Spain’s Loss Of America: Free Trade VS. Military

“Spain’s loss of its Latin American Empire was one of the most momentous events of the nineteenth century, with repercussions that can be felt even in the present day (Woodward 586).” There were many reasons that Spain lost her colonies. These ranged from economics to the horrendous ways that Spain exploited her colonies. The ideas of free trade versus military incursions have been debated for years. Spain never learned that diplomacy is often the better part of valor. Spain should have employed the use free trade because it would have allowed them to hold and use their colonies for years to come.

When Spain first began to explore and expand, she had dreams of an empire. First came conquistadors, such as Pizarro and Cortez, who maliciously conquered the new world. They put the established empires of the Incas and Aztecs under the knife and subjugated them to Spanish will. A “New World” was fashioned and exploited to the full extent by the Spanish Monarchy. Slowly, this heathen land was shaped and formed to be a center of trade and profit for Spain. This land was held for approximately 250 years but then uprising and talks of insurrection began to take pl

During the age of Napoleon, Spain was beset with difficulties. In 1808, a first of many uprisings began in Latin America. “It was at this juncture that word arrived of insurrections in the empire, first in New Spain and Venezuela, then spreading quickly to Peru, Chile, and the Rio de la Plata (Woodward 586).” At this time, Spain had approximately 125,000 troops stationed in Latin America. However, there was a great problem with these troops. Many of the men who served in these permanent regiments, in the New World, were composed of many Native Americans. These same people had their own comrades rebelling against Spain. Many persons in the Spanish government thought, “…. That the regular units would not be sufficient (Woodward 587).” Eventually, the plea for force was answered. “On May 14, 1812, it dispatched the Second Battalion of Albuerna to the Rio de la Plata (Woodward 587).” In the Spanish government, there were many officials offering different petitions.

The Spanish public did not support the ill-fated plan of more military involvement. They would say, “Look at the fate which you are preparing for your sons: a certain death in remote countries, or a camp you will never see them again (Woodward 587).” More expeditions were sent year after year. To further worsen the situation, disease and malnutrition were ramped among the troops. Each day commanding officers would count their men to see how many had deserted that day. Questions arose of how Spain could afford to send these men and how did they plan on keeping them loyal to the throne. “In 1814 Ferdinand VII was restored to the Spanish throne. To head the new expedition he selected Pablo Morillo, a modest soldier who had risen to the rank of field marshal in the war against the French. On August 14, 1814, Morillo was appointed captain-general of Venezuela and general-in-chief over and expeditionary army of 10,000 men, the largest force thus far sent to the colonies (Woodward 589).” Morillo, try as he might, was doomed from the start to fail. Back in Spain, more proposed reforms of trade were being evaluated.

“On March 29th, 1814, this committee reported with a list of ten proposed reforms that, taken as a whole, amounted to a declaration of international free trade for the colonies (Costeloe 213).” This factor of free trade would have alleviated much financial stress from the American colonies. That stress was a major reason for the revolts. A major voice of discontent was the merchant class. These middle-class

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