The Hispanic Revolution: Spain and America, 1808-1826

The independence of Spanish America did not constitute an anticolonial movement, but formed part of the political revolution within the Spanish world and the dissolution of the Spanish Monarchy. In the wake of the French invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 1808, some subjects of the Spanish Monarchy sought to transform it into a modern nation state that included both Europe and America by introducing one of the most radical constitutions of the nineteenth century. However, civil war erupted in America between those who supported the new constitutional system and those who insisted not only on home rule, but also on independence. Ultimately, the struggle resulted in the dissolution of the Spanish Monarchy and the creation of new nations