SOUTH AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE: WHO WAS KNOWN AS THE LIBERATOR? WHO ENDED PORTUGUESE RULE IN BRAZIL? WHEN DID ARGENTINA BECOME INDEPENDENT? WHAT WERE SOUTH AMERICA’S NEW ECONOMIES? The American empires founded by Spain and Portugal broke up in the 19th century. These European countries were no longer powerful, and their colonies struggled to break away. Wars brought liberation, but independence was often followed by strife between the new nations. Table 53. LIBERATION 1816Argentina declares independence 1818San Martín liberates Chile 1819Gran Colombia is founded 1820Brazil annexes Uruguay 1821Peru gains independence Venezuela and Ecuador are liberated 1822Brazil breaks away from Portugal 1825Bolivia is liberated WHO WAS KNOWN AS THE LIBERATOR? Simón Bolívar, “the Liberator,” helped to free much of South America. He fought in Venezuela and ruled Colombia and Ecuador. He freed Peru, and Bolivia was renamed in his honor. Other freedom fighters included Bernardo O’Higgins and José de San Martín, who fought in Argentina, Chile, and Peru. THE TURNING POINT Bolívar was born in Venezuela. He defeated the Spanish at Carabobo in 1821. Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, and Panama all became part of an independent republic called Gran Colombia. Venezuela withdrew from this in 1829. WHO ENDED PORTUGUESE RULE IN BRAZIL? When Portugal was invaded by the French emperor Napoleon in 1807, the Portuguese royal family fled to their colony of Brazil. King John VI returned home in 1821, leaving his son Pedro to rule Brazil for him, but in 1822, Pedro declared himself to be emperor of an independent Brazil. WHEN DID ARGENTINA BECOME INDEPENDENT? The capital city of Argentina, Buenos Aires (meaning “fair winds”), was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century. In 1810, its people rose up against Spanish rule, gaining their independence in 1816. There followed a civil war between the city-dwellers and the ranchers of the provinces. The country was finally united in 1861. GAUCHOS OF ARGENTINA The Gauchos were Argentine cowboys of part Spanish, part Indian descent. These daring, hard-living rogues opposed the new Buenos Aires government, backing their own leaders in a struggle for power. WHAT WERE SOUTH AMERICA’S NEW ECONOMIES? In the 19th century, South America’s gold and silver mines began to run out. A new source of wealth was needed. In Brazil, plantations of coffee and rubber were set up, while Argentina’s grasslands supported sheep and cattle. When refrigeration was invented, huge amounts of beef were exported from Buenos Aires.