By the time Columbus set sail in 1492, spices were in great demand in Europe, and so the race was on to find a quicker way westwards to get them.Columbus landed in what was later called the West Indies, and
it was not long before Spain and Portugal had colonised most of South America, creating Vice Royalties of New Granada, Rio Del La Plata and Peru(Spanish) and the Vice Royalty of Brazil(Portuguese). However on the top North East coast , England, Holland and France managed to established small colonies , with Patagonia at the bottom of South America apparently not colonised by anyone in the early days, but later absorbed by Argentina and the new country of Chile.
In the early 1800s the Spanish and Portuguese colonies gradually gained their independence, and the new countries of Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Paraguay and Uruguay were formed from parts of this vast continent.
The move to independence was started by “creoles” - the lower orders of nobles who had settled there and ran the country, but were resentful of the interference in their own affairs by Spain. In many cases powerful leaders arose to help this cause along, often by force of arms.
In the case of Brazil liberal ideas had started to flow across the Atlantic, and so in 1822 they declared themselves independent under the rule of King Pedro 1, son of the Portuguese monarch.
The effects of independence varied, although it is safe to say that the broad mass of people-those who did not own land and enjoyed few if any political rights - probably noticed little difference in their everyday lives. Power was transferred from one set of whites to another, leaving the Indians ,Mestizos and African slaves to carry on much as before,
The dream of a Latin American confederation did not materialise under the growing pressures of regional differences and nationalism, individual countries began to clash, and this in turn opened the way for interference by outside powers.
The main period when these border clashes erupted into full scale war, often involving tanks, artillery, airpower and naval power was between 1899 and 1942, and many thousands of people died.
South America has grown and developed over the years to meet the demands of the modern world, but there is still the problem of guerrilla activity , especially between 1960 and 1973 . But hopefully things will eventually settle down to make South America a peaceful and happy place to live and work in.
The next meeting will be on Monday 15th November and the subject will be “The Role of the Monarchy in the 20th and 21st Centuries.”.
Michael Page.
