos in these non-military
areas. Patriots versus Royalists.
Northern South America was Bolívar's area of operations. Southern
South America was San Martín area of operations. Outcome of these struggles
important to other areas. San Martin was aware that the fighting outside the La Plata
region would save the La Plata from fighting. This was true elsewhere.
- Bolívar fought in more areas than San Martín.
- Bolívar had a political career.
Situation in the North begins in 1810 with the ousting of the
Captain General and the organization of a junta in Caracas. The junta made a declaration
of loyalty to Ferdinand V11. This was a creole action. Centralized power in the capital.
Political affairs moved to the left as time passed. Issued a Declaration of Independence
in 1811. In 1810, Bolívar went to England; met Francisco de Miranda in the United
Kingdom. Bolívar and Miranda returned to Venezuela together. Commander in chief.
Influence of the March, 1812 Caracas earthquake which the
royalists declared was the wrath of God because of the rebellion. Venezuela was one of the
places where the common man could be persuaded to fight on either side.
Capitulation by Miranda. Dispute within patriot forces. Bolívar
handed over Miranda as one of the conditions of his escape.
Bolívar was an upper-class criollo (creole). Became interested in
the ideas of the Enlightenment. Imperial Crisis in Spain was seen as an opportunity for
these young men. Desired to run their own affairs. Recognized the difficulties involved in
Bolívar was in and out of Curaçao and New Granada a number of
times. Found Antonio Nariño in Colombia. In 1813, his army invaded Venezuela. The
fighting got worse and worse and became a war to the death. Bolívar finally decided
to proclaim the "Guerra al muerte" to get people off the fence. There were
atrocities on both sides in the wars. Social developments from the military sides of the
Wars of Independence more revolutionary in the American Revolution.
Bolívar had a tendency towards dictatorship. The Prophetic
Letter contains a lot of his political ideas; written in Jamaica when he
was in exile.
Haitian president supplied him with money and supplies. He returned
to Venezuela and declared the slaves free. Didn't rally anyone. Left. In 1817, he returned
and went into the interior to Angostura. He joined forces with the llanero, José Antonio
Páez. Bolívar's forces and this cowboy's forces hit from the rear. Spent time in
the organization of the forces and planning. took at least two years to plan and organize.
In 1819, they scaled the Colombian Andes in a surprise move and beat
a Spanish army at Boyacá. In 1820, the Spanish revolt at Cádiz caused a division within
the royal forces. The liberal government in Spain ordered an armistice. In 1821, Bolívar
broke the armistice and beat the Spanish army at Carabobo.
Bolívar now switched his attention westward. Stopped when he
had to. Sent an army under Antonio José de Sucre by sea from the west coast of New
Granada to Guayaquil [Ecuador]. In the meantime, Bolívar marched south by land. It
took a long time. Sucre took care of the problem of Cuzco. Battle of Pichinchi (May 1822).
In 1822, Bolívar and San Martín (who was proceeding from the south) met in Guayaquil, no
one knows what transpired during this interview for they were alone and kept no
notes. [There have been a lot of forged documents of this meeting.] San Martín withdrew
his forces and eventually went to Europe. Peru was to Bolívar but he had to persuade the
Bogotá government to allow him to take the army to Peru. He was convinced that he was
needed there. At the battle of Ayacucho, December 1824, he defeated a royalist army, thus
breaking the power if the royalists in the highlands.
The first military action of the porteños (people who lived in the
city of Buenos Aires) was their driving British armies out in 1806 and 1807. By May, 1810,
there were actually independent. The porteños then tried to incorporate Paraguay into
their orbit but the Paraguayans successfully resisted. Belgrano's army, sent by Buenos
Aires, was defeated in 1810 by Paraguayan and peninsular forces. Under the leadership of
Dr. Gaspar Rodríguez Francia, the criollos of Paraguay beat Spanish armies,
Portuguese-Brazilian armies, and Buenos Aires armies. The Paraguayans were fiercely
independent and would remain so. For decades, Francia would govern the new nation.
The criollos of the Banda Oriental (Uruguay) wanted to run their own
affairs. Independence led by in José Artigas, they managed to stay out of both Brazil and
the newly emerging Argentine nation. However, it took the British intervention years later
in 1828 before it was truly independent.
José de San Martín, born in 1778 in Argentina, spent time in Spain
where he served in the Spanish army from 1791 until 1811. He returned to Buenos Aires in
1812 and joined the independence movement. Defeated the Spaniards in 1813, then succeeded
Belgrano as commander in chief the next year. He moved to Cuyo province to organize an
army to invade Chile and defeat the Spanish. San Martín believed that Spanish armies had
to be driven off the continent if the former colonies were to remain independent. He
didn't get much help from Buenos Aires, however; the porteños underestimated the threat
from Spain. Chilean exiles joined his army. In 1817, San Martín led his army across the
Andes, scaling the incredible heights, and defeated the Spanish at Chacabuco and captured
Santiago. He defeated another Spanish army at Maipú in 1818, thus guaranteeing Chilean
Spanish armies were still in Peru, so he took the fight there. He
hired the British ex-naval commander Lord Thomas Cochrane to fight the Spanish off the
Chilean and Peruvian coast in 1819. Then, in 1820, Cochrane ferried San Martín's army to
Peru. By 1821, he was able to declare Peru independent of Spain. He declared himself
"Protector of Peru," a dictator but he resigned in 1822 to give control to Peru.
He went back to Buenos Aires, then sailed for Europe in 1824. When he returned in
1829, he met such a cold reception that he went back to Europe, having never left the
ship. He died in France in 1850.
Very little work done on fighting in general. There is a tremendous
amount of individual work on individual battles. Things that need to be known
- strength and distribution of forces
- personnel--recruitment system
- organization and administration of command
- fortifications--there are some individual studies
- procurement of materials, uniforms, etc.
- logistical system, mail for example. Control of thievery
- caring for the sick and wounded.
- Latin America didn't get as much help as US forebears did.
- The wars of independence were more of a civil war than the American revolution was.
- The Spanish had an impossible problem.
- Spanish American patriots were favored by the technology of the times
- The casualties were higher than in the American Revolution. At the battle of Maipú,
Chile, there were 5,000 on each side with about 2,500 killed. Royalists were drastically
defeated and pursued. At the Battle of Carabobo about 6,000 patriots and 5,000 royalists
fought; two hundred patriots killed. Among the royalists, 40% were killed, wounded
- Financing was a problem. Bolívar's problems were greater than Washington's. Had to
chase money and resort to expropriation. Bolívar corresponded a lot about the desperate
- Learning from experience.
- Lack of staff officers. Good staff officers anticipate.
- Jealousy among top officers, personal jealousies and regional jealousies. These
were complicated by the presence of foreign officers. The class structure
problem wasn't great because there weren't many lower-class officers.
Pay and Recruitment
José Antonio Páez, leader of llaneros, had a bodyguard, El Negro Primo, who had
fought with the royalists first, was asked why, he answered "greed." He had
nothing when he joined the first army he saw. Most soldiers never got paid in money.
Páez and many other commanders let them loot. There were a fair number of blacks serving
in the armed forces as well as mestizos and Indians. There were probably 5,000 foreign
soldiers altogether but never more than 1,200 at any one time. Foreign troops were better
disciplined than militia.
In connection with brutality, it was settled policy a good part of time to
slaughter the defeated and even non-combatants at times.
In regards intelligence, it was amazing the effect of not knowing what was going on.
Made execution of tactics more difficult.
Is present military role a product of the independence period? No. Would have had
military interference in politics today without the wars of independence because of
Spanish society. The Spanish American colonies inherited from the colonial period the sort
of society in which force was used or threatened and accepted by all parts of the
population. The temptation to use force was irresistible because it was so obvious
that it might (or probably would) succeed. All of this was exaggerated by what happened
during the wars of independence.
The wars did give some opportunities to lower-class people who had the right glandular
balance. Promises had to be made to get support for the war effort. Some support came from
the lower class. Some were able to rise in status because of their role in the wars. Once
they rose, they adopted upper class views.
Effect of experience on ideas:
- Many military men came to despise civilians.
- Some people became excited about running things through a military command system or the
desire to organize society on military lines.
- Plunder, power, respect, excitements were desires or tastes developed among the
- The brutality of the wars caused the brutality of the period afterwards.
You can read about other topics in colonial Latin American history by buying and reading
Colonial Latin America by Don Mabry.
Click on the book cover or the title to go to Amazon.com.