Compare And Contrast The American Revolution And Spain

The western hemisphere in the 18th and 19th century displays rebellion against their mother countries. The American Revolution was against the mother country of Great Britain, and the Latin American Wars for Independence were against the Spanish Empire. In some ways, the wars are similar, but they still remain distinctly different. The causes are what makes them so similar and so different. In the similarities, the different economic reforms in Great Britain and Spain are one of the many causes. Both empires were under debt for different reasons. Great Britain was in debt due to the Seven Years War (also known as the French and Indian War) and needed money to pay off the war off. Great Britain decided to impose various acts such as the Sugar,

In Great Britain’s colonies, the Acts were seen as an injustice to colonists, because the colonist felt they should not have to pay the taxes without fair representation. Without the representation, the colonists determined Great Britain knew nothing on the needs of the colonies and felt they did not have to pay the debt of the Seven Years War off. The enlightenment also influenced parts of the American Revolution and the Latin American Wars of Independence. Many works such as Common Sense by Thomas Paine in Great Britain’s colonies encouraged the colonists to break away from the crown and form a new country, because the crown was not living up to the ideals of the mother country taking care of its colonies. Most of this inspired nationalism in the colonies and created the Sons of Liberty to fight and push for American Independence. The enlightenment was somewhat restricted in Latin America as Spain tried to restrict the education in New Spain by mandating what books were allowed and center education around the church, hoping to diminish revolution fervor as the French and American revolutions were

The various acts would create dissatisfaction, none more so than the Tea Act which monopolizes the tea industry and the only company the colonists could buy from is the British East India Company. Ultimately caused the rebellion known as the Tea Party where the Sons of Liberty threw tea in the Boston Harbor. The issues only arise from the British Empire not listening to the needs and wants of the colonists. There was no major class issue in the colonies making them not want to be with each other. The members of the Continental Congress tried to make peace with George III, the ruling monarch at the time, with the Olive Branch Petition, but again, the British Empire did not want to listen. Thus the leaders sent the Declaration of Independence, another difference since there was no formal document in the Latin American Wars for Independence. There was also issue over expansion into new lands gained by the British in the Seven Years War or the French and Indian War, written in the Treaty of Paris. The British did not want to upset or bother the neighboring Natives to prevent another war, but the colonists felt they deserved to explore the new